Yesterday seems as though it never existed.
Those lyrics, taken from the Metallica song Fade to Black, perfectly describe what is left of the career of former NASCAR driver Tim Richmond.
Largely forgotten by most casual NASCAR fans, and not known at all by the new generation, Tim Richmond holds a special place in the hearts of the most die-hard racing fans. The man people called "Hollywood" and compared to James Dean, is now nothing more than a memory.
Tim Richmond wasn't cut from the same cloth as his NASCAR peers: He was from Ohio and not the South, he attended a military academy instead of dropping out of high school, his father was a wealthy manufacturer of drilling equipment instead of a race car driver, and he cut his racing teeth in open-wheel racing instead of dirt tracks.
It was after a nasty wreck in open-wheel racing, that Tim Richmond began to race stock cars. His tremendous talent and tremendous ego made fans either love him or hate him. He was flamboyant and a showboat off the track and a terror on the track. Tim could race any line, at any speed, on any track.
The one thing Tim could do the most, was win. He could win anywhere, from road courses to 2-mile ovals at a time when NASCAR was purely racing and not the watered down version it is today. He drove for Raymond Beadle, leaving the car Rusty Wallace drove to a championship; and Rick Hendrick, providing the foundation of the Hendrick dynasty.
Tim's career would begin its rapid decline after the 1986 Winston Cup season. Amid swirlling rumors about drug use, Tim was diagnosed with AIDS. At the time, AIDS was still a taboo subject and little was known about the disease. It has been surmised that Tim Richmond contracted AIDS sexually from one of the many females he encountered during his racing career.
Tim managed to keep his diagnosis private, explaining his absence by telling people he had double pneumonia. He would regain enough strength to drive midway through the 1987 season, and Tim won his first two races since coming back. This would be the last success Tim Richmond had in a race car.
He was told not to race by NASCAR after only six more races in 1987, and he resigned from Hendrick Motorsports in deteriorating health.
Despite securing a ride with Ken Ragan for the 1988 Busch Clash, Tim would never see the track again. Persistent rumors of drug use allowed NASCAR to test Tim for drugs under their policy that they called "reasonable suspicion."
It was a modern day witch hunt designed solely for NASCAR to wash its hands of him. The NASCAR rulebook was and always will be a joke. The first test showed that he had tested for "banned substances," which virtually destroyed Tim. A second test, insisted on by Richmond, came back clean. Those "banned substances" were nothing more than common cold medicine.
Desperately wanting to repair the damage and restore what was left, Tim decided to sue NASCAR for reinstatement and damages. It sounded like a rock-solid case, but the NASCAR-friendly judge ruled that Tim Richmond and his doctors would have to fully disclose his medical records, tax statement, and drug screens in a full invasion of privacy.
The AIDS diagnosis Tim carried around with him, was the proverbial scarlet letter that still haunts his legacy-even today.
Faced with relasing this information into the iron fist of the France family, Tim was the bigger man and withdrew his lawsuit. He retired to virtual seclusion and died in August of 1989.
Although Tim Richmond was voted as one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers, you never hear anyone associated with NASCAR speak of him. There is barely a blurb about him on their website. There was no No. 25 painted on tracks or doves released after his passing. There have been no moments of silence on Lap 25.
It's almost like he didn't even exist.
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about 1 month ago
Awesome article Michael, especially since it is your first NASCAR one. You said you would come out strong and you have. Great read.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks for the feedback and the pick!
about 1 month ago
Michael, excellent job on the first NASCAR article, you certainly came out swinging! There is a lot of taboo that still haunts Richmond long after his death & it is sad that he is indeed all but forgotten! Thank you for paying a little respect to a great driver!
from about 1 month ago
I agree. There is a tremendous amount of taboo associated with Tim Richmond, and it's sad. NASCAR was so backwards in their handling of the situation. Then, only a few short years later, they really looked bad compared to the NBA's handling of Magic Johnson.
about 1 month ago
wow! that was interesting and im not into nascar much! hard to believe living in florida huh! lol i play a lot of golf and basketball. went i want to drink i go bowling! lol thomas
from about 1 month ago
Thanks for taking the time to read it.
about 1 month ago
Excellent job here Michael. It was many a dark day for the sport when Tim got booted, fought back, then later passed. The France family sure didn't cover itself with glory in their actions with Tim.
Richmond was sort of a precursor to Jeff Gordon, a dominate racer not from the south who found obstacles placed before him since he was not from "the family".
from about 1 month ago
You're right about the France family. But, that all happened at a time when people really didn't fight NASCAR at all. They ruled with an iron fist, and NASCAR was still a regionally dominant sport. Now, they are way more lenient with things.
about 1 month ago
Fantastic work Michael and we are glad to see your presence on the Auto Racing pages...
from about 1 month ago
Thanks for reading.
about 1 month ago
Great job on this article. I wrote a bit about this in the comments to an article about the "specter of homosexuality" in major league sports and how it had affected Richmond. In the process I had a chance to read much of David Poole's "Tim Richmond: The Fast Life and Remarkable Times of NASCAR's Top Gun."
The treatment of Richmond is definitely a dark smudge for NASCAR on the whole. And the near blackout of his name had been quite "prominent" until earlier this year. Being a newer fan, I was introduced to the name by Kyle Petty who on numerous occasions said that his father the King had said that Kyle Busch had the most "natural driving talent of anyone since Tim Richmond." Being a Busch brothers fan, that got my interest.
But reading the book and learning that the character of Cole Trickle from Days of Thunder was loosely based on Richmond gave me a new appreciation for this forgotten personality from NASCAR's past.
from about 1 month ago
There have been drivers who've commented when Jeff Gordon dominated road courses, that no one had done it like Tim Richmond used to.
about 1 month ago
Awesome article, Michael. You did a great job on this being your first NASCAR article and it's a great tribute to Tim Richmond. Loved your poll question, I selected that Dale Earnhardt wouldn't have won seven titles.
I was just in high school when Tim started his Cup career, it's the Old Milwaukee & Folger cars that I remember him in and agree about him building the foundation for Hendrick's Dynasty. Really the fans got cheated by his poor lifestyle habits, Richmond if he was healthy probably would have been a champion and the patriarch of Hendrick Motorsports.
It's definitely a blackeye for NASCAR, how they handle the illness, the drug use and then AIDS issues and basically wrote him out of the sport. Sad since most fans during that era along with NASCAR, knew how he was with the ladies and the chances he took.
It's sad no grandstands bare his name, that NASCAR.com doesn't have more about him than a paragraph and newer fans done know who he was.
I can see his personality in some of the stuff both Smoke and Robby do and Scott Speed's off beat personality reminds me of Richmond. By this I mean standing out from everyone else.
from about 1 month ago
I don't think that Dale Sr. would have won 7 titles either. Tim's death had a far reaching impact on the entire sport. If he had stayed alive, it would've changed the course of a number of people. Maybe Dale Sr. doesn't win 7 titles. Maybe Hendrick never signs Jeff Gordon. Maybe Hendrick doesn't become the juggernaught it is. Maybe Tim Richmond is in the booth doing race broadcasts. There is just so much that 'could have been.'
18 days ago
Michael,
Thanks for the great article. I was a huge Tim Richmond fan, but still a Cale Yarborough fan too. Tim was different and how sad that NASCAR did not want to accept someone who was different. I was angry with NASCAR over the drug test and I respect Kyle Petty for still being his friend until the end. He still had friends in the sport, but I think that NASCAR wanted to make it look like he didn't. He was hardly ever mentioned unless Mike Joy would talk about him during a race. The movie The Ride of Their Lives on CMT was great! I could not believe that someone finally recognized Tim. I met him twice and even received a letter from his mother Evelyn as I worked in his fan club. The best racing I have ever seen, at Charlotte Motorspeedway and him and Dale going at each other, fans on their feet and my husband saying he had never seen racing like that before. Tim passed Dale through the grass and came out in front in the turn. We should not forget him. Yes, his lifestyle was his downfall, but everyone should read David Poole's book, I still go back and read parts of it. He may have been different, but he had alot of talent and a big heart. I think even today, Tim would feel like many of us long time race fans. Brian France has ruined the sport by expanding too much, see how that has turned out and ignoring us by pulling in new fans. There is nothing wrong with new fans, but let's not forget about us. In an interview with Dale Earnhardt he talked about much he missed Tim. He said he could not work on a car, but he knew how to drive one. GINA
from 17 days ago
I appreciate the feedback. I was a bigger fan of NASCAR in the days of Dale Sr., Tim, Rusty Wallace, DW and others when they would stick and gouge each other both on and off the track. There was legit hate between drivers, and that stuff wouldn't fly these days. That's awesome that you got to meet him and watch him race in person. I can only watch video clips of him now, and he did have a LOT of talent. I agree with you about Brian France and how the sport has taken such a decline in order to reach a broader audience.
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