Driver Tim Richmond, 34, Died of AIDS, Doctor Says

Stock car driver Tim Richmond contracted AIDS “through heterosexual contact” and died of complications from the disease at age 34, a physician close to the driver’s family said today.

Dr. David W. Dodson, the attending physician at the time of Richmond’s death Sunday, confirmed earlier reports that Richmond had AIDS.

The driver’s family decided that information about the case should be released in the hopes that it will “save others from having to endure the suffering Tim experienced,” Dodson said in a statement. The cause of Richmond’s death previously had been listed as “natural.”

Diagnosed in 1986

Richmond’s condition was diagnosed as AIDS in 1986 while he was hospitalized at the Cleveland Clinic for pneumonia, Dodson said.

“We would like to dispel any rumors as absolutely untrue that he contracted the disease through intravenous drug use, homosexual encounter or a blood transfusion,” Dodson said. “Tim died of complications of acquired immune deficiency syndrome, which he contracted through heterosexual contact.”

Richmond’s best year on the NASCAR circuit was in 1986 when he won seven races and finished third in the Winston Cup standings.

Despite the illness, Richmond won two straight races in 1987. Later that year, he missed a race because of complications from AIDS, Dodson said.