By Rick Houston
Tim Richmond was hospitalized following the 1986 season for what was announced as double pneumonia, and it would be early April before he felt well enough to at least take his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet out for a test run at Darlington.
The April 9, 1987 issue of Grand National Scene featured coverage of the test, and a subsequent press conference. Richmond ran laps well in excess of the track qualifying record at the time, held by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Geoff Bodine.
Richmond would make his return in The Winston all-star race at Charlotte the following month, before capturing victories in his first two official, points-paying events of the season at Pocono and Riverside.
The triumph of his return was short lived, however, and Richmond died in August 1989 of complications from AIDS. There is perhaps no bigger “what if” story in all of NASCAR than Tim Richmond’s.
For more than 32 years, Grand National/Winston Cup/NASCAR Scene writers and photographers were there to record NASCAR history as it was being made. Join hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid each week on The Scene Vault Podcast Presented by Q Ware as they take a look back at the extraordinary people, places and events woven into the rich tapestry that is our sport.
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