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Tim Richmond raced in the 1980s in NASCAR, and he was hellfire. Really, the only racer I think actually matched Dale Earnhardt in his era for pure driving talent. Handsome, stylish Ohio via Fort Lauderdale kid. Easy to like and, like I said, hell on wheels. Fast. Car control through the roof. That was Richmond.

(For modern comparisons, Poolie among others compared Kyle Busch to Tim Richmond. You get the idea. But also make him naturally cool, handsome and charming.)

Richmond came in through Indy cars having been ROTY at the Indianapolis 500. After a successful stint driving for Raymond Beadle, he was hired by Rick Hendrick to drive for his new #25 Chevy sponsored by Folgers. The car was a second team car for Hendrick, which was really kind of new thinking at the time.

I can’t think of Pocono without thinking of Richmond. Thing was, he was a killer on road courses, and Pocono, with its tirfecta of weird, flat turns and road course traits, really had a thing for him. He swept both races there in 1986 as he rattled off 7 wins. He brought the #25 home third in points and shared the Driver of the Year Award with Champion Dale Earnhardt. He was right there, on his way to racing stardom, Jeff Gordon before Jeff Gordon, the future bright and filled with certain wins and titles.

But things happen.

During the break between 1986 and 1987, Richmond took ill. By time the 1987 Daytona 500 rolled around, he had to withdraw because of reported double pneumonia. Benny Parsons took over the driving duties in the renumeraled #35 as Richmond missed the first few months of the season. He made his comeback in the June Pocono race. Remarkably, he won. He quickly followed that up the following week with a win at the now defunct Riverside road course in California.

But something was obviously wrong. Come August, he had to withdraw again and Hendrick put Benny Parsons back in the car. I remember it being really strange. I remember my dad thinking he was sick with something else, like cancer or something. Then, at the end of the season, he quit Hendrick. Just like that.

To NASCAR, this was all very suspicious. So when Richmond turned up with a new ride for the 1988 Daytona 500, NASCAR was waiting there with a cup for him to pee into. Richmond obliged, and soon after NASCAR made the announcement that Richmond had failed a drug test and would not be allowed to participate in the race. Richmond claimed it was a prescription respiratory medication he was taking, to which NASCAR played their trump card. They demanded his medical records in order to prove his innocence.

Richmond, of course, had no interest in revealing to the world he had AIDS. So he never raced again.

Back then, people were really confused about AIDS. There was a lot of ignorance. People thought it was a “gay disease”. So while Richmond probably knew very well what he had, he understandably was very protective about the truth. It wasn’t until after his death in August of 1989 that the truth about his illness was revealed to the world.

The following year, there were several news reports which called into question the authenticity of the drug tests administered by NASCAR. Dr. Forest Tennant, it is alleged, worked with NASCAR in order to “create false drug-test results in 1988 to bar Richmond from racing”. It is also alleged that Tennant worked with NASCAR to specifically develop a drug testing policy with the intent of ensnaring Richmond.

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In two short years Richmond collected a total of 9 wins for the #25 Hendrick Chevy. In fact, his win total for that car eclipses the combined total of all those who have driven the #25 in the 20 seasons since. This includes drivers like Parsons, Kenny Schrader, Ricky Craven, Jerry Nadeau, Joe Nemecheck and Brian Vickers. For all of it’s early promise, the #25 team itself has never had the storied history of its stable mates at Hendrick. It has always underperformed. Some say that there is a connection. Some say it is cursed in some way.

Personally, I don’t believe in such things. But do I have to remind you that the old #25 team is now the #88?

Like I said, synchronic strings.

The film is comprised of footage and interviews with Earnhardt and those in his life on and off the track. The director chose a seminal moment in Earnhardt’s career, his long-awaited triumph in the Daytona 500, as the framework to hang the story of his life on. As the documentary progresses through Dale’s life as told through interviews with the likes of Theresa Earnhardt, Richard Childress and Darrell Waltrip, it jumps back to the broadcast of the 1998 Daytona 500 creating a nice parallel between the arc of the racing hero’s life and the race itself.

The Earnhardt racing footage is fantastic. My two kids are too young to really have seen Earnhardt race; all they have are the stories from their old man. But here it was, on the big screen, Earnhardt man-handling his car and the competition. Jeez, I’ve forgotten what an absolute bastard he was on the track! Fender banging with the likes of Tim Richmond, Waltrip, and Bill Elliot, tearing up sheet metal, driving like a hero and making everyone just a little mad. Vintage stuff that I’m glad that I got to share with my kids.

One of the things I really didn’t realize was how close Earnhardt was with broadcaster Steve Burns. I like Burns, but apparently Earnhardt did too. There is some great footage here of the mischievous Earnhardt, the inner 8-year old, mugging for the camera and just plain old messing with Burns. He nearly kills the guy with a bulldozer and cackles while doing it. The stories here are rich and go a long way to softening the edge of “The Intimidator” as we have known him.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the other story in this documentary, and whether by design or not, the story of his relationship with his father is the real “sticky” part of the film for me. There are some powerful moments here with Jr. remembering his hero. The footage of Jr. as a little kid at the race track dressed in the colors of the Goodwrench crew, looking worshipfully at his father in victory lane is touching and sad. Here was this little kid, so close to his father, yet so far. His present day interview for this documentary was obviously draining, his eyes red and tear-filled throughout. If you doubt whether this guy is the real, genuine human article, you must see this film. Then you’ll probably understand why he is the most popular racer in America.

I was pleased to find this film wasn’t real redneck. What I mean is that, although true to the rural, southern blue-collar roots of his life, the documentary itself wasn’t filtered through the swollen eyes of beer-swigging Talladega infielders. He fishes, he farms and gets his hands dirty, but thankfully there is no hunting footage. Last thing I needed was to apologize to my wife for the deer-killing scene.

A curious omission to me was Neil Bonnett. The late Bonnett, a NASCAR star in his own right, was as close to Earnhardt as anyone was, and I can’t figure out for the life of me why there was absolutely nothing in the film about their relationship. That ESPN movie “3″ had this relationship as a central part of their tale, but it was totally absent here. What gives?

We all know how the movie ends. As a fan, I gotta say his death was handled perfectly in this film. They show what happened, they interview everyone about it, even his mother. Enough time has passed that even Chocolate Meyers seems to be stronger for it. Of course, seeing Harvick win at Atlanta 3 weeks later still has a healing affect, as does the knowledge that many drivers have been saved by the safety innovations created in the wake of his accident.

If you are a Dale Earnhardt fan, you must see this. It should be mandatory for any NASCAR fan that came on board in the last 10 years. I’m objective enough as a race fan to realize that there are other drivers like Jeff Gordon who will statistically eclipse Earnhardt. But his career and life were kinda like this movie: Simply epic.

The driver of which I speak is of course, Jeff Gordon. Like many fans, I’ve watched this guy through his entire career, from USAC sprints to Daytona’s victory lane. I distinctly remember seeing him in his first Winston Cup race at Atlanta in 1992 and saying to my wife:” See that kid? Get used to him. We’ll be sick of him by time it’s all over.”

And Jeffy didn’t let me down. He became everything I thought he would, and even more.

I did get sick of him, especially all the winning. In the late ’90’s, he was on pace to surpass even the great Richard Petty in win totals. Seemed every time you looked up, that DuPont rainbow scheme was in the lead, or bearing down on it. He’d take the lead late in the race, and I’d pretty much shut off the TV because I knew that once he had that Chevy on point that late in the going, it was over. He would preserve his tires when warranted, or shove a guy out of the way if it called for it. He still embodies the perfect balance between driver and racer. A potent mixture, as reflected in his career stats.

So here I am, the sensible Earnhardt fan, professing my admiration for Jeff Gordon. What gives? Facts, pure and simple. Gordon has Earnhardt and pretty much anybody else who ever wheeled a stock car covered, factoring in modern-day competition and all. Oh, I’ve seen Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborourgh, Buddy Baker and all those cats, too. Gordon has their racer’s bravery, but he’s a much smarter driver than those guys. Waltrip? In his heyday, maybe. David Pearson? That win total is impressive (105), but not out of reach for Gordon. If he chooses to keep racing through say 2014, he’s gonna catch him.

I doubt that Gordon will match the 7 championships of Petty or Earnhardt, and there’s no way that ANYBODY will match Petty’s total of 200 wins. But, I doubt that Petty or any of those other guys will ever host Saturday Night Live.

So my fellow Earnhardt fans, grow up and face the facts: Gordon bested Earnhardt. Your jealous actions just re-enforce tired old clichés about ignorant rednecks. You look stupid, and you soil the legacy of our mutual hero, The Man in Black. While you were building up that wall of hatred and loathing against Gordon, you missed enjoying his spectacular career unfold. What’s the problem? Don’t have room for more than one hero?