**Timothy Lee "Tim" Richmond** (June 7, 1955 – August 13, 1989) was a NASCAR driver from Ashland, Ohio. He didn’t have a job for long as he had an illness called HIV, and later died from AIDS.

Richmond was born in Ashland, Ohio. He was born into wealth and did not grow up auto racing. A lot of NASCAR did grow up auto racing. He did not race until the age of 21, when he drove a Sprint Car owned by a friend. That was when he decided to be a racing driver.

History
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Tim Richmond was a perennial playboy. Growing up in wealth, he always appreciated the best things and was flamboyant, especially in comparison to other drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough. Richmond had expensive tastes in food and drink and lived a fast lifestyle that mirrored his on-track preferences.

He continued to the open-wheel circuits, racing in the 1980 Indianapolis 500 finishing ninth, He decided to move on into stock-car racing in NASCAR, where he spent the rest of his days. His first few seasons, He bounced from team to team looking for a permanent ride, which he found in 1982. He raced in 26 events, winning twice and finishing in the top 5 seven times, but finished 26th in Winston Cup standings.

At the tail end of the 1986 season, Richmond was feeling noticeably ill. Following the season, he checked into a clinic and discovered that he had AIDS. At the time, AIDS was not fully understood by doctors. Despite his illness, Richmond worked to regain his strength, finally returning in 1987 and then winning two races at Pocono and Riverside. However, his health started deteriorating and so did his results. Richmond would race in six more events before being told not to race by NASCAR. 

In 1988, Richmond tried to make another run with NASCAR. They were not only concerned about his health, but about how he contracted the disease in the first place. They subjected Richmond (and Richmond alone) to a drug test, and several days later, NASCAR announced that he was suspended indefinitely for testing positive for banned substances. Richmond was livid saying that he did not take any banned substances and demanded another test, which he passed. NASCAR later admitted that the only two substances found were Sudafed and Advil. They also released the permanent ban, but refused to allow Richmond to drive again until he surrendered his medical records that said he had AIDS.

Tim Richmond finally retired to West Palm Beach, Florida, where he lived in seclusion with his mother until his death on August 13, 1989. 

In recent years, NASCAR has suspended drivers with drug violations. Busch Series driver Shane Hmiel was suspended twice (2003 and 2005) before he was suspended for life in 2006. Kevin Grubb and Craftsman Truck Series driver Brian Rose were also suspended for failing a drug test. Many continue to point the incident with Richmond to show that an extremely "good ol' boy" system is still in place with NASCAR. 

The movie Days of Thunder was loosely based on Richmond's life, with Tom Cruise's character (Cole Trickle) inspired by Richmond. Robert Duvall's character (Harry Hogge) was inspired by crew chief Harry Hyde, and Randy Quaid's role (Tim Daland) was inspired by owner Rick Hendrick. 

### Other info

Richmond was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2002.

Related pages
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* List of NASCAR drivers

Other websites
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* Two years before his death, Tim Richmond was interviewed by legendary #NASCAR journalist[*permanent dead link*]