 spun in a three @-@ car accident . The remaining laps of the race where completed slowly under caution and Richmond took the checkered flag for the victory . He had led 97 laps , including the final 30 , taking his first victory in a Rick Hendrick car .   The tour returned to Pocono a month later , and Richmond battled for another victory in a fog @-@ shortened event . In the final 8 @-@ lap sprint , Richmond competed in a three @-@ car battle with Geoff Bodine and Ricky Rudd . Richmond crossed the finish line beside Rudd , winning the race by 0 @.@ 05 seconds . He notched four more victories that season , and over a span of twelve races , Richmond earned three second @-@ place finishes , and six wins . The National Motorsports Press Association named him Co @-@ Driver of the Year with Earnhardt after Richmond accumulated 13 top 5 finishes and 16 in the top 10 . He had a career @-@ best third @-@ place finish in points after winning seven events in 1986 , in what was his last full NASCAR season .   = = Illness and death = =   Richmond fell ill the day after the 1986 NASCAR annual banquet during a promotional trip to New York . He was not well enough to begin the 1987 NASCAR season despite lengthy hospitalization in Cleveland and further rest at home ; when Richmond missed the Daytona 500 , his condition was reported as double pneumonia . Media later reported that he had tested positive for acquired immune deficiency syndrome ( AIDS ) . He returned to Pocono for the Miller High Life 500 during the middle of the year . Starting third , he led by the fifth lap and ultimately led 82 laps , including the final 46 , to win the race by eight car @-@ lengths over Bill Elliott . In the middle of the race , Richmond 's car suffered gearbox problems . Because he could use only fourth ( high ) gear , he had to use that gear to slowly exit the pits . Richmond was emotional after the victory , saying , " I had tears in my eyes when I took the checkered flag . Then every time anyone congratulated me , I started bawling again . " Richmond earned a victory in the next race at Riverside , and made his final 1987 start at Michigan International Speedway 's Champion Spark Plug 400 that August , finishing 29th with a blown engine . He resigned from Hendrick Motorsports in September 1987 .   Although Richmond attempted a comeback in 1988 , NASCAR suspended him for testing positive for banned substances . The substances were identified as Sudafed , a non @-@ prescription over @-@ the @-@ counter allergy medication , and Advil , an over @-@ the @-@ counter pain reliever . In April 1988 , Richmond sued NASCAR over the suspension . Although he retested later that year and was reinstated , he could not find a car to drive . In his final public appearance in February 1988 , Richmond denied that he abused drugs and said that a mistake had been made in his drug test . His suit with NASCAR was settled out @-@ of @-@ court , the terms sealed .   Richmond withdrew into his condo in Florida . There were by then rumors of HIV and AIDS , which he denied . He was later hospitalized in West Palm Beach .   ESPN sent a get @-@ well @-@ soon card to Richmond when it aired the July 1989 NASCAR race at Pocono . The television network showed highlights of Richmond 's victory at the track from 1986 . " Tim had Hollywood good looks and the charisma of Tom Cruise , " said his friend Dr. Jerry Punch . " There he was in victory lane with the team all around him and beauty queens hanging all over him . It was important for the people at the hospital to see Tim the way he really was , when he was healthy and handsome and vital , not the way he was as they saw him every day in the hospital . "   On August 13 , 1989 , Richmond died at the age of 34 , about two years after his final NASCAR race . He was buried in Ashland , Ohio .   The secrecy surrounding the circumstance of his death caused speculation for several days . At the time , Punch stated that Richmond had been hospitalized due to a motorcycle accident , though it is unlikely that Richmond had the strength to ride a motorcycle during his last months . Ten days after his death , on August 23 , the Richmond family held a press conference to reveal that Richmond died from complications from AIDS , which he acquired from an unknown woman . Richmond 's physician , Dr. David Dodson , said : " There 's no way of knowing who that woman was . Tim was a celebrity with a lot of charisma , a handsome guy . He naturally attracted a lot of women . " Punch later claimed that more than 90 drivers and personnel underwent HIV testing in the wake of Richmond 's death .   = = Legacy = =   In 1990 , a few months after Richmond 's death , Washington television station WJLA @-@ TV and reporter Robert
Ġspun Ġin Ġa Ġthree Ġ@ - @ Ġcar Ġaccident Ġ. ĠThe Ġremaining Ġlaps Ġof Ġthe Ġrace Ġwhere Ġcompleted Ġslowly Ġunder Ġcaution Ġand ĠRichmond Ġtook Ġthe Ġche c kered Ġflag Ġfor Ġthe Ġvictory Ġ. ĠHe Ġhad Ġled Ġ97 Ġlaps Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthe Ġfinal Ġ30 Ġ, Ġtaking Ġhis Ġfirst Ġvictory Ġin Ġa ĠRick ĠHend rick Ġcar Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġtour Ġreturned Ġto ĠPoc ono Ġa Ġmonth Ġlater Ġ, Ġand ĠRichmond Ġbattled Ġfor Ġanother Ġvictory Ġin Ġa Ġfog Ġ@ - @ Ġshortened Ġevent Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġfinal Ġ8 Ġ@ - @ Ġlap Ġsprint Ġ, ĠRichmond Ġcompeted Ġin Ġa Ġthree Ġ@ - @ Ġcar Ġbattle Ġwith ĠGeoff ĠBod ine Ġand ĠRicky ĠRudd Ġ. ĠRichmond Ġcrossed Ġthe Ġfinish Ġline Ġbeside ĠRudd Ġ, Ġwinning Ġthe Ġrace Ġby Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ05 Ġseconds Ġ. ĠHe Ġnot ched Ġfour Ġmore Ġvictories Ġthat Ġseason Ġ, Ġand Ġover Ġa Ġspan Ġof Ġtwelve Ġraces Ġ, ĠRichmond Ġearned Ġthree Ġsecond Ġ@ - @ Ġplace Ġfinishes Ġ, Ġand Ġsix Ġwins Ġ. ĠThe ĠNational ĠMotors ports ĠPress ĠAssociation Ġnamed Ġhim ĠCo Ġ@ - @ ĠDriver Ġof Ġthe ĠYear Ġwith ĠEarn hardt Ġafter ĠRichmond Ġaccumulated Ġ13 Ġtop Ġ5 Ġfinishes Ġand Ġ16 Ġin Ġthe Ġtop Ġ10 Ġ. ĠHe Ġhad Ġa Ġcareer Ġ@ - @ Ġbest Ġthird Ġ@ - @ Ġplace Ġfinish Ġin Ġpoints Ġafter Ġwinning Ġseven Ġevents Ġin Ġ1986 Ġ, Ġin Ġwhat Ġwas Ġhis Ġlast Ġfull ĠNASCAR Ġseason Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠIll ness Ġand Ġdeath Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠRichmond Ġfell Ġill Ġthe Ġday Ġafter Ġthe Ġ1986 ĠNASCAR Ġannual Ġbanquet Ġduring Ġa Ġpromotional Ġtrip Ġto ĠNew ĠYork Ġ. ĠHe Ġwas Ġnot Ġwell Ġenough Ġto Ġbegin Ġthe Ġ1987 ĠNASCAR Ġseason Ġdespite Ġlengthy Ġhospital ization Ġin ĠCleveland Ġand Ġfurther Ġrest Ġat Ġhome Ġ; Ġwhen ĠRichmond Ġmissed Ġthe ĠDaytona Ġ500 Ġ, Ġhis Ġcondition Ġwas Ġreported Ġas Ġdouble Ġpneumonia Ġ. ĠMedia Ġlater Ġreported Ġthat Ġhe Ġhad Ġtested Ġpositive Ġfor Ġacquired Ġimmune Ġdeficiency Ġsyndrome Ġ( ĠAIDS Ġ) Ġ. ĠHe Ġreturned Ġto ĠPoc ono Ġfor Ġthe ĠMiller ĠHigh ĠLife Ġ500 Ġduring Ġthe Ġmiddle Ġof Ġthe Ġyear Ġ. ĠStarting Ġthird Ġ, Ġhe Ġled Ġby Ġthe Ġfifth Ġlap Ġand Ġultimately Ġled Ġ82 Ġlaps Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthe Ġfinal Ġ46 Ġ, Ġto Ġwin Ġthe Ġrace Ġby Ġeight Ġcar Ġ@ - @ Ġlengths Ġover ĠBill ĠElliott Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġmiddle Ġof Ġthe Ġrace Ġ, ĠRichmond Ġ' s Ġcar Ġsuffered Ġgear box Ġproblems Ġ. ĠBecause Ġhe Ġcould Ġuse Ġonly Ġfourth Ġ( Ġhigh Ġ) Ġgear Ġ, Ġhe Ġhad Ġto Ġuse Ġthat Ġgear Ġto Ġslowly Ġexit Ġthe Ġpits Ġ. ĠRichmond Ġwas Ġemotional Ġafter Ġthe Ġvictory Ġ, Ġsaying Ġ, Ġ" ĠI Ġhad Ġtears Ġin Ġmy Ġeyes Ġwhen ĠI Ġtook Ġthe Ġche c kered Ġflag Ġ. ĠThen Ġevery Ġtime Ġanyone Ġcongratulated Ġme Ġ, ĠI Ġstarted Ġb aw ling Ġagain Ġ. Ġ" ĠRichmond Ġearned Ġa Ġvictory Ġin Ġthe Ġnext Ġrace Ġat ĠRiverside Ġ, Ġand Ġmade Ġhis Ġfinal Ġ1987 Ġstart Ġat ĠMichigan ĠInternational ĠSpeedway Ġ' s ĠChampion ĠSpark ĠPlug Ġ400 Ġthat ĠAugust Ġ, Ġfinishing Ġ29 th Ġwith Ġa Ġblown Ġengine Ġ. ĠHe Ġresigned Ġfrom ĠHend rick ĠMotors ports Ġin ĠSeptember Ġ1987 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAlthough ĠRichmond Ġattempted Ġa Ġcomeback Ġin Ġ1988 Ġ, ĠNASCAR Ġsuspended Ġhim Ġfor Ġtesting Ġpositive Ġfor Ġbanned Ġsubstances Ġ. ĠThe Ġsubstances Ġwere Ġidentified Ġas ĠSud af ed Ġ, Ġa Ġnon Ġ@ - @ Ġprescription Ġover Ġ@ - @ Ġthe Ġ@ - @ Ġcounter Ġallergy Ġmedication Ġ, Ġand ĠAd vil Ġ, Ġan Ġover Ġ@ - @ Ġthe Ġ@ - @ Ġcounter Ġpain Ġreliever Ġ. ĠIn ĠApril Ġ1988 Ġ, ĠRichmond Ġsued ĠNASCAR Ġover Ġthe Ġsuspension Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġhe Ġret ested Ġlater Ġthat Ġyear Ġand Ġwas Ġreinstated Ġ, Ġhe Ġcould Ġnot Ġfind Ġa Ġcar Ġto Ġdrive Ġ. ĠIn Ġhis Ġfinal Ġpublic Ġappearance Ġin ĠFebruary Ġ1988 Ġ, ĠRichmond Ġdenied Ġthat Ġhe Ġabused Ġdrugs Ġand Ġsaid Ġthat Ġa Ġmistake Ġhad Ġbeen Ġmade Ġin Ġhis Ġdrug Ġtest Ġ. ĠHis Ġsuit Ġwith ĠNASCAR Ġwas Ġsettled Ġout Ġ@ - @ Ġof Ġ@ - @ Ġcourt Ġ, Ġthe Ġterms Ġsealed Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠRichmond Ġwithdrew Ġinto Ġhis Ġcondo Ġin ĠFlorida Ġ. ĠThere Ġwere Ġby Ġthen Ġrumors Ġof ĠHIV Ġand ĠAIDS Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhe Ġdenied Ġ. ĠHe Ġwas Ġlater Ġhospitalized Ġin ĠWest ĠPalm ĠBeach Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠESPN Ġsent Ġa Ġget Ġ@ - @ Ġwell Ġ@ - @ Ġsoon Ġcard Ġto ĠRichmond Ġwhen Ġit Ġaired Ġthe ĠJuly Ġ1989 ĠNASCAR Ġrace Ġat ĠPoc ono Ġ. ĠThe Ġtelevision Ġnetwork Ġshowed Ġhighlights Ġof ĠRichmond Ġ' s Ġvictory Ġat Ġthe Ġtrack Ġfrom Ġ1986 Ġ. Ġ" ĠTim Ġhad ĠHollywood Ġgood Ġlooks Ġand Ġthe Ġcharisma Ġof ĠTom ĠCruise Ġ, Ġ" Ġsaid Ġhis Ġfriend ĠDr . ĠJerry ĠPunch Ġ. Ġ" ĠThere Ġhe Ġwas Ġin Ġvictory Ġlane Ġwith Ġthe Ġteam Ġall Ġaround Ġhim Ġand Ġbeauty Ġqueens Ġhanging Ġall Ġover Ġhim Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġimportant Ġfor Ġthe Ġpeople Ġat Ġthe Ġhospital Ġto Ġsee ĠTim Ġthe Ġway Ġhe Ġreally Ġwas Ġ, Ġwhen Ġhe Ġwas Ġhealthy Ġand Ġhandsome Ġand Ġvital Ġ, Ġnot Ġthe Ġway Ġhe Ġwas Ġas Ġthey Ġsaw Ġhim Ġevery Ġday Ġin Ġthe Ġhospital Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠOn ĠAugust Ġ13 Ġ, Ġ1989 Ġ, ĠRichmond Ġdied Ġat Ġthe Ġage Ġof Ġ34 Ġ, Ġabout Ġtwo Ġyears Ġafter Ġhis Ġfinal ĠNASCAR Ġrace Ġ. ĠHe Ġwas Ġburied Ġin ĠAsh land Ġ, ĠOhio Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġsecrecy Ġsurrounding Ġthe Ġcircumstance Ġof Ġhis Ġdeath Ġcaused Ġspeculation Ġfor Ġseveral Ġdays Ġ. ĠAt Ġthe Ġtime Ġ, ĠPunch Ġstated Ġthat ĠRichmond Ġhad Ġbeen Ġhospitalized Ġdue Ġto Ġa Ġmotorcycle Ġaccident Ġ, Ġthough Ġit Ġis Ġunlikely Ġthat ĠRichmond Ġhad Ġthe Ġstrength Ġto Ġride Ġa Ġmotorcycle Ġduring Ġhis Ġlast Ġmonths Ġ. ĠTen Ġdays Ġafter Ġhis Ġdeath Ġ, Ġon ĠAugust Ġ23 Ġ, Ġthe ĠRichmond Ġfamily Ġheld Ġa Ġpress Ġconference Ġto Ġreveal Ġthat ĠRichmond Ġdied Ġfrom Ġcomplications Ġfrom ĠAIDS Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhe Ġacquired Ġfrom Ġan Ġunknown Ġwoman Ġ. ĠRichmond Ġ' s Ġphysician Ġ, ĠDr . ĠDavid ĠDod son Ġ, Ġsaid Ġ: Ġ" ĠThere Ġ' s Ġno Ġway Ġof Ġknowing Ġwho Ġthat Ġwoman Ġwas Ġ. ĠTim Ġwas Ġa Ġcelebrity Ġwith Ġa Ġlot Ġof Ġcharisma Ġ, Ġa Ġhandsome Ġguy Ġ. ĠHe Ġnaturally Ġattracted Ġa Ġlot Ġof Ġwomen Ġ. Ġ" ĠPunch Ġlater Ġclaimed Ġthat Ġmore Ġthan Ġ90 Ġdrivers Ġand Ġpersonnel Ġunderwent ĠHIV Ġtesting Ġin Ġthe Ġwake Ġof ĠRichmond Ġ' s Ġdeath Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠLegacy Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ1990 Ġ, Ġa Ġfew Ġmonths Ġafter ĠRichmond Ġ' s Ġdeath Ġ, ĠWashington Ġtelevision Ġstation ĠW J LA Ġ@ - @ ĠTV Ġand Ġreporter ĠRobert