At the Funai 250 at Richmond International Raceway, Hmiel was involved in several on track incidents, beginning on lap 103 when he spun the lapped car of Randy MacDonald. Late in the race with 5 laps to go, Hmiel was involved in an accident with Jason Keller. Hmiel was moved out of line down the backstretch, then slipped up into Keller in turn three, sending Keller's 57 car into the wall driver's side first. Hmiel was fined $5,000 and placed on probation for an altercation in the garage area after the race with Keller. Fellow competitor David Green would later identify this race as a sign of bad times to come for Hmiel.