The Last Comeback: Tim Richmond's 1988 Daytona Journey 

P. Mid I agree with everything you’ve said. My Dad was a huge Dale Sr. fan so naturally I was too growing up. I remember Dad saying basically the same thing you did about Dale’s thoughts on Tim and how he respected his driving ability. Dale Sr was a class act and truly cared about NASCAR. It’s never been the same since he was killed and in my opinion a huge part of it died when he did. It would’ve been great to see the two of them racing through the years, I’m sure we’d have seen great racing.

P. Mid dale sr was a unfriendly sob

Totally agree with you! Dale was a hell of a competitor and he loved a good challenge and I always thought it spoke a lot to his character that he went to bat for Richmond, a shame that he passed away. Him and Dale could have had some amazing battles in the years going forward, I'm sure of it.

Yup, Earnhardt and Richmond has a strong rivalry going there for a little while. And I liked Ken Schrader's comment too that wouldn't have had an issue racing with him then and now. So some of the drivers stood up for Tim, which is a great thing. But perhaps maybe some should have taken it farther once it became clear they were simply out to screw Richmond. I'd have pulled out of races myself if I had been a big enough star to have made an impact. Cause that's the only way you can get dictatorial organizations to listen, hit them in the wallet and hard.

Dale would have put him in the wall....its all Dale new how to do!

That would have been sooo awesome!!!!!!! Because they were the best talent and They wouldn't have been always putting the others on a high horse and only having a few great racers!!!? They would have the best racers out of every single type of racing 🏁 🏎 🙄!!!!!? Nascar finally died around the early 2000's sad to say 😢!!!!!? Whenever they started making every single car identical with each other!!! Couldn't tell a Chevrolet from a Toyota!!!!? And a ford from a Pontiac!!!!!?? And then they once again started playing up certain racers like Bush"!? And Johnson " AND then a few other names that had a little fan base!!!? But nowadays it is just awful to Watch!!!!!!? It's just about tires and gas mileage!!!!? Just two of the factors that made racing fun for the fans 😀!!!!?? Because they aren't really any talent anymore!!!!!?? Just if you have money backing you or not!!!? Just Saying Y'ALL!!? God bless you all today Shalom 🙏

Jeff Gordon who?....

@@RVAMotorsports Jeff was just as talented as those drivers

Great comment😉

They sure did those were the days

they already raped it, calling it Days Of Thunder. So it would be hard to make a movie of it and stupid people understand this was the truth and that was fictionalized.... A similar american hero's story was also raped by hollywood, "Sniper" was loosely based on Carlos Hathcock's exploits.

@@Nitromessiah It's been 30 years since Days, so I'm sure people will distinguish Richmond from Cole Trickle.

@@Nitromessiah To be honest... Not really he does deserve a biography...

@@Nitromessiah Dude, what are you talking about? You're so lost in your delusion, it's just word salad at this point. Days of Thunder was simply a movie that used Richmond, Earnhardt, and other people to help inform the fictional characters. Yes, there was a lot based on Tim, but it wasn't some wink-and-nod "this is the real story". It was a movie about racing, so they used people in racing to help sell tickets. It's really that simple. Not your grandiose r@ping nonsense.

​@@gigigiseleworld ESPN 30 for 30 is well done.

H O L L A D A Y absolutely

Kenny can drive the wheels off of anything. I always cheered and liked Kenny. Nasa Hendrick Horsepower.

Doesn’t matter what that guy is driving he’s gonna drive the balls off it. Esp if it’s in dirt!

Thats brother n law on opening scene.he painted timmys car.Timmy was a character, realy professional in the car, and cool guy outside the car.

He was never The Same after Looking into Dale's car

I say that all the time as well with his videos. Someone should hire the guy to nascar documentaries

Kenny Schrader had his back too

dale tried to talk to bill france jr to let him get back but they knew something was up just sad

I think thats pretty far fetched. He had a great year, lets not get too carried away

davidallenroth Richmond got better every year he raced. It is possible to think that Richmond would of had a great career if he hadn’t got sick.

This is the same revisionist nonsense from people that day Davey Allison would have won 7 Winston Cup titles had he not died. These guys were really great, but lets be real.

Dan L I never said he’d be the greatest of all time, he sure wouldn’t of been a backmarker.

Josh Drumheller I feel like you Josh outstanding talent Earnhardt loved the competition Richmond didn’t need drugs lady’s everywhere he was a winner! Rip

He didn't need drugs he was a natural but I do know just for myself Sudafed or cold medicine made me overly aggressive but he never drove like a fool

Casualty of our substance manufacturing companies before we realized what they were actually trying to do to us all during C19

@@talkintennis8124no the dude got AIDS.

Mayfield screwed himself. Richmond's situation was just unique. It's very similar to Magic in the NBA.

Jeremy METHFIELD

Richmond put NASCAR in a bad position. He refused to tell them he had AIDS. Had he had an accident with bleeding at the time, he could have exposed emergency workers to AIDS. They had a responsibility to know the truth about his illness.

@@joelmarksbury4376 but admitting you had HIV or AIDS in those days was way different. Magic Johnson retired from the Lakers then came back and heard the talk from fellow NBA players and retired again.

@@DucatiPaso750 He didn't have to admit anything to NASCAR. He just had to not race.

Thank you, I love you channel. Actually, MotorWeek was on both channels! Around 1987, TBS dumped them and ESPN picked them up at the start of 1988. Same crew, just different channels. Tim appeared on the third show aired on ESPN. ESPN had the show scheduled around midnight on Wednesdays and they went until 1990.

I stand corrected, and learn something new every day! Looking forward to your next production. I'm a huge Tim Richmond fan, and this was the most detailed recollection I've seen on his 1988 comeback attempt.

Yeah and if Dale didn't die?

erich loafman if my sister had nuts she'd be my brother

Yamaha Venture Sr was back in form in 2000 after very successful back surgery in late 1999, he was driving great again

@@Sean-if7rp Father time catches up with everyone. Ask Richard Petty. The most Earnhardt would've done was one more championship. I know people love Earnhardt but the OP is right. Heck, I think if just Davey Allison survived then Earnhardt doesn't get to seven. Davey had such raw talent that he never reached his prime and he was just beginning to put it all together when he died.

@@JSchaffer214 Yes! Very correct

It won't ever happen Richmond knowingly passed aids to several female partners/victims

hall of fame for one good year of racing...…..why

robert beck really?

Im going to call bullshit on that one... Tim always had facial hair, and the beard was off and on. Plus his beard was thin, it wouldn't have hid much of anything.

The bottom line to this is that Richmond did not want the world to know he had AIDS.... that's why he didn't want to release the medical records. Ironically, by trying to keep the lid on the story we are left to wonder how he got the disease. Sharing a needle, from a woman with whom he had sex or .. otherwise.

@@rahulsaha1072 my cousin used to race sprint cars against him. He was known to get with lots of ladies. He was always surrounded by pit whores

@@tunapraterade9843 When he raced sprint cars?

@Smith Hart that's like saying Magic Johnson did not infect others with his HIV ofc he did once he stuck it in some other chick she was immediately infected.

@@alexthesniper1952 Thats not really how it works... I think it's something like a 1/1000 chance to catch HIV through unprotected vaginal intercourse. Needles are much higher odds.

@@KyleP133 okay go stick it in someone who has HIV and see how long it takes for you to get it. Once the Virus is inside of you're done. Plus it's inside your all of you're bodily fluids.

Dan Arnets.....Go play on the freeway little man!

The freeway? That is dirty, I don't want to do like Tim Richmond and GET SUPERAIDS

IV drugs.

Alonso Manso Tim.knew he had AIDS he didn't want to disclose it

The drug test was most likely hoax to keep Tim away. People didn't understand AIDS as they do today.

He definitely should have a biopic. He was a big personality and despite nascar basically ignoring his accomplishments, he has a cult following. I'd love to see a movie about him.

Classic "politician's" answer by DW

Nonsense. Tim knew since DEC 1986 that he had full-blown AIDS, not just HIV pos. This whole thing was about a very talented, selfish driver and very small man living in denial AND, AND infecting women AFTER his diagnosis. How much more selfish and irresponsible can you get than that?How anybody could defend this guy escapes me. I guess NASCAR shouldn't have access to a clearly ill driver's medical records? Hell, he won 2 races in 1987 with AIDS! His lifestyle was responsible for his demise not NASCAR. Quite frankly, though they would never state it publicly at the time, most drivers knew he had AIDS and wanted nothing to do with him.

Not unless your name is Tim Richmond and the year is 1988

That's what I thought when he said he'd like to strap 3000 hp to his ass....

When it was announced that he had AIDS, his doctor said that he contracted the disease through sex with a woman.

"Flamboyant"

That's just CBS music from their 1988 Daytona coverage. Great music but a complete mystery over its title and artist.

I'm an open wheel guy but nascar was starting to grow in the 80's money, power and control took over and Tim was a big threat to that that's why they had to bring him down!

C moore within 2 or 3 years Magic Johnson was diagnosed with AIDs and been able to live a normal life that continues today.

He even infected several women that sued him..! Back in the #1980s ...

I think it was his lifestyle with his parting and women we all regret some of the things we do but you have to take care of your body that's No 1!

@@healthyone100 James Hunt lived the same exact life style in F1 in the 70s, but I guess so many things were different back then, it was more accepted. It's weird how the human mind works about these kinds of things. Two people can live the same exact life style. One can get away with it, and no one says a word about it, while the other gets reprimanded for it. But then again, it's NASCAR vs F1, and each one is tougher on its drivers than the other. At least back then.

Gay inference and nascar don't mix

Be cool to have a still of that for my den...

The guy was a hell of race car driver too.

I agree, wish he was around a lot longer, he would’ve been right up there with Richard and Dale without question.

NASCAR has a heck of a lot more serious problems than "driver personality". The MAIN problem with NASCAR today, started when they allowed the big money sponsors to take far too much control of not only the written rules in NASCAR, but HOW they were going to race as well, from every aspect. Those greedy, rich, power/control freak bastards wanted to attract every candy ass who NEVER watched, or even liked stock car racing to begin with, as they literally shit on all of their long-time, hard-core racing fans. This in turn brought on the liberal controlled "political correctness" and playing "the race card" ( "racism" and "race baiting" ) which they forced down the throats of the fans as much as the race teams. NASCAR and stock car racing in general has ALWAYS been a sport for CONSERVATIVES. Also, they literally tried to transform NASCAR into "the NFL or NBA on wheels" ( to attract liberal viewers & try to make "racing fans" out of them ) They absolutely made a total circus out of it. And through all of that, came the candy ass drivers who have no personality, nowhere near as much driving skill ( most of them anyway ) and these new boring drivers took it a step further by feeling they are "privileged". ALL of the above disgusted the true long-time NASCAR fans so much, they turned their backs on NASCAR racing altogether. ( A few long-time fans are still holding on, but not many. ) Grossly over-priced track tickets and stripping the live races from basic TV and airing the races ONLY on "premium cable channels" that NOBODY wants to pay for, caused racing attendance both on and off the track ( TV viewers ) to plummet through the floor. They also made the stupid decision to do away with HISTORIC tracks such as Martinsville which produced exciting door handle to door handle racing, and replaced them with BORING cookie cutter 1.5 mile tracks in areas of the nation never known to have "race fans", and those tracks ya can't even race side by side, it's all "follow the leader". Attendance at ALL of the tracks have become so poor, they literally tore out huge sections of bleachers to squash the much smaller, dwindling crowds together in a smaller number of bleachers/grand stands in order to make the remaining crowds only "look bigger" for "the TV camera's". The whole thing is not only disgusting.......it is despicable. They took the most popular & exciting motor sport in history that had nothing wrong with it, and totally wrecked it all to hell.

TR was awesome, and he was the Yin to Earnhardt's Yang. Would have been epic over the years between those two had he lived.

@@howabouthetruth2157 I agree. And the france family themselves ruined the sport.

And notice the typical brown nosers running their mouth about him. Darrell being one of them.

Greatness respects greatness

well, he was on drugs too. He led a party life. IMO Cocaine was his downfall. Cocaine really makes people do sexually stupid stuff they otherwise wouldnt do. Most likely no AIDS with no cocaine use. AIDS and Cocaine went hand in hand

If he was on drugs why they pass the drug test then

@Elite Soulfly did u watch the video the only reason why they did not pass the test is because they wanted his medical records and he would not give them to nascar

@@kozippio7854 [citation needed]

@Elite Soulfly Do you have some evidence for your claim? Sure, he was known for having a good time and having multiple sex partners, same as 90% of everyone else in the NASCAR garage. Where is the evidence of illicit drug use?

Still does

How to prevent it?

Nascar shamed him though

Have you ever read the book about him? It's really good! I highly recommend it to any fan of Tim Richmond.

@@jamiedoughty6703 I just bought it

I cried when Dale Earnhardt died

@@chrisg77 Right on. It's a good read.

@@chrisg77 not gonna lie, so did I.

It's not a matter of performance enhancements.... it's just common sense that you don't allow someone behind the wheel of a car while using narcotics, let alone a racecar at 180+ mph .....

It is a matter of performance impairing and at 175-200 mph you don’t need anybody impaired out there…there are lives at risk

​he was using sudafed and advil because he was dealing with aids those drugs are not mind altering nascar shamed him todays standards that is medical discrimination@deejayferguson5111

Probably not with all the videos he uses that he doesn't own but I get what your saying. RU-vidrs are now consistently out producing major networks and it's not even close. If plane crashes or aviation in general interest you, Mentour Pilot is the gold standard. 100× better than anything I've seen on TV covering the matter. Even though he gets into highly technical breakdowns, he makes it to where a half drunk idiot such as myself can understand. If your into short, sweet, knowledgeable and funny this Irish cunt has a channel called Qxir. He covers the weird obscure side note stories throughout history such as 10 cent beer night at a Cleveland Indians home game and a guy who setup a very integral and perfect bank heist only to be ratted out by a bum who lived on a adjacent sidewalk and wrote down his license plate number in his days leading up to the heist after he suspected him to be casing the place. It wasn't all bad news for the guy he did get away with over 400k which he went to Vegas and promptly blew in what I'm sure was a failed attempt to wash the money. He did catch a Britney spears show though and only had like 6kish when police caught up to him so I'm sure he had a hell of a time. There's literally an unlimited amount of channels that are all much better than what's on tv.

I mean, everyone kinda was. lol It was the 80s. Drugs weren't cool in the 80s.

@@NewWorldCT Only to kids. Cocaine was out of control in the 80's.

@kragseven right like kyle petty wasnt tooting his snoot

Wayne Phillips Darrell was a whiny Bitch cause Tim was getting some of the spot light & Kyle couldn't win a race if he was sitting in his Daddy's lap

Of course they were. Darrell was a little more diplomatic while Kyle was being a bitch! At that particular moment of course the has been and the never will be with a legendary last name were going to be the first to call for NASCAR to give Tim the boot to the ass. Earnhardt was 100% right about the whole thing!

only a strict vegan diet, exercise, fresh air and water and short fastings can cure AIDS or any disease!

k rl no. In fact Earnhardt didn’t win a race in 1987 that Richmond was in as well.

Tim would have ran away with the 87 title.

69Charger tf are you talking about Earnhardt had if I’m not mistaken 11 wins and a average finish of 5.3 or 5.4 it would have been hard for Richmond

mason everidge Yeah and that’s because Tim wasn’t there for most of the season to challenge Earnhardt. Richmond routinely out drove Earnhardt in 86 and even during his appearances in 87 he was the man to beat so the evidence suggests that Earnhardt wouldn’t have dominated 87 the way he did.

Dale wasn't really "Dale" until after Richmond came on the scene and challenged him. Tim was a naturally more talented driver, but Dale had the fire in his belly. They were great friends, and loved racing each other. Tim showed Dale how to drive in ways he did not before Tim came along.

Why?

@kragseven lol

13 wins in how many seasons....5?...i m guessing dont know for sure....id hardly say thats a hall of fame career............

some dude that never won a cup race getting in before Tim - what a joke

@@AlonsoRules Larry Phillips is in the running, for this years Inductees and he never won a Cup race. He smoked lotsa Winston Smokes, though, chockful o' harmless, non-addictive, satisfying Nicotine. He died, from Lung Cancer, somehow. All the Exhaust funk, probably.

money thats why.

To say Bobby Allison needs an asterisk beside his 88 Daytona win is absolutely idiotic.Even if Richmond had been in the race he wouldn't have been competitive driving for Ken Ragan,he would've been caught up in one of the big wrecks that happened in that years race(in all likelihood).

yep Sr wouldn't have 7 that is a fact

Davey Allison didn't "come down with that awful disease",as your comment implies.....

​@davidh6818 he did come down however

I kno right! I would agree with you. NASCAR had caught wind of the situation & that’s why I think they were being persistent about Tim releasing his medical records. It truly is a big what if? Personally , I think Tim would’ve been a 2 time champion at least a 2 time champ. I’m factoring in the Davey Allison & AK in the what if as well. Dale Earnhardt would’ve had maybe 4 championships & Jeff Gordon may not have seen as much early success as he did as I truly believe Davey & Tim woulda had the completion by the ballz.

I think Mayfield tried to use Richmond's example to bail himself out. Through the lens of time, Mayfield seemingly is guilty just by the piles of evidence against him. Richmond was just in a bad place at a bad time with a seemingly doomed outcome

Mayfields case ended up being proven in NASCARs favor a couple years later after they found meth related stuff, plus other stolen construction equipment and race car parts

And his gutted electrical wire house...

I think the cases were fairly similar at first, mostly in the sense because NASCAR first said Mayfield tested positive for amphetamines, and later said he was positive or methamphetamine. The pile of legal issues that came shortly after I think made it pretty clear to a lot of people what was going on. Some people still think he was a scapegoat for somebody else in a bigger case, but I've found in life that people generally don't associate with people of that nature if they don't have at least some sort of involvement with it. Either way that anyone wants to look at it, he could have handled it better and he definitely did plenty of dirt outside of NASCAR. It seems he's doing a lot better now and he's back racing again, but he still hasn't owned it. He still claims NASCAR falsified it and dragged his name through the mud because he knew Ray Evernham was cheating on his wife with Erin Crocker. It's all a ridiculous situation to this day haha. Also, I can think of a handful of other drivers who have been suspended or indefinitely banned for drug use, never mind all of the other suspensions for things ranging from cheating to attempting to start a driver's union. Tyler Walker, Shane Hmiel, A.J. Allmendinger, Aaron Fike, Kevin Grubb. There are probably a handful more at the higher levels. I've been involved in a regional NASCAR division on and off for the better part of fifteen years and I've seen a handful of suspensions for drug test failures in everything from modifieds and super late models right down to pure stocks and street stocks.

Actually not. Tim had aids and was covering it up. Mayfield flunked a drug test more than likely because he took something. Nobody in their right mind would keep their meds a secret from NASCAR if they were actually taking a banned substance that they could get a waiver on because of a doctor's prescription.

vanillacoker1 Your asking me? I’m still coping with the fact my entire childhood has now retired. I grew up the 90’s. Swervin Irvin, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd, JG, DJ, Bill Elliot, Good Ol’Sterling Marlin. Mr Excitement.. I could go on & on.. Sooo many races, Sooooo many memories.