Tim Richmond
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| Born: | June 7, 1955 | |
| Birthplace: |  Ashland, Ohio |
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| Died: | August 13, 1989 (aged 34) | |
| Cause of Death: | Complications from AIDS | |
| Achievements: | — | |
| Awards: | International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee (2002) | |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics | ||
| 185 races run over 8 years. | ||
| Best Cup Position: | 3rd - 1986 (Winston Cup) | |
| First Race: | 1980 Coca-Cola 500 (Pocono) | |
| Last Race: | 1987 Champion Spark Plug 400 (Michigan) | |
| First Win: | 1982 Budweiser 400 (Riverside) | |
| Last Win: | 1987 Budweiser 400 (Riverside) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 13 | 78 | 14 |
Tim Richmond (June 7, 1955 - August 13, 1989) was an American NASCAR race car driver. He had his career cut short when he contracted HIV and died of complications from AIDS.
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[edit] Before NASCAR
Richmond was born in Ashland, Ohio and, unlike many other NASCAR drivers, was born into wealth and did not grow up with auto racing. He did not even begin racing until the age of 21, when he drove a sprint car owned by a friend, but he knew instantly that it was to become his vocation.
Tim Richmond was a perennial playboy. Growing up in wealth, he always appreciated the best things and was very flamboyant especially in comparison to the other gruff, working-class drivers of the time like Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, and Cale Yarborough. Richmond had expensive tastes in food and drink and lived a fast lifestyle that mirrored his on-track performances. Tim was a hit with the ladies at the racetracks and he played it up well pulling down the top of his driving suit at every opportunity and signing autographs. His flamboyant style was a hit with the fans and the media, but was frowned upon by NASCAR. His party-all-night reputation was not what the NASCAR Public Relations Department wanted associated with their rising image. One of his pranks included his exposing part of his genitalia in a photograph of NASCAR Winston Cup drivers for a poster for The 1987 Winston. His prank went largely unnoticed and several posters were released before someone caught it and had the photograph airbrushed to correct it. In the souvenir circles, the posters that got out are now highly priced and fetch a hefty sum.
He continued on the open-wheel racing circuits, racing in the 1980 Indianapolis 500 and finishing ninth after running out of fuel.
[edit] NASCAR career
In 1980 at the persuasion of Pocono Raceway owner Dr. Joesph Mattioli[1] , Richmond decided to move on into stock car racing in NASCAR. In his first few seasons, he bounced from team to team looking for a permanent ride which he finally found in 1982. He raced in 26 events, winning twice and finishing in the top-5 seven times, but only managed to finish 26th in the Winston Cup points standings, since he did not race the full season.
In 1983, Richmond, now with Raymond Beadle's Blue Max team, worked his way into the top-10 in the points standings and secured his position among the circuit's best drivers. By this time, Richmond became friends with another owner, Rick Hendrick and by 1986, Hendrick had built a new team around Richmond. Behind the wheel of his new #25 Folgers Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Richmond won seven times in 1986, finished in the top-5 13 times and in the top-10 17 times. He finished third in the Winston Cup points standings, the best finish of his career.
[edit] Illness
However, at the tail end of the 1986 season, Richmond was becoming noticeably ill. Following the end of the season, he checked into a clinic and discovered that he had AIDS, which, at the time, was a little-understood disease. Despite his illness, Richmond worked to regain his strength and in 1987, he returned mid-season and subsequently won two consecutive races at Pocono and Riverside. However, Richmond's health started deteriorating and so did his results. Richmond would race in only six more events before being told not to race by NASCAR.
In 1988, Richmond again tried to make another run in NASCAR (by securing a ride with Ken Ragan's Ford for the Busch Clash), but NASCAR was concerned not only about Richmond's health, but also about how he contracted AIDS in the first place. They subjected Richmond (and Richmond alone) to a drug test and several days later, NASCAR announced that Richmond was suspended indefinitely for testing positive for banned substances. Richmond was livid saying that he had not taken any banned substances and demanded another test, which he passed. NASCAR later admitted that the only substances found in the first test were the over-the-counter medications Sudafed and Advil. They also released the permanent ban, but refused to allow Richmond to drive again until he surrendered his medical records that said he had AIDS.
Soon after the rumor mill began and many other NASCAR drivers were now aware of Richmond's condition and speculation began as to how he contracted the virus. At the time, the most common methods for contracting HIV were assumed to be through male homosexual sex or drug abuse using infected needles. To this day, no one is completely sure exactly how Richmond contracted HIV.
Regardless, Richmond filed suit against NASCAR for defamation of character, but NASCAR countered by requiring Richmond to surrender almost all of his personal information from the past eight years: tax returns, drug screening results, and medical records. Richmond withdrew the lawsuit rather than have to disclose his illness to his fans.
[edit] Death
Tim Richmond finally retired to West Palm Beach, Florida where he lived in seclusion with his mother until his death on August 13, 1989. Shunned from the sport, Tim retreated to his condo and began living the life of a recluse. Few of his friends from the racing circles would have anything to do with him. One friend that remained was Kyle Petty. "It all boils down to AIDS. I don’t care what anybody tells you. Nobody knows how to handle AIDS, especially in a sport as backward-thinking on so many things as this sport is", said Petty.
A Charlotte woman who said she had been engaged to Richmond, publicly announced in 1995 that she was also HIV-positive. Former model and actress LaGena Lookabill said she met Richmond in 1980 when she was Miss World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Doctors told Lookabill she had six months to live when she was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, but thanks to a better understanding of the disease, she is still alive today. [2]
[edit] Legacy
As Richmond's story finally became public, many of his numerous fans were outraged at NASCAR's treatment of him. NASCAR has never apologized to his family or fans for his exclusionary treatment. His 7 year career in Winston Cup is reflected by a single paragraph on the NASCAR website, which does not even include a single picture. In 185 Winston Cup starts, Tim Richmond scored 13 wins and 14 poles.
In recent years, NASCAR has suspended five drivers for drug violations. Busch Series driver Shane Hmiel was suspended twice (2003 and 2005), before he was suspended for life in 2006, while Kevin Grubb also has been suspended for failing a drug test. Craftsman Truck Series drivers Brian Rose (2003) was suspended for failing a drug test, NCTS driver Tyler Walker was suspended indefinitely for failing a substance abuse test, and Aaron Fike (7/2007) was suspended for an arrest for heroin use. Many people continue to point to the incident with Richmond, however, to show that the exclusionary "good ol' boy" system is still in place within NASCAR.
The movie Days of Thunder was loosely based on Richmond's life, with main character Cole Trickle (played by Tom Cruise) inspired by Richmond, Rowdy Burns (Michael Rooker) inspired by Dale Earnhardt, Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall) inspired by crew chief Harry Hyde, and Tim Daland (Randy Quaid) inspired by owner Rick Hendrick.
Richmond was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2002.
He appeared in the 1983 Burt Reynolds movie Stroker Ace.
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
- [1] Nascar.com Tim Richmond Driver Bio
- [2] Tim Richmond: Quickly Forgotten, Feb 1 2004
- NASCAR: Tim Richmond career statistics
- Tim Richmond at Find A Grave
