Burdett Dies After Battle With AIDS : Obituary: Sportsman division driver revealed he was HIV-positive in a letter in Saugus Speedway racing program a year ago.

Steve Burdett, a former Sportsman division driver at Saugus Speedway who retired from racing last season after announcing he was HIV-positive, has died after a five-month illness as a result of AIDS. He was 31.

Burdett died Thursday at 7:30 a.m. at his home in West Hollywood after battling lymphoma since February, according to his mother, Nanette Matuska. Burdett had been hospitalized periodically until a few weeks ago, Matuska said.

“He had chemotherapy and he seemed to be getting better for a while,” she said. “But they didn’t think he was going to make it very long.”

On Aug. 14, 1993, Burdett, a popular 10-year Saugus veteran, pulled off the track and out of the Sportsman points race in the middle of a 50-lap main event.

Increasingly fatigued by the virus but not suffering from AIDS, Burdett decided he was no longer able to meet the physical demands of driving.

He also seized the opportunity to deliver a message.

Earlier that evening, in an open letter in the track’s racing program, Burdett announced to the crowd of almost 5,000 that more than two years ago he tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

And although it was not mentioned in the letter, Burdett had begun to admit to his competitors that he was gay.

Burdett said he wrote the letter for the purpose of promoting AIDS awareness and to quell rumors about his sexual orientation.

“This disease isn’t going to go away overnight,” Burdett said in an interview last August. “If it ever happens to other people, they can think back: ‘Steve Burdett handled it. So can I.’ ”

As for his sexual identity, Burdett said, “I am who I am. I’m not going to pretend I’m someone I’m not. . . . I just hope people can accept it.”

Burdett’s career began in 1984 in Saugus’ defunct Modified division. He joined the Sportsman class in 1986 but never won a main event or finished higher than 11th in points.

Burdett competed part time after testing positive for HIV in 1991.

After his retirement, Burdett’s driving responsibilities were assumed by car owner Henry Miles of Sylmar.

The team was unable to finish the season because of mechanical and financial difficulties, and did not field an entry this season. “He was there helping me,” Miles said about last season.

“He was a real big part in actually having the car out there. But after the second time the engine blew, that was all there was to it.”

Burdett continued to work as an auto mechanic in Hollywood before becoming ill, but he did not appear at Saugus this season.

“He was in and out of the hospital quite a bit,” Miles said. “Finally, it got to the point where they couldn’t do anything more for him, so he went home.”

Burdett is survived by his parents, who divorced when he was a toddler, a sister, two half-brothers and a half-sister.

A memorial service is scheduled Friday at 7 p.m. at Bade Mortuary, 10177 Tujunga Canyon Blvd., Tujunga.