NASCAR’s ultimate ‘fish out of water’: Tim Richmond

Tim Richmond: NASCAR’s wild man of the 1980s. He brought thrills with his driving, smiles with his personality, and won the hearts of thousands of fans.

The 1980s are widely regarded as a period of excess and wild personalities. Glam rock, spandex, bright colors, among other things come to mind when thinking about this “decade of decadence.” Tim Richmond was NASCAR‘s contribution to the ultra-rad 80s.

In the NASCAR universe, Richmond provided all the excess, thrills and decadence the sport could handle. He also brought unbelievable driving skills. Oh yes, and a personality as big and wide as Talladega Superspeedway, something the sport was sorely missing.

From its inception, NASCAR was dominated by low-key daredevils who hailed from little southern towns dotted across the southeast. Their heroes were good ole boys who wore cowboy hats and might have driven like wild men, but they weren’t wow-ing anyone with their personalities or press interviews.

While these good ole boys were growing the sport in the late 1970s, the son of a well-off family in Ohio was starting down his road to racing.

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Like many racers, Richmond got his start in sprint cars in 1978. He then moved on to IndyCar, benefiting from a family connection who was part owner of a team. It was more than just getting a ride; Richmond earned it. He was fast. Like REALLY fast.

After finishing in ninth place in his first and only Indianapolis 500, he was voted the 1980 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year. But despite the promising start, Richmond felt his driving style was better suited for stock cars. Pulling a sharp U-turn, Richmond capitalized on his quickly growing reputation as a fast and exciting driver, and he was able to get a NASCAR ride by July 1980, driving for D.K. Ulrich in the Coca-Cola 500 at Pocono Raceway.

For much of his short career, Richmond achieved amazing success driving for multiple teams, something relatively rare in modern NASCAR.

He hit the “big time” in 1986, signing for the promising yet still nascent Hendrick Motorsports (HMS). It’s important to note that HMS was not yet “HMS” as we know it, but it was still a great team to be on. It was a young team taking a chance on a young, electric driver.

It was during this period that much of the movie Days of Thunder was based on. He was paired with a hard-scrabbled NASCAR veteran crew chief Harry Hyde, and the two gave Dale Earnhardt and others a serious run for their money over the next two years.

Richmond earned 13 victories over his eight-year career, and he did particularly well at Pocono Raceway and Riverside International Raceway, two tracks that accounted for eight of his wins.

The beauty of Richmond’s short career was not just his reckless and exciting driving style, but rather that “fish out of water” element he relished in. He thrived on bucking trends and not kowtowing to NASCAR’s traditional hierarchy and protocols. He could be seen mocking Richard Petty during pre-race preparations, giving hilarious interviews, and mingling with celebrities in New York and Los Angeles.

NASCAR had never seen anything like it.

That bright smile and fun-loving personality was a big hit with the fans, and he was gaining a huge fanbase. He broke the mold with his unpredictability and antics. Unlike others, he actually looked like he was having the time of his life. He brought a baseball-like joy of the game to NASCAR — something sorely missed, even to this day.

Richmond enjoyed having a good time, and it showed. This, of course, included racing, but he also partook in his fair share of “extracurricular” activities.

Unfortunately, the 1980s were not the time to be socially cavalier. And with that, the good times eventually came to a screeching halt, and with a heavy price to pay.

Richmond began appearing sick in interviews, blaming his cough on things such as double pneumonia among others. By 1987, he fell ill with HIV/AIDS. He ran limited races in 1988, and he disappeared completely from public view once he was hospitalized with full-blown AIDS.

Because of the stigma surrounding the virus in those early days, he never publicly admitted to having the sickness. He suffered in silence and solitude, finally succumbing to the virus on August 13, 1989.

Although it was a muted homage to Richmond at best, his name came up when the movie Days of Thunder came out in 1989. Otherwise, Richmond was barely mentioned in NASCAR circles until years later, when the wonderfully produced 2007 NASCAR documentary Ride of Their Lives featured an outstanding chapter on his exciting 1980s run. ESPN also got into the act with the 2010 documentary Tim Richmond: To the Limit.

Richmond should not be pitied or remembered as “the driver with AIDS”, but rather celebrated for the bright and shining moment he enjoyed at the pinnacle of stock car racing. He made people smile, tune in, and above all, he made people see a guy who knew exactly how good he had it, and it showed every time he smiled that bright smile of his.

Richmond remains a NASCAR treasure, and we can all hope that one day, maybe we’ll see such a vibrant and unique personality return to the sport.