Tony Stewart is Tim Richmond!
Cav
ain't the only one! Both are/were cocky, talented, loved and hated.
What do yall think of this comparison?
Sarge
So what you're saying is that Tony is a peter puffer and will die of
AIDS?
The Sarge
#5, #24, #25
Go Team Hendrick
RIP =3=
Ms.Goodwrench
LOL, you moron, do you have any idea what team Richmond drove for during his stellar final few
years?
Ms.Goodwrench RDE 1951-2001
get the racing jones on at:
http://www.enteract.com/~tjmc/flagman.htm
Sarge
>LOL, you moron, do you have any idea what team Richmond drove for during his stellar final few
>years?
>
>
>
>
>
Doesn't mean I had to like the guy MS Goodbitch
Fred I. Sherman
flatulated...
>
>On Thu, 31 May 2001 14:00:43 GMT, Sa...@USSEnterprise.com (S
>arge) wrote:
>
>>On 31 May 2001 06:47:19 -0700, hoaxc...@hotmail.com (Cav
>) wrote:
>>
>>>Can anyone see the closeness of these two on the track?!
>I know I
>>>ain't the only one! Both are/were cocky, talented, loved
>and hated.
>>>What do yall think of this comparison?
>>
>>
>>So what you're saying is that Tony is a peter puffer and wi
>ll die of
>>AIDS?
>>
>>
>>The Sarge
>>#5, #24, #25
>>Go Team Hendrick
>>
>>RIP =3=
>
>
>
>LOL, you moron, do you have any idea what team Richmond drov
>e for during his stellar final few
>years?
>
Did Tim drive for Hershey's Chocolate?
--
F.I. Sherman
Dale Bright
OH DEER LOWERED!
I am going to pretend that I never saw this post.
Dale Bright
"non compos mentis"
Dale Bright
wrote:
>On Thu, 31 May 2001 14:00:43 GMT, Sa...@USSEnterprise.com (Sarge) wrote:
>
>>On 31 May 2001 06:47:19 -0700, hoaxc...@hotmail.com (Cav) wrote:
>>
>>>Can anyone see the closeness of these two on the track?! I know I
>>>ain't the only one! Both are/were cocky, talented, loved and hated.
>>>What do yall think of this comparison?
>>
>>
>>So what you're saying is that Tony is a peter puffer and will die of
>>AIDS?
>>
>>
>>The Sarge
>>#5, #24, #25
>>Go Team Hendrick
>>
>>RIP =3=
>
>
>
>LOL, you moron, do you have any idea what team Richmond drove for during his stellar final few
>years?
I do. Tim Richmond was DOMINATE~
Dale Bright
Sherman) wrote:
No. Coffee. He needed to stay awake all night.
Al Neill
Dale Bright wrote:
>
> >
> >Did Tim drive for Hershey's Chocolate?
>
> No. Coffee. He needed to stay awake all night.
>
What was it he said when he was late for some sponsor appearance?
Something like "Heck if that Folgers coffee can wake me up,
it can wake anyone up!"
- Al
Tx44075
Cav
Well, I think it has been established that Tim Richmond was not
fruity. As for Tony Stewart, I don't think so. But as far my
reference between the two goes, I was just wishing to point out how
similar they are on the track and in attitude. As for your question,
I hope not.
RedRooster
"Sarge" <Sa...@USSEnterprise.com> wrote in message
news:3b164e74...@news.cableone.net...
> So what you're saying is that Tony is a peter puffer and will die of
> AIDS?
>
>
> The Sarge
> #5, #24, #25
> Go Team Hendrick
>
> RIP =3=
Actually its quite well known that Tim was quite a party animal and
contracted AIDS from a female - identity not disclosed. You 'peter puffer'
response is typical of those who doubt their own manhood and deflect
attention from their own masculine security by questioning the sexual
preference of others. In other words - you are probably much more likely to
be a peter puffer or be inclined to do so, than those you insult.
JL
news:lKvR6.171242$BB5.3...@typhoon.columbus.rr.com...
Peter Puffer Picked A Peck Of Purple Peckers,
A Peck Of Purple Peckers Peter Puffer Picked.
If Peter Puffy Picked a Peck Of Purple Peckers,
How many Purple Peckers has Jeff Gordon Picked?
Sarge
>contracted AIDS from a female - identity not disclosed. You 'peter puffer'
>response is typical of those who doubt their own manhood and deflect
>attention from their own masculine security by questioning the sexual
>preference of others. In other words - you are probably much more likely to
>be a peter puffer or be inclined to do so, than those you insult.
>
>
Says you. He was a faggot pure and simple. I don't have any problems
with my manhood and neither does my wife of ten years thank you very
much. It's those that get their panties all in a bunch like you that
have a problem with it, and are hiding something. Why don't you come
out of the closet.
Barry Posner
Sarge wrote:
> Says you. He was a faggot pure and simple. I don't have any problems
> with my manhood and neither does my wife of ten years thank you very
> much.
I bet you really like it when she shoves the dildo up your ass, right?
I suppose you think Magic Johnson is also gay,huh?
bp
Sarge
wrote:
>
>I bet you really like it when she shoves the dildo up your ass, right?
>
>I suppose you think Magic Johnson is also gay,huh?
>
Nope, but she likes it when I shove the big fat cock up hers.
Magic was just a stupid fucking idiot.
Look at any of the old tape of Richmond and you can tell he was a
flamer.
Dale Bright
wrote:
>I still don't see see why he needed the coffee.
Indeed, with all of those HAWTIES.............
JJ
> Can anyone see the closeness of these two on the track?! I know I
> ain't the only one! Both are/were cocky, talented, loved and hated.
> What do yall think of this comparison?
In my opinion Stewart ain't even close to Tim, in skills.
God I hope Tim ain't rolling over in his grave.
Tuesdays_child
JJ
kissme@myass
On Thu, 31 May 2001 16:06:35 -0500, Barry Posner <bup...@psu.edu>
wrote:
>
>
JJ
I agree with the party animal stuff, but I was told he contracted Aids
from needles...this from a close relative in Charlotte, who used to
ride Harley's with Tim and hang out at the Yellow Rose.
My family member told me long before it was made public, about Tim's
illness. But I guess no one will know for sure except Tim and Tim's
doctor ...and even at that they may not of known exactly who and how
it was contracted.
Thing is, he was a superb racer, and an all right guy...never saw him
not smiling.
Tuesdays_child
JJ
JL
news:d60a1320.01053...@posting.google.com...
My understanding is he knew he had aids and still slept around...didn't
bother
to tell the women that he slept with that he had aids.
Dale Bright
>My understanding is he knew he had aids and still slept around...didn't
>bother
>to tell the women that he slept with that he had aids.
This has been reported many times, as well.
Jack Snyder
Richmond race before he became famous. He raced sprinters at little Ohio
tracks like Lakeville, Wayne County, etc. He was a party animal then, and
he always would be. Tim lived life just as he raced, wide open.
Tim's partying is legendary in and around his hometown of Ashland, Ohio.
And Tim was a nice guy. Cocky but nice.
Tim may u rest in peace,
Hacksaw
Cav <hoaxc...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:6d71f841.0105...@posting.google.com...
Isaac Weeks
>Can anyone see the closeness of these two on the track?! I know I
>ain't the only one! Both are/were cocky, talented, loved and hated.
>What do yall think of this comparison?
I think the subject title should be "Any Driver Today Is Tim Richmond" if that
is your comparison.
"Good God, if our civilization were to sober up for a couple of days
it’d die of remorse on the third . . . " --Malcolm Lowry, Under the
Volcano
Bryan
"Sarge" <Sa...@USSEnterprise.com> wrote in message
> >Actually its quite well known that Tim was quite a party animal and
> >contracted AIDS from a female - identity not disclosed. You 'peter
puffer'
> >response is typical of those who doubt their own manhood and deflect
> >attention from their own masculine security by questioning the sexual
> >preference of others. In other words - you are probably much more likely
to
> >be a peter puffer or be inclined to do so, than those you insult.
> >
> >
>
>
> Says you. He was a faggot pure and simple.
You must have first hand (or some other body part) knowledge, right?
Stephen Adams
>Look at any of the old tape of Richmond and you can tell he was a
>flamer.
Yeah? What does a gay man look like?
He like fast cars and fast women. He contracted AIDS from an
unknown *female* sex partner.
-Steve
--
The opinions expressed above are those of the author
---NASCAR---In Memoriam---#3-#7-#28-#51---
sad...@enteract.com "Space-age cybernomad" Stephen Adams
Sean
public? Was he still driving then? Or was he blacklisted?
I would love to find the answers.
-Sean
Ms.Goodwrench
LOL
That's all we need here -- another "my wife can tell you how manly I am" type. The manly man so
sure of his manliness he needs to point out how not gay he himself is.
Keep entertaining us.
Barry Posner
> >Look at any of the old tape of Richmond and you can tell he was a
> >flamer.
> LOL
> That's all we need here -- another "my wife can tell you how manly I am" type. The manly man so
> sure of his manliness he needs to point out how not gay he himself is.
>
> Keep entertaining us.
Hey, you gotta appreciate a guy with such keen gaydar.
I'm sure it's served him well over the years.
bp
Richard Nottage
wrote:
Here is a link with a pretty good article that answers most of your
questions. NASCAR doesn't even remember Tim Richmond.
At least it seems that way.
Bryan
"Barry Posner" <b...@psu.edu> wrote in message
news:3B17AE10...@psu.edu...
And with a name like "Sarge", that "don't ask, don't tell" policy has
probably saved his career.
Rick
Wayne Mann
>Can anyone see the closeness of these two on the track?! I know I
>ain't the only one! Both are/were cocky, talented, loved and hated.
>What do yall think of this comparison?
Tim Richmond
By Matt McLaughlin - Racecomm Editor
Tim Richmond started driving race cars at a relatively
advanced age by the standards of today. He was 21 years
old when a friend who owned a sprint car invited him to
take some laps in the car at the Lakeville Speedway in
Ohio. Tim was so ill prepared for his debut at the wheel of
a race car, he showed up wearing cowboy boots and had to
borrow a driver's uniform and a helmet just to be able to
run a few laps on what was supposed to be a lark. Instead
Tim hopped in the car and within a very short period of
time was turning lap times better then the car's regular
driver who had been racing for years. Again, if there ever
was a natural born race car driver, it was Tim Richmond.
More importantly that day Tim discovered his niche in life,
the one thing that he enjoyed doing as much as his late
night partying with friends. That evening, Tim decided he
was going to be a race car driver, and with that goal set he
pursued it with the same tenacity and determination he did
everything else he set his mind to.
In 1977 Tim Richmond started driving a Supermodfied car
he co-owned with his father at Sandusky Speedway, which
bills itself as "the fastest half mile oval in Ohio." Success
was almost immediate and that year Tim won not only
"Rookie of the Year" honors, but the track championship in
his class as well. Like most kid's growing up in the
Midwest at that point of time, Richmond's goal was not
stock car racing but Indy Car racing and towards that end
he competed in the Mini Indy car series in Phoenix,
Arizona and again he won the title the first time out. From
the Mini Indy car league Tim moved to the USAC sprint
car series, and in 1979 he won the coveted "Rookie Of the
Year" honors in that series as well. Many a driver spends
years driving in the sprint car series waiting for a chance to
drive in the Indy car series, but Tim's goal lay beyond the
sprints and he made his own chance happen rather then
waiting. Al Richmond was certainly wealthy enough to buy
his son a Indy car, and there is a lingering misimpression
among some people that was the case, but in fact Tim
aggressively courted sponsors on his own and got backing
from a business in his hometown of Ashland, Ohio, Robert
Schultz and Associates. With financing in place, Tim, with
help from Roger Penske, was able to set up a deal to buy a
car, and planned to make his Indy car debut at Michigan.
The debut did not go well, the car developed mechanical
problems, but Tim's driving abilities raised some eyebrows.
Mark Stainbrook, crew chief for a team owned by Pat
Santello, asked if Richmond would be interested in driving
for that team. When Tim expressed interest, an agreement
was reached that if Tim could qualify the car at the next
race, he would be given the ride. Fortunately the test took
place at the Willow Spring road course in California.
Already an accomplished oval course racer, Tim had
attended a Jim Russell driving school at that same track
and set the lowest lap time by any student ever. Needless to
say he got the ride with Santello's team. Once again the
ugly rumor that his dad had bought him the seat dogged
Richmond, as a disgruntled friend of the team's former
driver printed a story in the Indianapolis Star to that effect.
Though the story was later retracted, it left a taint.
During the 1980 season, a difficult year as CART took over
control of the Indycar series from USAC, Richmond made
five starts in Indy cars. A pattern was set where he would
qualify and run well, only to be sidelined by mechanical
problems with his outdated equipment.
1980 was Tim Richmond's biggest year in the Indy Car
circuit, and his proudest moments were during those weeks
in May leading up to the Indianapolis 500. Though a
rookie, Tim set the fastest time in practice, and was
considered a favorite for a front row starting spot.
Unfortunately a crash on Pole Day eliminated that
possibility. Still Richmond was able to make the field in a
back up car, and compete in the Indy 500. Throughout the
event Tim showed skill and speed that belied his
inexperience, and he actually led the race, before running
out of gas in the waning laps. Race winner Johnny
Rutherford was kind enough to let Tim hitch a ride to
Victory Lane riding on the sidepod of the winning car.
Legend has it, as Tim hopped off Rutherford quietly told
him, one day Tim would be visiting that hallowed ground
on his own. For his remarkable achievements that month
Richmond was awarded "Rookie of the Race" honors.
Among the quarter million spectators on hand that day for
the Indy 500 was Dr. Joseph Mattioli, founder and
president of Pocono International Speedway. He had been
impressed by Tim's style and asked if he might be
interested in driving a NASCAR stock car race there that
July. (Recall Pocono also hosted Indy Car races at one
time.) Tim was the sort who would drive anything with
wheels, and quickly agreed. Dr. Mattioli was able to line up
a Chevy owned by DK Ulrich for Tim to drive. While he
qualified a disappointing 23rd, Richmond was able to
finish 12th in his very first Winston Cup race. Despite the
venture starting out as a lark, Tim fell in love with racing
stock cars. He would later describe the difference between
Indy cars and stock cars as being that you "drove" an Indy
car, but "raced" a stock car, and Tim Richmond had a
racer's heart. He would compete in four more Winston Cup
races that year; Dover, Martinsville, Charlotte and Atlanta.
Mechanical problems relegated him to disappointing
finishes at Dover and Atlanta, but Tim managed to finish
12th at both Charlotte and Martinsville (in his very first
Winston Cup short track run.)
Richmond was never forced to decide between NASCAR
and CART. A series of wrecks and financial problems with
the team ended his open wheel driving days and in 1981
Tim Richmond began driving the Winston Cup circuit full
time. Tim's arrival made quite a splash in the normally
staid world of NASCAR. While most drivers of the era had
"Opie Taylor" style haircuts, Tim wore his hair shoulder
length and admitted to using a hair stylist rather then a
barber. His Ohio accent sounded a bit different then the
good old boys. And Tim arrived upon a Harley Davidson
not in a car, in an era long before Milwaukee's Finest was
near standard issue for every cup driver. Richmond had a
sort of confidence some mistook for arrogance, and more
then a few guys in the garage area weren't very impressed
with him. Of course, more then a few woman were.
That year was the first year of the "downsized cars" and
even a lot of the top teams were struggling to figure those
cars out. It was as true then, as it is today, Winston Cup
racing is the most competitive series on earth, and Tim
struggled a bit driving the DK Ulrich Buick Regal the early
part of that season, including a disappointing 30th at the
Daytona 500. His first Winston Cup top ten came at Bristol
on March 29th 1981, when Tim finished tenth. The best
finish Richmond had with DK Ulrich, and in fact that
season was a sixth at Talladega in May. After a
disappointing result at Riverside in June on a road course
where Tim had been expected to run well (he crashed out
on the 12th lap) Richmond and Ulrich parted ways. Tim
signed on with Kennie Childers to drive his Oldsmobile
after the separation. The best finishes Richmond earned
while with Childers were a 9th at Pocono, and an eighth at
Bristol. Once again things went downhill and in September
Tim moved over to Bob Rogers' team, debuting with them
at Dover and finishing 9th, his last top ten of the season. In
29 starts in 1981 Tim had six top ten finishes and wound up
16th in the points.
Tim Richmond found himself without a Winston Cup for
the 1982 season. He did not make his first start that year
until Rockingham in March, driving the Fast Company
Limited Ford to a dismal 31st place finish after losing an
engine. But his fortunes were about to change.. both for the
better and the worse. Tim was finally able to land a well
funded ride after Rockingham, which was the good news,
but the bad news he would be driving for mercurial
millionaire and con artist JD Stacy. Stacy's financial house
of cards was the object of considerable conjecture, but he
did indeed pour a lot of money into his team when the
mood and means suited him. Joe Ruttman ha a falling out
with Stacy, and Tim was given the seat as primary driver
for one of two teams Stacy owned. (He also sponsored five
others.) Their very first race together, Tim managed to
finish a career best fifth at the Rebel 500 at Darlington.
After a couple races for the team to gel together Richmond
and the Stacy team began putting together a solid string of
top ten finishes. At Pocono that year Tim Richmond
showed the sort of driver he really was and engaged in a
dog fight for top honors with Bobby Allison. Richmond
might have won that race, as Bobby Allison had run out of
fuel trying to stretch his gas mileage under a caution flag
thrown for rain, fearing if he pitted the race would end
under caution. Dave Marcis was kind enough to push
Allison back to the pits, and in fact Allison did go on to
win by 3.1 seconds over Tim. (As a side note, Marcis also
carried sponsorship from JD Stacy and lost the sponsorship
for helping Bobby out.) But even that second place finish
had put the other drivers on notice that Tim Richmond was
a contender and would win a race soon. Very soon as it
turned out.
The next event was the Budweiser 400 at Riverside, a road
course. Terry Labonte had the dominant car that day after
several other early favorites fell out with mechanical
problems. Tim remained running with the front pack and
on lap 89 of the 95 lap event he used his considerable road
racing skills to out brake Labonte and take the lead. From
there it was smooth sailing to Richmond's first Winston
Cup win. The second half of that season had it share of
highs and lows with Tim getting involved in several
crashes not always of his making, mechanical problems
and continuing uncertainty about the status of Stacy's
finances. Richmond did manage a strong second place
finish at Richmond in the fall, again tailing Allison to the
checkers, and a fourth at Atlanta in the penultimate race of
that season. The 1982 season ended at Riverside, the track
where Tim had earned his first win. By that point he had
already decided to split with Stacy after the race, citing the
teams uncertain financial future. Richmond had landed a
ride with Raymond Beadle's new Blue Max team, which
was buying out the equipment of MC Anderson, who had
announced he was quitting racing all together, because his
driver, Cale Yarborough, wanted to remain running a
partial schedule rather then contend for the Winston Cup.
Tim did leave the Stacy team in style, scoring the second
win of his career in a race he flat out dominated. In 26
starts that year, Tim had the two wins at Riverside, five
more top fives, and 12 top tens overall. Those statistics
were remarkably similar to a driver who had befriended
Tim and taken him under his wing introducing him around,
Dale Earnhardt. Dale had only one win, but like Tim he
had 7 top fives and 12 top tens, but because he ran the
entire schedule, Dale finished 12th in the points while Tim
had to settle for 26th.
Tim Richmond and Blue Max racing team, running the Old
Milwaukee Beer colors, got off to an uneven start in 1983.
The team endured more then it's fair share of mechanical
difficulties and poor finishes, but when the car was running
at the end of the race, Richmond was usually in the top ten.
Their first strong run of the year came at Martinsville,
where Tim was in contention to win until a pit miscue by
crew chief Tim Brewer had the soft compound left side
tires put on the right side of the car. NASCAR officials
noted the violation and accessed Richmond a five lap
penalty. A fourth place at Pocono in June and a third at the
next race in Michigan seemed to indicate the team was
turning the corner. Tim's breakthrough oval course win
came at his favorite track, Pocono in July. A combination
of incredible driving and brilliant pit strategy allowed Tim
to take the lead when then leader Dave Marcis had to pit
for a splash and go with seven laps remaining. Richmond
held off a last ditch charge by Darrell Waltrip by two
seconds. The win was a confidence booster for the rookie
team and began a long string of top ten and even top five
finishes whenever the car made it to the end of the race. At
Rockingham in October, fans got a good look at the magic
that was Tim Richmond's style as he engaged in an epic
side by duel with Terry Labonte in the waning laps of the
race. Lap after lap the two ran together with Tim trying
moves on both the high and low side of the track, including
several times when he gathered the car up as it got out of
shape up in the marbles, where all others feared to tread.
Terry Labonte won that race by .7 of a second, but it was
one of the best races of that, or any other season. Back at
Riverside, a track that Tim had mastered, he led the race
several times, before he and Darrell Waltrip made hard
contact, and both cars wound up spinning off the track.
Tim recovered well enough to bring the car home 5th. For
the season Richmond had the one win, ten top fives, and 15
top tens, which earned him a tenth place finish in the
points, and a new contract to drive for Blue Max again in
1984.
1984 did not start out well for Tim and the Blue Max team.
Once again he finished well when the car was still running,
but the team had a string of engine related failures that
relegated Richmond to disappointing finishes. A hard crash
with Rusty Wallace only increased Tim's frustrations.
North Wilkesboro in the spring didn't look like it was going
to be Tim's day either. In fact the event looked like a
benefit put on for Ricky Rudd for much of the race. Tim
patiently paced himself knowing the team needed a good
finish to boost morale, until in the closing laps of the event
Rudd started showing signs he was struggling. Once that
opportunity presented himself, Tim threw caution to the
wind, and in an awesome display of driving, ran down and
passed Ricky. A great pit stop helped Tim maintain the
lead and he went on to beat Harry Gant by a tick under four
seconds. It was Richmond's first short track win. After that
the mechanical gremlins began rearing their heads again
and the season of frustration continued. Even in that
disappointing season there were some strong runs. At
Dover, Richmond ran in the lead pack all day, and finished
second to the King of Stock car racing, Richard Petty. It
seemed appropriate as many people felt Tim had the talent
to one day inherit the King's throne. Richmond was also in
serious contention for win in the June race at Riverside,
battling once again with Terry Labonte in the closing laps
until the two cars made contact. Labonte was able to
continue, but Tim was forced to the pits for repairs and
wound up sixth in the final run down. A second at the
Southern 500, on a day where he had little chance of
catching winner Harry Gant was the only other highlight of
the disappointing year as the series reached Riverside for
the season finale. Though Richmond never led that race, he
was in contention for most of the way and wound up
second that day to Geoff Bodine. For the year Tim
Richmond wound up with the single win, five other top 5s,
and a total of 11 top tens, good enough to earn him 12th in
the points standings. For a lot of drivers that might have
been good enough, but Tim was thoroughly dispirited after
what he felt was a lackluster season. Better times were
coming, but they were still a ways down the road.
Tim Richmond was back with the Blue Max team for 1985,
though there had been some friction within the team. A lot
of people in the know were saying Tim was a better driver
than the equipment he had allowed him to show, while
others were beginning to question his commitment and
asking if his hard charging lifestyle off the track was
detracting from his ability to drive the car. Still the 1985
season began with high hopes, though almost from the drop
of the first green flag those hopes were dashed. No one had
anything for Bill Elliott that year at the Daytona 500, and
Tim crashed out of the event early winding up 35th. It was
just that sort of year. The cars were usually not competitive
and Tim either crashed or blew them up trying to wrestle
his way to the front. He had only three lead lap finishes to
his credit going into the 18th race of that season at Bristol.
That race seemed to belong to Dale Earnhardt, but for once
that year the engine held together and Tim was able to keep
out of the numerous wrecks that marred the event. A pit
miscue on Earnhardt's team's part dropped Dale to second
and Tim Richmond was in the lead with 54 laps to go. Off
the track Dale and Tim were good friends and spent a lot of
time together, but on the track they were often fierce
competitors. Dale looked for a way around Tim for awhile
and when he couldn't find one he used the simple
approach he just laid a bumper into the rear of
Richmond's car and pushed him out of the way. Tim held
on to finish second, and had no harsh words for his friend
after the event. He simply shrugged and told reporters that
was how short track racing got done, and Earnhardt was the
master of it. Ironically the same pair of drivers were
involved in the next race Richmond had a shot at winning,
at Martinsville. That day Tim turned the tables and had the
dominant car all day. Dale finally managed to reel Tim in
and once again the two put on a fierce battle racing fender
to fender and occasionally fender into fender as they
worked their way around the traffic packed bull ring. The
crowd was loving it but while Dale Earnhardt may love
close quarter racing, he likes winning better and once again
he finally resorted to using a front bumper to shove Tim out
of the way. Tim showed Earnhardt he didn't like being
pushed around and as Dale tried to pass him Tim cut the
wheel hard left and gave him a solid shot. The pair seemed
ready to bang and crash their way right to the finish or the
garage area whichever came first, but a spin ahead of the
paint swapping duo forced Tim to get out of the gas and
allowed Earnhardt to scoot off into the sunset. To add
insult to injury a stripped wheel stud on the final stop
dropped Tim back to seventh place. After the race he was
not quite as philosophical or diplomatic as he was after
Bristol, telling reporters, "As far as I'm concerned we ain't
even. I still owe him one." That was moments after he got
out of the car. Later that evening Tim and Dale were
spotted chatting and laughing, their friendship intact. As
the year had begun with frustration it ended with more of
the same. At Riverside, a track Tim Richmond was always
considered a favorite at, Tim crashed out on the 46th lap
and wound up 37th. For the year he had no wins., only
three top 5s and 13 top tens, earning Richmond 11th place
in the Winston Cup run down. But despite all the
disappointments Tim had caught the eye of a team owner,
who has proven over and over again since that he had an
eye for diamonds in the rough. Rick Hendrick saw Tim's
abundant talent, and guessed correctly given competitive
cars that were around at the end of a race, not on the trailer,
and a little coaching Tim Richmond could be a superstar.
Tim Richmond was assigned driving duties for the 25 car
out of Hendrick's stables carrying Proctor and Gambles
Folger's coffee sponsorship. (Supposedly he overslept the
day of the big announcement, showed up looking spent
from partying all night, and turned the disaster into a public
relations coup by telling the assembled press that if a
couple cups of Folgers could get him going at that hour in
the morning it could do the same for anyone.) His crew
chief would be a NASCAR legend, the late Harry Hyde,
who had an incredible talent himself, for bringing out the
best in new drivers trying to work their way to the top tier
of the sport. It seemed at least on paper NASCAR's version
of the Odd Couple. Hyde was a grizzled veteran born of the
old school of stock car racing and its Southeastern roots.
Tim was the brash newcomer, the future of the sport and
from a wealthy family out of Ohio. But the two men shared
one trait in common; a deep and abiding respect for the
other's doubtless talent. There were no overnight miracles.
It took awhile for the patience and strategy Hyde was
preaching to reach Tim, whose style was more to charge to
the front at the drop of the flag and battle with all comers.
Through the first ten events of the year, Tim managed only
one top five finish at Darlington, where he came home fifth
after leading the race briefly. The pundits were beginning
to question Hendrick's wisdom not only in hiring Tim, but
in running a two car team, which most people saw as a
distinct disadvantage in those days. The fact Richmond's
teammate Geoff Bodine was having a good season,
including winning the Daytona 500 and the spring Dover
race seemed evidence the two car concept could indeed
work, but it called into doubt Tim's abilities as he was
driving the same equipment to lackluster finishes.
Throughout the disappointment the early season travails,
Tim and Harry both went on record as having 100%
confidence in the others ability. As it turns out the duo was
about to silence their critics in dramatic fashion.
It started at that years World 600. Late in the event it
seemed Bill Elliott had taken control of the race, but
brilliant pit strategy on Hyde's part kept Tim out on the
track when Elliott had to dive into the pits for a splash and
go. Dale Earnhardt's crew had made a similar call, and
Tim's old Lake Norman neighbor took the victory, while
Tim had to settle for second two seconds off the pace. At
the next race at Riverside Tim and Harry were out to prove
the second place in Charlotte had been no fluke and did so
in convincing fashion. Tim led much of that event, and was
poised to take his first win of the year when Terry Labonte
crashed heavily with two laps to go. Both Richmond and
second place Darrell Waltrip knew it was a race back to the
line as the event would end under caution. They put on one
of the best duels in the history of NASCAR road racing,
running side by side rubbing fenders like they were at
Martinsville. During the race to the caution Tim got caught
behind slower traffic allowing Waltrip to open an
advantage, but Richmond came charging back, giving it his
all, but fell inches short at the start finish line as the yellow
and white flags flew simultaneously. Though he wound up
second again, Richmond had put everyone on notice he and
Hyde were finally hitting on all eight cylinders and he
meant to be a contender. The Winston Cup circuits next
stop was at Pocono, a track Richmond always said was his
favorite because it was so tough to drive. The day was dark
and stormy and the red flag had to be thrown for a severe
thunderstorm at the midpoint of the race. When the racing
resumed Tim stormed his way to the front, thundering his
way around the damp track at lightning speed. Making the
event that much more memorable for him was the chance
to duel with his buddy and Winston Cup points leader Dale
Earnhardt for the win. A heavy wreck with four laps to go
bought out another race to the yellow flag, but that
weekend Tim managed to hang on for the victory. Notice
had been served. What was to follow was one of the most
incredible streaks in the history of Winston Cup racing.
The Richmond Express got a little off track at Michigan
with Tim coming home a disappointing 15th after having
started on the pole. But the engine was back on track at the
Firecracker 400. Buddy Baker was leading late in the race,
but Tim had put himself in position to win and was
charging right along in Bakers wake. A lapped car ahead
spun and Baker hit the wall trying to avoid it, while Tim in
a nifty piece of driving managed to dive low and avoid the
wreck without lifting. He held off the determined charge of
Sterling Marlin at the end to take his second win in three
events. The smile on Richmond's face in the hallowed
ground of Daytona's Victory Lane probably had something
to do with the fact the next stop was an encore at Pocono.
The weather was a bit more cooperative the second time
around at Long Pond, but Tim was still driving up a storm.
Rick Hendrick had to be putting his hands over his eyes as
his two drivers, Richmond and Bodine, fought tooth and
nail for the victory and made heavy contact more than
once. Bodine had the advantage with one to go, but Tim
muscled by him down Pocono's long back stretch. His
cause was greatly aided when Bodine got involved in a
battle over second with a hard charging Ricky Rudd. Rudd
was able to bypass Bodine, and was along side Tim when
the checkers flew, but was .05 seconds to the wrong of
grabbing the trophy.
Tim Richmond led at the next race at Talladega but that in
itself was no great accomplishment. 26 drivers in the field
of 40 took a turn at the front that day. the difference was in
the waning laps Tim was still right up there battling for the
win, while many of the others had fallen by the wayside. A
multi-car last lap accident scrambled up the running order,
but the final run down had Tim finishing second, a couple
car lengths behind the surprise winner, Bobby Hillin Jr..
The Winston Cup circuit made their first return to Watkins
Glen since 1965 the next weekend and road race impresario
Tim Richmond was among the heavy favorites for the
return trip. He took pole position that weekend, while many
other drivers seemed to be struggling to find their way
around the torturous course. As it had been at Riverside,
Tim and Darrell were the front runners and put on another
epic battle for the fans. With 12 laps to go Tim used a
whole lot of guts and very little brakes going into a tight
corner to muscle his way past Waltrip. DW tried gamely to
repass Tim but Richmond was running like he was on rails
and streaked on to victory. Just as the road courses favored
Tim, Michigan seemed a private playground constructed
for Bill Elliott who had won three consecutive times at the
track going into that event. It seemed Tim's hot summer
streak was doomed when he was caught in the pits when a
caution flag flew and wound up a lap down as the rest of
the field pitted under the yellow. Hyde calmly coached his
driver to keep digging but drive smart, and a caution with
16 laps to go allowed Tim to make up his lap, but he was
still in 14th in the running order. Hyde must have told Tim
it was time to go, because he began passing the rest of the
field liked they'd stopped to admire his driving prowess.
The effort came up one position short as Elliott edged out
Richmond for his fourth win in a row at Michigan. All
streaks have to end and Tim's return to earth came at
Bristol. He did manage to win the pole, and led early but an
ill handling car running hot dropped him to sixth at the
conclusion of the race, two laps off the pace. It was only
the second time in ten events that Tim had not won or been
runner up. And he wasn't quite done with his miraculous
charge up the points standings either.
The Southern 500 is arguably the toughest race in the
circuit, and there could be no argument that Tim was
definitely the hottest driver at that point of the season. Tim
claimed a white jacket on pole day setting the pace for the
field. The Labor Day classic was marred by rainy weather
that caused a long red flag delay, and there was a lot of
question as to whether darkness would cause NASCAR to
have to flag the event early. During the rain delay Tim fell
asleep in the garage area. Late in the race Bill Elliott
seemed to have the advantage, but Tim was making his
trademark charge to keep Bill honest. With six laps to go
Elliott's Thunderbird got away from him on the rain slick
track and he sideswiped the wall. The miscue allowed
Richmond to take the lead and he held off Bobby Allison
by two seconds at the checkers. Years later Harry Hyde
would recall that that Southern 500 weekend was the first
time he noticed his young protégé looked little under the
weather. It was thought the pressure of keeping the streak
alive, sponsor commitments and Tim's late night partying,
combined with a summer cold had taxed him to the limit,
and Harry suggested Tim might want to try to take it easy a
while. Tim certainly didn't take his mentor's advice at
Richmond. Perhaps it's fitting Richmond finally won at the
track that shared his name ( and launched the media scribes
into an unforgivable series of bad puns I will not repeat)
but once again he did it the hard way, going a lap down
early in the going and aided by Hyde's seasoned coaching
on the radio scrapping his way back to the front.
Sometimes you're lucky to be good, and sometimes it's
good to be lucky and Tim relied on the latter that day. On a
restart after a caution flag for an oil down, the two
dominant cars of the later parts of the event, Ricky Rudd
and Rusty Wallace, got swept up in a wreck when they hit a
slick portion of the track. Their travails allowed Tim to
assume the lead and he held on to beat a hard charging
Dale Earnhardt by a couple car lengths. The victory left
Tim, who had once been hopelessly down in the points
battle, in second position, within striking distance of
Earnhardt.
September brings the Fall and that year it marked the fall of
Tim Richmond from title contention and the end of his
unbelievable streak of that summer. Whether it was his
failing health, the team turning the wick up a little too high
trying to make a run at Dale and the 3 bunch, or the
inevitable bad luck that must play a part of every driver's
season, the Fall race at Dover began a streak of five
consecutive races marred by mechanical problems for Tim
and the team, that saw him post only one top ten and a
disastrous 27th at Charlotte when he lost an engine. Thus
ended Tim's hopes for that year's title. At Atlanta in the Fall
he regained some of his form, leading the event twice
before slipping to fourth in the final run down, on a day
when his buddy Earnhardt clinched the title with an
impressive win. The final race of the year was at one of
Tim's favorite stomping grounds, Riverside, and he ended
the year on a high note. After taking the pole, Tim led early
and stayed on contention all day, before reassuming the
lead with 12 to go and holding off the best efforts of
teammate Geoff Bodine and Dale Earnhardt. Tim finished
the year with seven wins, more than any other driver, 13
total top fives and 17 top tens in 29 events. While his
trouble getting things rolling in the early stages of the
season had buried him in the points hunt, he had managed
to finish out the year in third place, a mere six points
behind Darrell Waltrip who finished second to Dale. Based
on the late season charge it would have been hard to find
anyone who would bet against the Tim Richmond/Harry
Hyde duo to take the championship in 1987. The loud
creaking sound in California that day was people jumping
on the Tim Richmond bandwagon. But as there had been
on the stormy days of so many of his wins, there were dark
clouds on the horizon for Tim at the end of the season.
Though he put on an impressive run at Riverside, it was
obvious Tim was not well. He had been scheduled to meet
with a group of Hollywood types (legend has it, as a part of
the upcoming production of Days of Thunder, a movie
loosely based on his life, and perhaps even to take a screen
test that might have seen him win the starring role later
given to Tom Cruise) but Tim canceled the meetings and
flew home to try to rest his bones and recuperate. Shortly
after the awards banquet in New York Tim Richmond was
admitted to the hospital with what was diagnosed as
pneumonia. His health problems were severe enough that
Richmond had to contact Rick Hendrick to let him know he
would be unable to drive the early part of the 1987 season,
a decision that must have crushed Tim. According to
friends Tim was clearly shaken he wasn't getting better, and
somewhere during that long lay off he learned the terrible
truth. Tim had contracted HIV and was a dying man,
though no one could say how much time he had.
Tim's first return to the seat of a race car came at the
Winston in Charlotte in May of 1987. Since it was a shorter
event than the points paying race, it gave him a chance to
see if he was strong enough to return to racing. He
managed to go the distance and finish third, helping to
clear his way to a return to racing on the Cup tour.
Tim's return to racing came at Pocono that June, and the
outcome read like a Hollywood script, a far better one than
Days Of Thunder at that. While clearly not well, once he
was strapped into that race car and the engine was fired, the
old Tim Richmond was back. After remaining in
contention all day, during an event many supposed would
have him call for a relief driver, Tim asserted himself for
the last quarter on the race streaking into the lead and
holding off Bill Elliott by a second to take the checkers.
Tim admitted to reporters he never even saw the checkers
with all the tears in his eyes. In victory lane the normally
verbose Richmond was reduced to speechlessness for one
of the few times on his life, as he celebrated the emotional
victory with Hyde and the crew. But even with the tears
falling he stood there a bit longer than most drivers, waving
to the crowd and acknowledging their enthusiastic
cheering. Little did any of us in the stands know what Tim
knew. He was a dying man.
Every great Hollywood script deserves a sequel and Tim
authored another emotional chapter in his comeback at the
next race at Riverside. Once again Harry Hyde coached
Tim to be patient, and then set him loose late in the race.
With ten to go Tim took the lead for good and fought off
Ricky Rudd's challenge to take the checkers. Tim dedicated
the Father's Day victory to his dad, Al Richmond, and once
again the crowd celebrated the highly emotional win with a
fan favorite. Sadly it was to be Tim Richmond's last trip to
victory lane. But for those of whose watched that race, it is
not what has happened since, but the way he drove, that is
why we remember.
AFTERMATH: Tim's health deteriorated from that point
onward and eventually he was forced to once again retire.
A rising superstar who had thrived in the limelight withered
away in the shade of obscurity, before passing away August
13th, 1989. There was the ugly incident when Tim tried to
stage yet another comeback at the Busch Clash in 1988
driving a Marvin Ragan owned Ford. Fingers can be
pointed, accusations made and excuses offered as to the
botched drug test, and why Tim Richmond's memory has
been largely ignored since his tragic passing. I don't
suppose it really matters because it can not change the fact
Tim is no longer with us. If there has ever been a case of a
candle burning at both ends, it is the life story of Tim
Richmond, and the light was gone far too soon. But for
those of us privileged enough to have reveled in and
wondered at it, the memory is an eternal flame. After
NASCAR banned him from competing at the Clash, Tim
was ready to hire an airplane to drag a banner with a
pointed and succinctly worded banner aimed at NASCAR
officialdom over the Daytona Speedway during the 500.
Long time friend Linda Vaughn talked him out of it, and
instead Tim selected a banner that read, "Fans, I Miss You,
Tim Richmond." Tim, we miss you too.
\\/ayne //\ann
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively,
or to the people.
-- 10th Amendment to Constitution
Wayne Mann
>Can anyone see the closeness of these two on the track?! I know I
>ain't the only one! Both are/were cocky, talented, loved and hated.
>What do yall think of this comparison?
Ten years after his death, Richmond's effect still felt on
NASCAR
By JULIET MACUR
The Orlando Sentinel
MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Al Richmond admits his house
needs cleaning.
A veil of dust cloaks the furniture inside his three-bedroom,
ranch-style home, coating the decor with a soft, subtle
haze. So many old clothes fill his bedroom closet that he
has to hang his wardrobe on a bar in the bathroom
doorway. The attic is stuffed with so many boxes of stock-
car racing memorabilia, he can't begin to describe what's in
them because he hasn't opened them.
Even so, Richmond, a 78-year-old retired businessman,
likes his house that way. He prefers it unchanged and
silent, poised for the moment his son, Tim, and wife,
Evelyn, come home.
The problem is, they never are.
His son, the partying, promiscuous Winston Cup driver
Tim Richmond, died of complications from AIDS 10 years
ago this year (Aug. 13.) at age 34. His wife, Evelyn, Tim's
companion and protector at the races, died of cancer in
November 1994.
``I wanted to clean everything out and start fresh for him,''
said Sandy Welsh, Al Richmond's stepdaughter. ``I did take
some of mom's nightgowns and makeup out of the
bathroom just after she died, and when I got done, he said,
`Don't move another thing.'
``He wants to keep everything just like this because it's just
like mom and Tim are off at a race, and on Monday, they'll
be back.''
But Al Richmond has daily reminders they won't be back to
that house on the shores of Lake Norman, just north of
Charlotte. His son's furniture stays exactly where he left it.
The Trans Am 455 he gave Tim on his 16th birthday, a gift
to complement the Corvette and airplane Tim already had,
is parked in the garage.
But none of those things is of any use now, except to
remind Richmond what he has lost.
Living fast
Al Richmond owned a successful drill manufacturing
company in Ashland, Ohio, and watched over the business
when Tim and Evelyn went to races. After Tim got sick,
however, Richmond sold the business in 1988 so he could
spend more time with his son.
But he lost his lifelines soon thereafter. Tim died in 1989,
and Evelyn died five years later.
``All I have left is in a mausoleum up in Ashland,'' said
Richmond, who left Ashland with his wife in 1990 and
moved into Tim's house. ``Tim and my wife are buried side
by side.''
Not only did Tim leave a father and half-sister behind, but
he also left a mark on NASCAR racing, bounding into the
sport in 1980 with more flair, energy and defiance than
ever had been seen.
While other drivers showed up at the track in T-shirts and
jeans, Tim Richmond arrived in $2,000 Armani suits.
When most drivers were married with children, the single,
Svengali Richmond always had at least one gorgeous
woman on his arm.
When everybody else had cropped hair, he wore his hair
long and coifed, even renting a Lear jet one time to fly to
New York for a haircut.
Richmond's dream was to be a movie star, and he did have
a bit part in the film ``Stroker Ace'' with Burt Reynolds, but
his real talent was driving a race car. In six full seasons on
the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit, he won 13 races and 14
poles, including seven races and eight poles in 1986.
``When I first started racing, I thought, `Man, Tim
Richmond is the coolest. I want to be like Tim Richmond,'
'' Winston Cup driver Mark Martin said. ``He was what
being famous was all about. He had the women, the looks,
the clothes and that kind of wild, crazy attitude that only
super-famous people have. And he could drive, too. He
truly was one of the greatest that ever was.''
While Richmond's fearless driving style was his trademark
-- making even tough, intimidating Dale Earnhardt uneasy -
- what made Richmond stand out even more was his
irreverent personality. He was far from subservient in the
reserved yes-sir, no-sir Southern culture of NASCAR
racing, refusing to bow to NASCAR officials as other
drivers did. He questioned their authority on a daily basis,
once even holding an impromptu news conference after he
thought NASCAR unfairly penalized him.
Richmond would talk about those anti-establishment
escapades with his crew at night, drinking cases of beer and
entertaining women inside his motor home at the track.
Sometimes, he would invite fans there, groupies who
would party through the night with Richmond's bunch. One
time, after winning a race at North Wilkesboro (N.C.)
Speedway, he grabbed the microphone and announced over
the public address system he was having a party at his
house on the lake -- and that everyone was invited.
But Richmond's antics aren't talked about much anymore.
Even during NASCAR's 50th anniversary last year, when
Richmond was chosen one of the circuit's 50 greatest
drivers, which shocked the Richmond family, his name
didn't come up much.
``He was almost like a comet that blew through here and
everybody said, `Ooh!' Then it's gone, and you wonder
whether you really saw it in the first place,'' Winston Cup
driver Kyle Petty said. ``Tim Richmond was one of the
greatest drivers this sport has ever seen, but he was in the
wrong era for us, for this sport. He was 10 or 15 years
ahead of his time.''
On the 10th anniversary of his death, Richmond's name and
memories of his fleeting stardom will pop up in several
places. The women he infected with HIV, the virus that
causes AIDS, will think about him -- if they're still alive.
His crews, team owners and fellow drivers will remember
him. His fans will talk about him on the Internet and set up
a makeshift shrine for him where he died in West Palm
Beach.
Former Hendrick Motorsports General Manager Jimmy
Johnson, who worked with Richmond in his last days of
racing, will be no different.
It's not easy for Johnson to forget a day such as this. All he
has to do is look down at his calendar and see the reminder.
Every January, Johnson turns to Aug. 13 on his new
calendar, then writes, ``Tim died. 5:12 a.m.''
``It's a shame you hear about Davey Allison, Rob Moroso
and Alan Kulwicki, but you don't ever hear about Tim,
even though he did a lot for the sport,'' said Johnson, who
lives in Sarasota but is still a consultant for Hendrick, the
multicar team that features three-time Winston Cup
champion Jeff Gordon. ``To me, he was great. He taught
Hendrick Motorsports where Victory Lane was. It wasn't a
question of whether he would win a race. It was by how
much.''
Fade away
Some people involved in racing say Richmond disappeared
from NASCAR history because of his headstrong attitude,
his playboy image and promiscuous lifestyle. Others insist
it is because people assumed he was a drug user. But the
label that lingers is that Richmond was an AIDS victim,
getting the disease when it was stereotyped as the gay
plague or an intravenous drug-user's epidemic because little
was known about it.
Not many people knew it could be contracted through
blood transfusions or unprotected heterosexual sex, which
Richmond's doctor says is how Richmond got the disease.
Richmond's good looks and charisma attracted women.
But in the conservative sport of racing, the stigma of AIDS,
no matter how it was contracted, was enough to turn
Richmond into a pariah.
``NASCAR is just a society. It's our own society, and we
make our own rules,'' seven-time Winston Cup champion
Richard Petty said. ``He just was not the type of individual
who could help our sport. He could have attracted the press
to jump on the story and tell everybody how bad Winston
Cup drivers were.
``He was a good driver, but everybody wondered whether
he was doing it on his own or having help (by using drugs).
So, he was downplayed when he got sick, and nobody
wanted to be involved with him, so they let him fade away.
They didn't even want to breathe on him.''
Although people knew Richmond was a partier from the
start, mostly because he had get-togethers at his motor
home or shindigs at his home on the lake, the rumors of his
drug use didn't heat up until 1987.
On Dec. 10, 1986, doctors at Ohio's Cleveland Clinic
diagnosed Richmond with acquired immune deficiency
syndrome (AIDS), a disease that attacks and weakens a
body's ability to combat infections. After that, Richmond
missed the 1987 Daytona 500 because of what was reported
to be double-pneumonia, raising questions about his
lifestyle.
Those rumors escalated when he made a comeback later in
the season, winning the first two full-length races he ran --
first in Pocono, Pa., then in Riverside, Calif., his best tracks
on the circuit.
``It's a crying shame when people only think bad things
about Tim Richmond,'' said Buddy Barnes, who was on
Richmond's Blue Max Racing team and one of his closest
friends. ``He knew how to have fun, and he knew how to
drive a race car. That's what I want to remember about
him.''
Richmond's glorious return didn't last long, though. In
August 1987, Richmond nearly missed qualifying at
Michigan Speedway because he was sick in his trailer.
Many thought he was drunk or passed out after a drug
binge, particularly after he had to ride a cart from his motor
home to pit road. Little did anyone know he was fighting
AIDS and had only two years to live.
Richmond finished 29th in that race, but just one month
later, he was forced to resign from Hendrick Motorsports
because of poor health, saying he had come back too soon
from his bout with pneumonia. He never raced again.
He tried to make another comeback, though, this time at
the Busch Clash in February 1988 at Daytona International
Speedway, but NASCAR wouldn't let him on the track
without him taking a drug test first. The policy just had
been implemented.
NASCAR officials announced he failed the first test, then
suspended him from racing, but NASCAR later discovered
the test only detected high doses of over-the-counter cold
medicine. Still, Richmond was suspended for not turning
over his medical records.
``The AIDS thing doesn't have a bearing on the way we see
Tim Richmond now at all,'' NASCAR Vice President Brian
France said. ``His driving ability was great. He was a very
talented guy. All we said was, `Are you ready to drive? Are
you clear-headed? If you have a sustained injury, we're
going to have a discussion with your doctors and everybody
else about how fit you are.' But the exchange of
information didn't come easily from someone like Tim.
``We were trying to run a sport and do what's good for
everyone. Tim decided, `I'm not going to share my medical
records with you. I know everybody else does, but I think
I'll pass this time.' Well, it doesn't work that way.''
Richmond was afraid of what would happen to his family,
of getting kicked out of his condo in Deerfield Beach and
other negative repercussions that would stem from his
having AIDS. He just wanted to return to racing. To do so,
he stopped taking the AIDS drug AZT several weeks before
returning to NASCAR, anticipating a drug test. So when
NASCAR reported he failed the drug test, Richmond filed
a lawsuit against NASCAR, asking $20 million for
defamation of character.
The case was dropped Jan. 17, 1988, when a federal judge
ordered Richmond to produce his medical records. That is
when Richmond holed himself in his condo in Florida and
cut himself off from everyone but his immediate family.
``Tim was embarrassed about having AIDS. He was so
ashamed about it, his life stopped before he died,'' said
Barry Dodson, Richmond's crew chief. ``It was so sad,
because he loved to have fun. He loved life so much.''
A trendsetter, too
Al Richmond is convinced NASCAR had something
against Tim from the start --mostly because he was
different, and because he brought changes to the sport,
including many innovations that are standard today.
Richmond was the first driver to wear a firesock as well as
a closed-face helmet, which he brought to NASCAR from
his days in open-wheel racing. He was laughed at when he
showed up, but now everyone, except for a few diehards
such as Earnhardt and Dave Marcis, wears a closed-faced
helmet. He was one of the first people to bring a motor
home to the races. Now everyone, including team owners,
crew chiefs and NASCAR officials, has one.
Richmond also was one of the first drivers to make the
transition from open-wheel cars to stock cars. He raced in
United States Auto Club events in the Midwest before
running in the 1980 Indy 500, where he finished ninth and
was chosen rookie of the year. Now, several of the most
successful Winston Cup drivers have come from open-
wheel racing, including Gordon, Tony Stewart and Ken
Schrader.
Richmond also was a visionary when it came to real estate.
He was one of the first racers to buy a house on Lake
Norman. Now nearly all the drivers, many crew chiefs and
team members live there. Richmond was ahead of his time
when it came to fitness, too. He was on a strict diet and
worked out regularly. He loaded up on carbohydrates for
races and did Jazzercise workouts to get in shape, not
exactly the workout of choice for macho, gritty stock-car
drivers. But now many drivers exercise and have personal
trainers.
``NASCAR was fighting the redneck stereotype at the time,
you know, good old boys and beer drinkers, and Richmond
helped change our image,'' said Chip Williams, NASCAR's
publicist during Richmond's years on the circuit. ``The
boom didn't happen yet. Heck, we couldn't even sell it in
the Southeast. National TV was starting to come in, and we
couldn't have a bunch of guys chewing tobacco, talking like
you couldn't understand them and flying rebel flags in the
infield because it wouldn't sell. So, even with all his
problems and with everything that went on, he helped the
sport.''
Al Richmond said he thinks Tim brought something even
more meaningful to the sport. He brought AIDS awareness,
which Al Richmond insists saved more than a few lives on
the circuit.
``When Tim died, the AIDS scare made Christians out of a
lot of us,'' Johnson said. ``Our lifestyles changed
completely.''
All he has are memories
Even though his town is filled with racers, race teams and
race fans, Al Richmond hasn't been to the races since Tim
died.
He keeps tabs on what's going on, though, watching every
race at home alone, assured his son would have kicked
everybody's butt.
From time to time, Dodson stops by to check on Richmond,
just as he kept tabs on Tim.
``He doesn't feel welcome because of what happened to
Tim and how Tim died,'' said Dodson, who has many of the
clothes Tim left behind, including the tuxedo Tim planned
to wear after he won the 1987 championship. ``It's so sad
because when Tim died, he took a big part of Al's life, too.
It hurts him not to be associated with racing because he
loved it so much.
``I feel very bad for him because when you lose a child,
that void never gets smaller.''
Dodson should know. His two teenage children were killed
in a car crash by a drunken driver nearly five years ago.
``He (Al) can't hide it from me because I've lost children,
too,'' Dodson said. ``You can see it in his face. He grieves
every day, every second of every day.''
Al Richmond tries to forget that pain for a moment each
day, though. Every morning he gets up and passes the
closet where his son's and wife's clothes intermingle.
Eight pairs of Tim's cowboy boots -- red ones, blue ones,
genuine rattlesnake skin ones -- hang meticulously from
their boot straps on the far wall.
Dozens of Evelyn's tiny shoes -- spiked heels, leopard-skin
pumps and multicolored sling backs -- are stacked neatly in
individual clear boxes.
Her bright, bold dresses hang next to his suede jackets and
European suits.
Richmond deeply misses the people who wore those
clothes. He is so lonely without them, each morning he
walks into the hallway past a row of photos of his
handsome, photogenic Tim, who had piercing blue eyes
and a warm smile.
Then he pauses to remember the good times when Tim was
racing, Evelyn was his chaperone and Victory Lane was
their meeting place.
``I say hello to him every morning,'' said Richmond,
running his finger down one of Tim's photos. ``It just hasn't
been the same since he left.''
Wayne Mann
>Can anyone see the closeness of these two on the track?! I know I
>ain't the only one! Both are/were cocky, talented, loved and hated.
>What do yall think of this comparison?
Tim Richmond, All But Forgotten
By Liz Clarke
The Charlotte Observer
http://www.speedworld.net/history/112197richmond.shtml
There was a time not long ago when Dale Earnhardt
and Tim Richmond were the flat-out coolest guys on the
track.
Earnhardt was the heart of Southern stock car racing in
his too-tough Wrangler jeans, denim shirt and cowboy
hat. Richmond had his own style-Armani suits, silk
shirts, and Rolex watch.
And, oh, how they raced-diving into into the corners
after each other on the brink of losing control, barreling
down the straightaways door-to-door.
Then Tim Richmond got AIDS and died on Aug. 13,
1989.
Does Earnhardt miss racing against Richmond? He
glares at the question. "I miss him. period," Earnhardt
says. "He was a friend."
Others in NASCAR would rather forget.
"It's something that a lot of people in racing would like
to forget happened-that there even was a Tim
Richmond, that Tim Richmond died the way he died,"
says Humpy Wheeler, president of Charlotte Motor
Speedway.
In a sport that memorializes it's drivers, it's hard to find
even a trace of Richmond around Stock car racing's
tracks. Other fallen champions, like Davey Allison and
Alan Kulwicki, have become heroes in death. Today,
there's scarcely evidence Richmond competed among
them, despite winning 13 races and $2.3 million in just
six full seasons. You won't find Richmond's car in any
stock car museum.
"This is the first time I've ever heard his name, and I've
been working the circuit 4 or 5 years," said a woman
selling souvenirs at Pocono Raceway, where Richmond
won four races-the last, when he knew he was dying.
Kyle Petty, a friend and fellow racer, sums it up this
way: "If the good die young-and everyone from James
Dean to Marilyn Monroe to Alan and Davey are those
guys-when they die, there's an instant shrine. So why is
Richmond standing on the outside looking in? Why is he
not part of that group? Why did no one grieve for the
lost potential of Tim?"
In 1986 he won seven races and eight poles, more than
any driver that season.
Richmond thrived in the spotlight, and in 1986 he was in
it like never before. He was named NASCAR's Driver of
the Year with Earnhart at the season-ending December
banquet in New York. Within a week, he was hiding
behind the name Lee Warner at Ohio's Cleveland
Clinic, whee he was diagnosed with aquired immune
deficiency syndrome on December 10 as Case No. 1-861-
775-7. He'd come back to win two more races, then
disappear again.
In his second comeback attempt, Richmond found
himself pitted against NASCAR and the sport's
establishment in a battle as hopeless as his fight against
AIDS. This time, he was in the spotlight of his life:
Wrongly suspended for a drug test NASCAR said he
failed, although he hadn't; later reinstated, but barred
from racing until he turned over medical records that
would have shown he had AIDS.
Richmond refused, fired back with a $20 million lawsuit
and slipped from view again, leaving behind nothing but
innuendo and intrigue.
He died at age 34 in a West Palm Beach, Fla., hospital.
His parents were nerby, but he was cut off and shut out
from nearly everyone in racing. It was a tragic ending.
But the build-up, well, that was entertaining as
Richmond himself. Having fun was the whole point.
Every day was Christmas; every night, Saturday night.
Until dawn, at least, where his story ends.
LIFE AT FULL THROTTLE
Richmond never did fit stock car racing's mold. He had
a personality for every pair of sunglasses, every hat,
every pair of snakeskin boots and Italian loafers he
owned. "I'd love to meet the man that knew me," he
once said. Winning racing was Richmond's adrenaline,
but he fed on anything fast from a Harley- Davidson
with a suicide clutch to helicopters, speedboats, water
skis and airplanes. He ran in wildly different circles that
rarely intersected: bikers, actors, musicians, truck
dirvers and a millionaire businessman named Bob
Tezak, his first major sponsor, who's in federal prison
today for pleading guilty to two counts of arson. "The
WRFX rock-n-roll crowd loved him. Girls loved him.
Cool guys loved him," said Ed Clark, Atlanta Motor
Speedway executive vice-president and general
manager. "I don't know if the blue-collar guy that
worked at Cannon Mills, if that guy ever fell in love
with him, but that guy's girlfriend did." Richmond had
his own ideas about how a Southern stock car ought to
be driven.
Never mind that he grew up in Ashland, Ohio, had a
prep school education and got a Trans Am 455 with a
bow on top for his 16th birthday to go with the Corvette
that he already had. To many in stock car racing,
Richmond's long hair, Hollywood friends and parade of
gorgeous girl friends were enough to arouse suspicion.
"In one sense, it was always there because he was
different," says Chip Williams, a former NASCAR
spokesman. "A guy that good-looking, that cool, that
much fun - he knew people in the movies and hung exit
sideways with all four tires off the ground. Earnhardt
brought out his best. "He'd rather race Earnhardt as
eat," says Harry Hyde, Richmond's veteran crew in
1986-87. "He just enjoyed the hell out of racing
Earnhardt. He'd pull up under Earnhardt and just sit
there, lap after lap, they're side by side. He'd come on
the radio and say,
'That's all it'll do. I can't go any faster.'
"And I'd say, `Well, are you in a bind sitting there?'
"He says, `No.'
"I'd say, `How long can you stay there?'
"He says, `All day.'
Richmond never won a Winston cup championship, but
had a tuxedo custom-made for the occasion, with a silk
shirt patterned like a checkered flag. He pictured his
race team riding up the East Coast from Florida on a
cigarette boat to collect its trophy. He even charted the
course to a dock on Long Island where they'd hop into a
limousine for the ride to New York's Waldorf-Astoria.
"He was going to start at the top and go from there,"
Hyde says. "He wasn't going to wait for anybody else to
decide the course he took. He was going to decide
himself."
That cocky streak never sat well with NASCAR, a
family business run with a firm hand by President Bill
France Jr. Stock-car racing is as much a culture as a
sport, and successful drivers play both games well.
There's a way to behave: As assembly-line as the cars
they drive, and every-day as the products they sell.
There's a way to dress. And a way to speak, so pervasive
that drivers who know better suddenly forget basic
grammar when TV cameras start rolling. But Richmond
was Hendrick's only choice when Procter and Gamble
offered its Folgers brand for a new race team 1986. "At
first they were a little reluctant," Hendrick says,
"Because they were conservative and he was
flamboyant. But I basically said if you won't take Tim
Richmond, I'm not interested. Jimmy Johnson, the
Folgers team manager, remembers the first time he met
Richmond - about 10 a.m. in November 1985 at
Richmond's Bahia Mar boat slip in Fort Lauderdale.
"He was sitting on top of the most beautiful Chris-Craft
houseboat with this little old tiny bathing suit, with
imported beer and a whole big plate of crab legs beside
him," Johnson says.
ALWAYS A SHOWMAN
The Hendrick ride signaled Richmond's entry into the
sport's elite, and he turned up at the 1986 season-
opening Daytona 500 in a $1,000 Armani suit, a new,
shorter haircut and a man's purse slung over his
shoulder. "Everybody just looked at each other when he
walked in," says Carolyn Wax, who handled his
publicity. "Everything stopped." He wrecked in his first
race, a 125-mile qualifier, and hurt his leg.
That night, after typing up a press release about
Richmond taking time off to recuperate, Wax glanced
over her balcony at the party in the hotel lobby. "There
he was, in all his glory, dancing with a cane," Wax days.
"He may have had a short life, but I guarantee you,
nobody lived it any harder." Women loved him, and
he'd stage pre-race shows just for them: Unzipping his
driver's suit to his crotch puffing out his bare chest,
then, in due course, pulling his fireproof vest over his
head and zipping back up. "He was like doing a strip
tease," Johnson says. "It was downright lewd, and
people would just go crazy. "In classic Richmond
fashion, he was late for his first major Folgers
appearance, an 8 a.m. tour of a New Orleans coffee
plant. The night before, he was spotted entertaining two
women at the hotel bar. The next morning, country
singer T.G. Sheppard was at the plant on time. So was
Hyde. No Richmond. Wax sent someone to his hotel, and
a housekeeper found him sound asleep. He finally
arrived at the plant without apology, peered out from
under his dark sunglasses and said, "Well, if that
Folgers coffee can wake me up, it can wake anyone up!"
MAGIC ON THE TRACK
It took half the 1986 season before Richmond and Hyde
clicked on the track. They were magic from then on,
winning seven races, finishing second four times and
taking eight poles. Buddy Barnes, a friend and former
crew member, remembers driving his boat up to
Richmond's Lake Normal home that summer and
finding him on the dock a grin broad enough to split his
face, holding a checkered flag he'd just won.
"He was waving it back and forth, and say, `This is
what it's all about. This is the breakfast of champions,' "
Barnes says. It was September when Hyde first noticed
something was wrong, around the time Richmond won
Darlington's Southern 500. "He looked awful bad, and
he was taking antibiotics," Hyde says. "It looked to me
like he had the flu or a cold. After Darling he got all
right. I thought he was all right. But by Rockingham
and the last two races, I could tell he was ... down. It
was in his face and eyes." At NASCAR's December
awards banquet, Wheeler thought he looked awful. "I
could tell it was somthing worse than stress; he said he
was exhausted," Wheeler said. "He was extremely
disturbed about what he looked like." Within a week,
Richmond was in the Cleveland Clinic, diagnosed with
AIDS.
"I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANT"
Hendrick had never heard of AIDS before Evelyn
Richmond, his mother, called to explain. "I didn't know
what she was telling me," Hendrick said."It was like my
first time .... I was confused. I didn't know what it
actually meant - what the prognosis was. The more you
found out - the more you just ... it hurt and it killed
you." Richmond spend Christmas and New Years in the
hospital, dwindling from 171 to 148 pounds. Rumors
about drug use had dogged him since his IndyCar days.
Most friends say they never saw drugs around him.
Others say he never used "needle drugs."
When Richmond missed the 1987 Daytona 500 with
what was reported to be double pneumonia, the rumors
flew. Some said cocaine addiction. Others said AIDS.
Kyle Petty didn't believe them any more than he
believed Richmond had pneumonia. He thought it was
cancer. Richard Petty, stock-car racing's King, felt then
and now it was drugs. "There's a question in my mind
about drugs - that at the time he was driving that race
car, he was pumped up," Richard Petty says. "Whether
he was or he wasn't, I'm always questioning that. I
always will." Richmond's return to racing in spring
1987 triggered a media frenzy. Hyde scheduled a secret
practice at Darlington to see whether Richmond was
physically able to come back. Word leaked out and
reported showed up with stop watches. So Hyde slipped
four left-side tires on to give the car an added edge.
Newspapers reported the next day Richmond was back,
setting track-record speeds. Next came an endurance
test at Rockingham. Richmond tried to run 500 miles,
but couldn't last more than 127. Hyde covered again,
telling reporters, "Tim wanted to go on longer, but I
pulled him in." Richmond was too weak to run
Charlotte's Coca-Cola 600 in May, so he flew to
Indianapolis for the Indy 500 instead. Linda Vaughn,
racing's most famous beauty queen, got a call at her
Indianapolis apartment shortly after midnight. He'd
been partying and had to see her. "He fell into my arms,
and his eyes rolled back, and he said, `What can I do?
What can I do to make it up to you?'" says Vaughn, a
longtime friend. "That's when he told me what was
wrong. And I said, `Go back and kick ass and take
names, because you are a racer." "..He had a deep, dark
lonely side. He was like a little lost boy sometimes. He
always used to sing, `I Want You to Want Me, I Want
You to Love Me.' He used to drive me crazy with that
song.
RETURN TO VICTORY LANE
Richmond had an edge when he returned to racing.
"Testy", some said. "Not your normal Tim."
"He was never accepted when he came back," Richard
Petty says. "Everyone knew he had trouble." Meaning
AIDS? "Yep. It was just one of those things. Whether it
was true or not, everybody said that's it, and so
everybody kept their distance."
His first full-length race since the diagnosis was the
Miller 500 at Pocono Raceway in June, 1987. Just
before the start, Earnhardt walked over and slapped
him on the back. "You ready to get it on?" Earnhardt
asked. "Yeah!" Richmond said.
And when Richmond won the race, he cried so hard he
couldn't see the checkered flag. Earnhardt, Kyle Petty,
and Bill Elliott drove alongside to offer congratulations,
and Richmond cried all the more. He made an extra
victory lap to compose himself, but it didn't do any good.
In Victory Lane, Richmond couldn't utter a word-just
hugged his mother, whipped a towel in the air and
started pouring beer everywhere. For Johnson, the team
manager, there'll never be a moment like it. "I've got a
5-year-old son," Johnson says,"and if he becomes a race
driver and wins a race, it'll still be second to Tim
winning that race. Nothing would ever top that for me."
Richmond won the next race, too, at Riverside.
Barry Dodson, Richmond's former crew chief with the
Blue Max race team, watched from the California hills
above. Dodson's own team had fallen out of contention
early, so he jumped into his rental car to find the best
view of Richmond coming through the road course's
turns. He was afraid it might be his last chance. "He
wouldn't just run through them like an old lady,"
Dodson says. "He'd sashay through there, slinging the
ar into the corners. passing on the inside of Turn 8.
It was Richmond's last win.
ONE LAST SHOWDOWN
Hyde had heard the complaints around the garage.
Some drivers wanted NASCAR to keep Richmond from
competing, and they grew more vocal after Richmond
was late to qualify at Michigan and rode out to his race
car in a golf cart.
"The door latch on the trailer jammed, and we couldn't
get in," Evelyn Richmond says. "He had 5 minutes to
get to his car, so he took a golf cart over to get him
there. He was sick in the truck, and never should have
raced."
"He checked back into the Cleveland Clinic about the
time Hendrick got a call from Les Richter, then
NASCAR's competition director.
"Your driver doesn't look in any shape to drive.",
Richter said. In September, 1987, Richmond resigned
from Hendrick Motorsports. His final showdown with
NASCAR came over the 1988 Busch Clash.
"You just couldn't go in and tell Timmy to get off
this,"Evelyn Richmond says of her son's obsession to
race again. "He had enough strength left to drive that
Busch Clash. In a way, I thought, if this is what Timmy
wants, he's had enough jerked out from under him, and
since he only had so much time left."
He had no race car. And NASCAR had developed its
first drug-testing policy, which Richmond felt was
designed with him in mind. He stopped taking his AIDS
medication, AZT, six weeks earlier so it wouldn't be
detected. He also asked his doctor to give him a drug test
to make sure he was clean. He sealed the sample in a
safe deposit box in Daytona Beach Shores. He knew
when he was clean when he signed NASCAR's drug-
testing consent form in the Daytona garage area, so he
asked to take the test right then.
Two days later, NASCAR announced Richmond was
suspended indefinitely for testing positive for substances
on its list of banned drugs.
"It tore him apart," says Terry Magovern, a friend in
the music business whom Richmond called after getting
the news. "It tore him apart, and nobody would listen to
him."
'CHARACTER ASSASSINATION'
Richmond met with Richter, told him there was a
mistake and demanded another test. Five days later,
NASCAR announced Richmond's first test actually
showed nothing more than over-the-counter cold
medicine, though in large doses. The second test was
clean.
"We were under a certain amount of pressure to release
some sort of information as soon as we reasonably
could," says Williams, the former NASCAR spokesman,
of the initial suspension. "Tim Richmond wasn't going
to be there (for the race). He was suspended. There had
to be a reason.
"What we offered was the best information we had at
the time. When we recieved further information, I got a
call from (NASCAR president) Bill France Jr., who
asked me to come down to his office. He had just gotten
off the phone. Williams said that's when NASCAR
learned what the first test actually showed (over-the-
counter cold medicine).
"And a few hours later, we released that," Williams
said. Dr. Forrest Tennant, NASCAR's drug testing
consultant, says no scientific mistakes were made in
analyzing Richmond's drug test. France won't discuss
Richmond, saying through a spokesman that a court
order prohibits it.
Richter says Richmond was a great talent with a great
personality. Asked about NASCAR's drug test or
anything else about Richmond's departure from the
sport, he says, "You're getting into that no-no land."
Hendrick is still bitter about the way NASCAR handled
the drug test.
"That's horrible to damage someone-to character
assassinate without the facts," Hendrick says.
NASCAR lifted Richmond's suspension, but still
wouldn't let him race until he turned over his medical
records from the Cleveland Clinic. Richmond offered
instead a letter from his doctor there stating he had not
been treated from drug dependancy. Richmond appears
to bethe only driver to have taken NASCAR's drug test
before or since, according to information gathered from
interviews with drivers and others in racing.
Neither Richter, now NASCAR's senior vice president,
nor Williams will say whether any other driver has been
drug tested.
"When NASCAR announced it's drug-testing policy,
they said if someone tested positive we'd announce it-
mainly because the guy was going to disappear. So if
somebody else took the test, it was negative," Williams
said. Asked if anyone else has taken the test, Williams
declined comment. Richter said, "That's internally our
business. We don't say we tested so-and-so. While we're
sitting here, somebody might tested."
'FANS, I MISS YOU'
Meanwhile, Richmond was front-page news and holded
up in the Daytona Hilton with a personal manager and a
6-2, 230-pound body guard. "You packing a rod?,"
Richmond asked when Joe Semas, the bodyguard,
appeared. Richmond spent most Daytona's Speed Week
on the phone, calling lawyers and looking for a ride,
Semas recalls. Some owners told Richmond they wanted
to give him a ride, but NASCAR "didn't want him in a
car." Kyle Petty asked the Wood Brothers to let
Richmond drive his car in the Busch Clash; they didn't
want to get involved. Even Hendrick said no. "It was
just going to make it harder on him - all that
controversy," Hendrick says. "I think he needed it
mentally to get back in the car, but it was going to be a
tough, tough situation." On the legal front, Richmond
tried hiring F. Lee Bailey but settled on Barry Slotnick,
who had defended New York subway gunman Berhard
Goetz. Slotnick wanted $15,000 in advance, Semas says.
Richmond agreed to pay if he'd come to Daytona for a
press conference. Hendrick offered his airplane and
pilot to pick Slotnick up. Semas can't recall any
NASCAR drivers coming to see Richmond that week.
But IndyCar champion A.J. Foyt did. So did drag racer
Don "The Snake" Prudhomme, movie director Hal
Needham, who hired Richmond for a bit part in
"Stroker Ace," and Linda Vaughn. Richmond wanted to
hire a plane to fly over the Daytona 500 with a nasty
message for NASCAR. Vaughn talked him out of it.
"You get more with honey than vinegar," she said. He
settled on a banner that read, "Fans, I Miss You. Tim
Richmond." After the race, he stayed in Daytona for
Bike Week with Semas and Donnie Cooper, a friend
from Ashland. "He told me if he had been a good ol'boy
and went out and drank Blue Ribbon with those
hillbillies, nobody would have said(anything) to him,"
Cooper said.
Needham saw him one last time that spring, when he
and Johnny Hayes, a marketing executive at U.S.
Tobacco, tried to convince him to seek help for the drug
problem they thought he had. "I baited him with U.S.
Tobacco, and he really thought he was coming in to talk
to us about a race car ride," Needham says. "Then we
dropped the bomb on him." "He sat there very politely,
and said he appreciated what we all said and the fact
that we thought enough of him to do that, but I just have
to work this out my own way." Richmond filed his
lawsuit against NASCAR and Tennant in April 1988,
seeking $20 million in punitive damages for defaming
him through the drug test. NASCAR countered by
demanding reams of information: Richmond's tax
returns from 1980-87; the results of every test of his
urine, blood or other bodily fluids since 1980; records of
every visit to a doctor, psychologist or counselor since
1980; and his medical records from the Cleveland Clinic
and his personal doctor in Florida. Next, NASCAR's
lawyers went after his partying past, putting
Richmond's friends under oath to find out more. "They
wanted me to tell them that Tim did drugs," says
Magovern, among those NASCAR deposed. "That's
what they were looking for - to tear up Tim Richmond."
Richmond's own deposition was taken in Charlotte in
October. He gave his name, address, grew confused over
where he had gone to grade school and the interview
was postponed. Before leaving, he signed an autograph
for the court reporter's son. He withdrew the suit three
weeks after U.S. District Judge James B. McMillan
ordered his medical records be produced.
THE FINAL MONTHS
Shortly before he died, Richmond talked with Hendrick
about making his AIDS diagnosis public - a question he
struggled with to the end. "He always said maybe I
should take a positive step and try to warn people,"
Hendrick said, "but the country really wasn't ready for
it. We all prayed there would be a cure. We chased
everything we could find. And if he did come forward, it
might have been even worse for him." His last months
were filled with pain. "He suffered," Hendrick says.
"He hurt. He was ill. If he had a good day, he could see
people. If he had a bad day, he couldn't see people. I
don't think they had the wherewithal to keep you as
comfortable as they do today, and he was really sick at
times. I would go see him, and I would wait until it was
a good time to go see him. If he wasn't having a good
day, then I'd talk to his mom." Richmond died as dawn
broke over West Palm Beach on Aug. 13, 1989. Each
January since, Jimmy Johnson turns his new desk
calendar to that date and copies the words, so he won't
forget: "Tim died, 5:12 a.m." Richmond was buried at
Ashland County Memorial Park in Ohio following a
private ceremony for the family. Charlotte Motor
Speedway held a memorial service for him the next
week. About 200 people attended. Later, Evelyn and Al
Richmond asked their son's doctor to announce the
cause of death. "I had the thing sold to CBS," Needham
says, "But his mother said she just wasn't ready to do
that." Now, it's too late. "Hell, look at all the thousands
of people who've got AIDS now. I couldn't sell it now.
There are too many bigger stars - the Magic Johnsons
that have taken AIDS over and above. Then, it was
brand new. Today it isn't.
MOST IMPERFECT WAY TO DIE
Many of Richmond's friends still struggle with thoughts
of his final months."I think if he would have shared
what he was going through, then people would have
been supportive," says Clark, the Atlanta Speedway
executive. "Tim was such a vain guy, I don't think he
could stand it for anybody to see him that way."
Wheeler says, "Tim tended to be a perfectionist, and at
the time, this was the most imperfect way to die. He did
not want to put people through it. In those days, it was
such a scary disease. If he had come out and said that,
number one, the sport would have been put in a tight
spot. " ...Owing to the conservative nature of stock car
fans, he certainly would not have gotten the acceptance
Magic Johnson got in the NBA." Driver Kyle Petty
talked to Richmond by phone that last year, but he and
his wife, Patti, wish they had done more. "We had
regrets the year before he died," Patti Petty said. "I
think everyone should feel a touch of regret. They
dropped the ball. They really let him down. It goes back
to NASCAR did not want that. It was like at some point,
his name was white-washed from the list. "...We're as
guilty as the next. But if you went to see him, made a
friend out of this guy, is NASCAR going to let you
through inspection? They wanted it swept under the
carpet at that point." Kyle Petty says, "It all boils down
to AIDS. I don't care what anybody tells you. Noboby
knows how to handle AIDS - especially in a sport as
backward-thinking on so many things as this sport is."
NOTHING LEFT BUT MEMORIES
Richmond's parents now live in their son's Lake
Norman home. His golf clubs are in the front closet, and
nine pair of boots, a few hats and favorite jackets still in
his bedroom closet. Many personal things have been
passed on to friends. Dodson, his Blue Max crew chief,
has Richmond's custom-made tuxedo. Harold Elliott, his
old engine builder, a cowboy hat. Rick Hendrick saved
Richmond's road-race car, along with the uniforms and
few helmets and trophies Richmond's parents don't
have. He hopes to build a museum someday where he
can display them. "There are just so many people who
want to know more," he said. So Hendrick and friends
like veteran crew chief Harry Hyde hold on to what
they have left of Richmond. Hyde, now 69, stores a
roomful of mementos in his trailer - videotapes of each
race, cases of Folgers coffee and stacks of photographs
of Richmond in Victory Lane. "He wasn't going to be
like you wanted," Hyde says. "He wasn't going to be
like mama wanted. He wasn't going to be like Harry
Hyde wanted. Or Folgers. Or Rick Hendrick. "Now if
you can blame a guy for that ...."
Wayne Mann
>Can anyone see the closeness of these two on the track?! I know I
>ain't the only one! Both are/were cocky, talented, loved and hated.
>What do yall think of this comparison?
Former partner blames Richmond for AIDS
By JULIET MACUR
The Orlando Sentinel
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- LaGena Lookabill Greene has daily
reminders of NASCAR driver Tim Richmond.
They come in the form of the diapers she wears because of
her uncontrollable diarrhea. And the hours she spends each
day hovering over the toilet in bouts of nausea. And the 35
pills she must pop every day, hoping each one will slide
dutifully down her throat, although her immediate reflex is
to throw it back up.
Greene has AIDS, and she blames Richmond for that.
``He knowingly exposed me to the virus, and I forgive him
for that, but he died in denial,'' said Greene, a 38-year-old
former actress and model. ``It's so ironic. I thought he was
so brave and courageous to drive a race car at 185 miles an
hour, but in the end, he turned out to be a coward.''
Richmond was one of NASCAR's greatest drivers and one
of its most colorful personalities, but that's not the only
legacy he left when he died of AIDS 10 years ago. He
allegedly left Greene and many other women to suffer and
die from the disease that killed him.
Nobody knows for sure how many women Richmond
infected before he disappeared into his Deerfield Beach
condo in his final stages of life. Dr. David Dodson, the
infectious-disease specialist who treated Richmond, said
the driver most likely had the virus eight years before he
was diagnosed in 1986. His friends can't begin to speculate
on the number of women he had sex with during that time.
``You never saw Tim with less than two or three girls
around him,'' said Buddy Barnes, who worked on
Richmond's race team. ``There were girls from everywhere.
I couldn't even begin to remember them all or name them
all. But I had a lot of calls after he died from women who
were worried. I've had a couple people tell me that they
knew someone who had gone out with him and died, but I
don't know that for a fact.''
Now that Richmond is gone, no one will know for sure
how many women he took with him. But Greene has a
good idea, saying she fielded more than two dozen phone
calls after she went public with the disease in 1995. Those
calls were from women who thought Richmond had
infected them, too.
``Apparently, he was quite promiscuous, because I got a lot
of calls from people who were afraid and wanted to know
what to do,'' Greene said. ``I guess Tim was very bitter
about getting AIDS. And when you find out you have
AIDS, there are basically two things you can do with it.
You can use it do good, but there are some people who are
just so bitter, they want to take everybody down with
them.''
Greene refuses to be one of those people Richmond took
down with him. She says he gave her HIV, the virus that
causes AIDS, on Sept. 10, 1986. It was the night they had
sex for the first time, the night she says Richmond
proposed to her in a New York City hotel room. She
learned she was HIV positive in 1987, and Greene has
defied doctors ever since.
On 10 occasions, she nearly died from various AIDS-
related diseases, including just three months ago when she
was hospitalized for 10 days with a swollen brain. She had
a 105-degree fever and was delirious, thinking once again
after all these years it was her time to go.
``I thought we were losing her,'' said her husband, former
Florida State football player Danny Greene, who is HIV
negative. ``I remember her saying, `Honey, I'm dying. I feel
like I'm dying' but she came out of it. She is my inspiration.
Now our goal is to make it to our 10th anniversary.''
They may just make it there, too. Danny and LaGena got
married on Valentine's Day in 1990, after LaGena was
diagnosed with AIDS. Doctors said she had only two to
three years left at that point.
Greene has supported his wife ever since, including when
she decided to stop hiding and come forward with her
illness. Now she preaches AIDS awareness in churches and
colleges, warning others that anyone can get AIDS, even a
beautiful, successful, former North Carolina Junior Miss
and University of North Carolina graduate. Even when you
had sex one time with an infected person.
But Richmond's family can't stand to hear anything about
LaGena Greene, even if it's about her noble crusade against
AIDS.
``It's so unfair that she is saying Tim knew he had AIDS
when he had sex with her, if he had sex with her,'' said
Sandy Welsh, Richmond's half sister. ``Tim would never
have had sex with somebody knowing he had AIDS. He
wasn't a vicious person, so it's unfair to blame him when
he's not here to defend himself. She wasn't even his
girlfriend, much less his fiancee, so I don't know why she is
crucifying him.''
Those comments don't mean much to Greene anymore.
They did bother her at first, though, when the Richmonds
said they didn't know her and that she made up her whole
story. But she is over that now, insisting they certainly did
know her and had met her on several occasions after she
first met Tim. They were introduced in 1980 when she was
Miss World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Greene says Richmond pursued her for six years after that
first meeting, until she finally agreed to marry him. But
after they had sex on the night he proposed, Greene said
Richmond became verbally abusive and angry. They parted
ways in the morning and never saw each other again.
For months afterward, Greene said Richmond wouldn't
return her calls, even when he knew he had AIDS and that
there was a chance he infected her. The Richmonds say
Tim learned he was HIV positive on Dec. 10, 1986. But
they didn't reveal Tim died of AIDS until several days after
his death.
``I think my credibility has stood the test of time,'' Greene
said. ``His credibility hasn't. He lied to the media and to his
friends. I'm out here admitting I have AIDS, but, sure, there
are times when I get angry that I have the disease. There
are times I think about Tim.''
During those times, Greene tries to focus on Richmond's
good traits: she says he was impulsive, cocky, funny,
complicated and quite the mama's boy. After filling her
mind with those thoughts, she can focus on the positive.
She can focus on living.
``If I still had bitterness in my heart, my message wouldn't
be as effective,'' Greene said. ``I've come so close to death
so many times, I can't have any bitterness with such little
time left. I wish Tim would have felt the same way.'
Fish Man
"Wayne Mann" <tp...@charter.net> wrote in message
news:puejht4cvggnqin0i...@4ax.com...
WOW! Thanx for the story, Wayne. I'll have to head down to the library to see
if I can find more on Tim (though you gave a LOT of info). I just hope Tony's
career has a better ending.
--
2, 29, 99, 20, 10, 40, 15, 8, 1, 9, 19, 12
RIP #3; you will forever remain in our thoughts
Pray for no more silent posts.
The only difference between sinners and saints is one is forgiven while the
other one ain't.
*To reply, pull your head out*
--