R.I.P. Tim, I truely miss you.
With the NASCAR HOF being in the news lately, I wanted to remind us all of one of the greats in our sport that left a empty spot in my heart when he passed. Tim Richmond was exciting, controversial, flashy and didn't much fit in the the others on the circuit at that time. If one could get past the image of the man, you learned that this was a racer. I my life I don't think I have ever seen anyone come into the sport and make an impact so quickly. Raw talent with "Moxie" and the desire to achieve his goal of being a winner on the Cup circuit. When I think of Tim, the first thought is of him qualifing at Charlotte. Every qualifing lap looked the same... deep into the corners and side ways off. This man had it all and I wish he could have stayed around a little longer.Bumpertag in S. Carolina
Hey Tim. I agree with you. Earnhardt would have not won 1994 title if not for Ernie Irvan's crash at Michigan also. And with Tim Richmond, Davey Allison, and Alan Kulwickis death who knows what the 1990's would have held. Jeff Gordon would not have had his 4 titles. My guess Earnhardt would have 4 titles, Jeff Gordon 2 titles. I still firmly believe if Earnhardt was still with us they wouldnt be driving those crap cars they drive now. The sport truly changed when The Intimidator died. But going back to Tim Richmond, he was truly one of my favorite drivers of all time and it will always irritate me how Nascar just shunned him during his illness and after his death. They barely talk of him today. Very sad to one of the great drivers of all time in my opinion.
NASCAR did more than shun Tim Richmond, they tried to ruin his name by implying he was involved in drug abuse, same as they're doing now, for whatever reason, to Jeremy Mayfield. They've also attempted to discredit Bill Simpson, blaming Earnhardt's death on Simpson's manufacturing.I really wish we as fans could do something when an organization like NASCAR can deem someone's reputation as expendable for it's own self-serving interests. Richmond, Mayfield, Simpson, and others we may not even know about deserve better.
Tim Richmond is another case of the media (and in motorsports the sanctioning bodies) simply re-writing history for their on benefit and glory.Sad thing is that the FAMILIES have to live with misinformation and lies for the remainder of their lives.This country's most horrible motorsports incident, the 1964 Indianapolis 500 accident involving Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs, is another perfect example of history being re-writen.The world stills believes a rookie (Dave MacDonald) went to Indy, was too aggressive and lost control of his car on the second lap killing himself and the "Crown Prince of Racing" - Eddie Sachs.But, it goes much deeper than that with the error actually belonging to Eddie and Walt Hangsen.The sad part...............the families sometimes believe all this crap and they live with misinformation for decades unless organizations such as this keep digging for the truth.The truth is now out about the 1964 Indy 500, and in recent print via a popular magazine, so lets keep pushing forward and help the Tim Richmond family members.And, I am personally proud to have been involved in setting the story straight about 1964 Indy. The MacDonald family deserved the truth! I took a lot of crap for setting the story straight............but that is OK as I feel very good inside.RacersReunion is on the leading edge and has the ability to get the truth out about these horrible misinformation cases.Lets all keep pressing forward.
I certainly do not want to take away from this important discussion on Tim Richmond but if anyone wants the truth about Indy 1964 send me an e-mail and I will direct you to the correct information. Be prepared to read for several hours.And, lets keep digging and explaining the truth about Tim Richmond.Trust me, it does make a difference, especially with a format such at RacersReunion.
Live hard, die hard
Thanks guys for echoing my thoughts about Tim. Great driver, wonderful personality, flashy and could always make you smile. Does anyone remember the ESPN broadcast from Darlington when rain was holding up the show and some of the drivers were given a mic and a camera crew and were told to go do "Something" to fill the time. Most interviewed each other and the crews, then they said lets go to Tim for our next report. The camera was zoomed way out to show the entire back stretch and infield and Tim began to talk about the steady drizzle and how he wanted to get out on the track. As he talked the camera slowly zoomed in and stopped on a port-a-jon stationed all by itself behind pitroad and then, Tim stepped out with a wide smile and continued to deliver some of the funniest lines of the day. When he finished he passed it on to another driver and Tim turned and walked back into the port-a-jon and the camera started zooming out. Classic Tim Richmond.I've always KNOWN that Earnhardt wouldn't have 7 championships if not for the loss of so many great teams and drivers. Circle the wagons boys, Intimidator Nation is growing angry.
Bumpertag, with the void of drivers and teams you mentioned NASCAR even went so far as to change from bia ply to radial tires in hopes of slowing down Dale, Sr.The tire change actually worked!With Tim and Ernie around it would have been very different.
Not so sure the change from Bias Ply was to slow Dale Sr. Other forms of racing were changing to the new radial tire in hope of a safer and more consistant tire, plus that was were the tire industry was and all felt that racing could benefit from the change. Just don't see all that was to slow any one driver, or give others more of a chance to compete. Just seemed to be the next step in the progression of the sport. Dale Sr was talented enough to compete on any tire. He was "One Tough Customer!"
The old drivers had grown up on the bias plys and the new young guns were radial based. Dale, Sr.'s production actually did drop off for the first few years on radials.The sport was changing and changing tires would eliminate the older drivers and bring on the young, good lookin', good talking, good promoting drivers who would not know what clay was if you stuck it in their face.This was actually the beginning of the end of NASCAR as we knew it.
We may just have to agree to disagree on this. I can't see NASCAR pushing to change to radials to make any group of drivers less competetive and usher in a group of "Cover Girls" to replace them. Lets look at this, Dale Sr was the BIGGEST name in NASCAR and had a huge fan base that would cheer him on and have others cheering against him. Either way NASCAR benefited when Dale Sr was on the track. But to do something to make him obsolete would not benefit anyone. NASCAR lives only because of the product we see each week and if we like what we see, we buy tickets and support the sponsors. If they intentionally put Dale Sr out to pasture it would be like cutting their own throats, a huge number of fans would not support NASCAR and the decline would be huge for the sport. I don't a "Grassy Knoll" in the change to radials. It was time for move the sport forward and Goodyear had enough exsperience that they produced a tire suitable for NASCAR racing. I see it only as the next step forward for the sport.
Hey, disagreement is good!Cheers!
10-4. HAPPY RACING AND DON'T LIFT TILL YOU TAKE THE CHECKERS.