Originally Posted by racefan20:
Do your homework on Tim Richmond guys. He was suspended for not turning over his medical records to hide the fact he had AIDS. The "drug" suspension was for over the counter meds.
From wiki:
In 1988, Richmond again tried to make another run in NASCAR (by securing a ride with Ken Ragan's Ford for the Busch Clash), but NASCAR was concerned not only about Richmond's health, but also about how he contracted AIDS in the first place. They subjected Richmond (and Richmond alone) to a drug test and several days later, NASCAR announced that Richmond was suspended indefinitely for testing positive for banned substances. Richmond was livid saying that he had not taken any banned substances and demanded another test, which he passed. NASCAR later admitted that the only substances found in the first test were the over-the-counter medications Sudafed and Advil. They also released the permanent ban, but refused to allow Richmond to drive again until he surrendered his medical records that said he had AIDS.
As a big fan of Tim Richmond (back when I actually cared about NASCAR in the 80's, when it was still real racing), I appreciate you clearing the air for the uninformed. If you hadn't, I would have.
On the topic at hand, I admire Aaron Fike for coming out and speaking about this. The fact that he admits to taking heroin on race days is horrific and scary, but clearly he is trying to atone for his mistakes. He knowingly made himself look worse than he already had been viewed in the eyes of "John Q. Public" because he admits to what we all just feared MIGHT be the case; that he was actually on drugs while racing. But, he came clean in order to try to effect change. Clearly this is his path to redemption, and I believe it to be completely genuine. I think Aaron is honestly through with drugs based on his decision to throw himself onto the sword and shine a light on the subject at hand. It seems to me that he merely wants to make certain this never happens again to anyone in the sport of auto racing. It's simply too dangerous to allow for the chance that someone is "slipping through the cracks", and racing under the influence on raceday, in any series. I commend him for that...
Sincerely,
Dean Mills