Late in 1986, stock car driver Tim Richmond was hospitalized for pneumonia. But, as he soon discovered, that was secondary to a more serious illness: He was diagnosed with AIDS, the acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Richmond, 31 at the time, did not want to quit racing. And he did not. He was named NASCAR's driver of the year for 1986, and planned to continue driving for as long as his strength would last.

But it was not AIDS that knocked him out of racing. In February of 1988, Richmond was suspended by NASCAR officials just before the Daytona 500 because a drug test reportedly showed he had used illegal substances.

Eighteen months later, Richmond died from AIDS after having spent much of his last year in seclusion in southern Florida. His doctor said last year that Richmond contracted AIDS from a woman who had the disease.

And now, his parents, Al and Evelyn Richmond of Ashland, Ohio, and others contend that NASCAR officials and their former drug adviser, Dr. Forest S. Tennant, used false test results to ban Richmond and ultimately end his career.

Tennant, executive director of Community Health Projects of West Covina, has come under criticism for his handling of drug tests as the National Football League's drug adviser. Tennant left NASCAR last summer in what officials termed an amicable parting.

Interviews with Tennant's former employees and sealed court documents obtained by Washington television reporter Roberta Baskin corroborated charges Richmond's parents made Tuesday that negative tests were publicly reported as positive.

Richmond, who challenged the findings in a $20-million lawsuit that was settled out of court, never raced again.

"They ruined his character," Evelyn Richmond said Tuesday, breaking three years of silence.

"It was really damaging because it was a big enough kick that he had AIDS without being (charged) with a false drug test.

"Tim demanded to be tested because of the rumor. They took him into a trailer and had him urinate over a 55-gallon drum into a bottle with some of the NASCAR officials standing there watching. That was humiliating."

In an interview last week, Tennant said the drug test was a minor part of his recommendation to disallow Richmond from racing.

"To bring up the Tim Richmond case now, with everything that has happened, is sickening," Tennant said. "There is a doctor-patient confidentiality here. But we're talking about a very sick human being at the time."