RICHARD "DICK" TRICKLE - 10/27/1941 - 05/16/2013
was an American NASCAR Cup series driver. He raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin, winning many championships along the way. Trickle competed in the ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All Pro, IMCA, NASCAR, and USAC. In more than an estimated 2,200 races, Trickle logged one million laps and is believed to have won over 1,200 feature races. He was billed as the winningest short track driver in history. Trickle's career highlights include racing to 67 wins in 1972. In 1968 he won the USAC Stock Car rookie of the year, and winning the 1989 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award in the Sprint Cup series (at age 48). Trickle was nicknamed the "White Knight" as referenced by his sponsored SuperAmerica paint scheme, when he raced in Wisconsin. In 1989 Trickle made his full schedule debut driving the #84 Miller High Life Buick for Stavola Brothers Racing. He had raced an occasional race during the 1970s and 1980s. After being given the Rookie of the Year trophy at the NASCAR Awards banquet, he quipped "I guess I’d just like to thank everyone who gave a young guy like me a chance". His best career Winston Cup finish was third (5 times). He started 303 races, with 15 Top 5 and 36 Top 10 finishes. In 1990, he won the Winston Open (now the NASCAR Sprint Showdown.) in the #66 TropArtic Pontiac. It was a non-points All-Star event for drivers who did not win in the previous year. He beat Rob Moroso by 8 inches, the smallest margin of victory at the event. He also won his only career Cup pole at Dover Downs International Speedway. Part of his popularity stemmed from his unusual, double-entendre name. ESPN's Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann often made it
a point to mention where he finished whenever NASCAR highlights were featured on Sportscenter. He was either referred as Mr. Trickle or "The Man". He was also widely noted for having drilled a hole in his safety helmet so that he could smoke while racing, and for installing cigarette lighters in his race cars. Trickle had an infamous wreck. Once while under yellow in the 1995 Daytona 500, he ran into Robert Pressley while lighting a cigarette. Drivers were allowed by NASCAR to smoke in the race car during yellow flag periods, and in the 1990 Winston 500 (now the Aaron's 499), Trickle was seen on live television by the in-car camera lighting up and smoking a cigarette. Dick's nephew Chris was shot on February 9, 1997. Trickle left his
1975 Daytona 500
1989 Cup ride
home in Las Vegas around 9 p.m. to play tennis with a friend. As he drove over the freeway a car drove alongside and fired shots into his car hitting him in the head. Trickle died from complications of his wounds on March 25, 1998, 409 days after the shooting. His murder remains unsolved. Dick also raced in the Xfinity Series, where he won two races. He had 158 career starts, with 24 Top 5 and 42 Top 10 finishes. He made his Xfinity Series debut in 1984. Trickle died May 16, 2013, from an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound. The incident occurred at 12:02 p.m. at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City, North
Carolina. The Lincoln County Communications Center received a call, apparently from the victim, saying that "there's going to be a dead body. Suicide." When the 911 operator asked who was about to commit suicide, Trickle responded: "I'm the one". Trickle was found dead beside his pickup truck. His granddaughter, who died in a car accident, was buried in the same cemetery. Some info from Wikipedia
1997 Cup Series
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