NickHolt Posted May 16, 2013 Report Share Posted May 16, 2013 Former NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Richard "Dick" Trickle, 71, died on Thursday. Dick Trickle According to a release from the Lincoln County (NC) Sheriff's Office, Trickle died from an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound. The incident occurred at 12:02 p.m. ET at Forest Lawn Cemetery on Highway 150 East in Boger City. The release states that the Lincoln County Communications Center received a call apparently from the victim that "there would be a dead body and it would be his." Communications Center workers tried to place a return call to the number but did not get an answer. The first emergency units arriving on the scene located the body lying near the victim's pickup truck. Trickle's nephew, Chris Trickle, was also a NASCAR driver and was murdered in an unsolved drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1998. Chris Trickle died from his wounds 409 days after the shooting. Trickle's murder remains unsolved and was featured on America's Most Wanted. Trickle made 303 Cup starts from 1970-2002 and was Rookie of the Year in 1989. He earned 36 top-10 finishes, 15 of them top fives. But he was far better known in short track racing circles as a legitimate legend who won more than 1,200 short-track races in the Midwest. He was known as "America's Winningest Driver." Rest in Peace, Mr. Trickle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebelracewriter Posted May 16, 2013 Report Share Posted May 16, 2013 Pretty sad deal....having grown up in the midwest and follow the ASA/ARTGO series' I saw Trickle win many of his races.....The man could drive a Late Model.... I've seen him show up five minutes before qualifying ended at LaCrosse Spwy, unload, and proceed to set fast time with no practice.... I met him in the mens room of Grundy County Speedway.....I walked in and said hello....Without missing a beat he turned to me and said, "No, this isn't how I got my name.".....I nearly fell in..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted May 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2013 A racers' racer if there ever was one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted May 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 Here is a very moving tribute to Dick by his friend, Wayne Lensing, owner of Lefthander Chassis. I'm very saddened today when I heard about the passing of Dick Trickle. He went to the cemetary at 12 am today near his home N/C. and took his life. Dick enjoyed life , so not knowing want issue he had. I would say he had a health problem come up that was very serious and did not want his family have to go thru it with him. my sorrow goes out to his family, which now the grief is hard for them. several years back Dick, Kevin Lang, and Myself were up testing a ASA. car up at Lacroose Speedway, when suddenly the Sheriff department showed up, pulled Dick off to the side and passed on the bad news. two of his grand children just lost there lifes in a car accident. I immediately offered him a ride back in my airplane, which I flew up to Lacroose. it was an extremely hard flight. Dick held his head down a lot ,now and then he would look at me and said why them, why them. I could not answer back, it was one of the longest flights I ever flown. Dick enjoyed his cigarettes back then. I told him go a head and smoke, he said no he would not smoke on my plane, after offering a couple times I let it be. and now today I beleive he took his life in the same cemetary where they are laid to rest. For the past ten years I've been working on Dick to sell me his 1970 Mustang, its the one that he won 67 features with in 1972.I told him this car needs to be in my Museum, for all his fans up North to see, so with my persistence, he finally sold it to me, so last summer my friend Jack Bell and I went down to Charlotte where he had it stored. it was at Kenny Shraders shop, it needs total restoration, but all the parts were there, Dick spent hours explaining how the mustang was when he raced it, heres a photo taken by Kenny Wallace of Dick and I with the Mustang. To me this is the most famous car in History, and I would not trade it or sell it for anything.I'm going to restore it just as it was. Plum Purple in color, with a 427 tunnel port engine which we resently acquired. I called Dick when I picked up the engine and he told me exactly what I needed to get it like his. he was going to get me the headers and try to find me a Holman Moody oil pan. Dick was very enthusded about me getting it as when he raced it. I explained how I was going to build the wall in the museum behind his car with photo's of him and his success. I told him I wanted him to come to the Dells and be with his car when its done. but I'm so sad ,now I can not have him see what I'm going to do for him. in a way restoring his car is thanks for what he used to do for me. When I was twenty and starting racing I would go to Madison every friday night. I was always asking him things about what to do to under stand my race car better. he would always take the time to help me, Dick, I'm sure missing you, PS. I'm going to help make your name stay strong in History by showing your car and the History of your life thru the Museum. I'm glad you were my friend and I got to know you. till we meet again, and if there is a spiritual world stop in and visit your Mustang and me at your display. Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FryarFan Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 One of my true heroes growing up. Finally got to see him in person at one of the Snowballs way back when. Sad that he chose the wrong exit off the highway of life. If there is a lesson to be learned for everyone from this.....depression and suicidal thoughts are not something that should occur in the normal course of life. If you are dealing with either of these, or have a family member going through it(as many of us do), please seek help. It is available. See your doctor, call a hotline, talk to someone and get help...please. There is help for you or them....immediately. If nothing else, walk into any local church and ask to talk to someone.....they will listen. God gave all of us an incredible gift....don't sacrifice it because "things just don't feel right" or "nobody cares". We all care. Billy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 One of my true heroes growing up. Finally got to see him in person at one of the Snowballs way back when. Sad that he chose the wrong exit off the highway of life. If there is a lesson to be learned for everyone from this.....depression and suicidal thoughts are not something that should occur in the normal course of life. If you are dealing with either of these, or have a family member going through it(as many of us do), please seek help. It is available. See your doctor, call a hotline, talk to someone and get help...please. There is help for you or them....immediately. If nothing else, walk into any local church and ask to talk to someone.....they will listen. God gave all of us an incredible gift....don't sacrifice it because "things just don't feel right" or "nobody cares". We all care. Billy AMEN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liljoe0804 Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 No matter the reason for his decision to take his life, may God grant him peace and rest for eternity in the loving arms of friends and family. RIP Dick Trickle your place in racing history stands firm...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radical Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 May Dick rest and peace and my heart goes out to the family. I am familiar with this cemetary. It is where my younger brother is laid to rest after committing suicide in 1998. It is a beautiful place. I'll always remember Dick for lighting up that cigarette in his car during a caution. He was one heck of a driver and I know everyone knows that we have truly lost an amazing man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmoves 99 Posted May 17, 2013 Report Share Posted May 17, 2013 The only time I was fortunate enough to see Dick Trickle race was at Meyer Speedway , not sure of the year, but he drove Freddy Fryar's spare car to win in one of a twin late model feature races.....like I said not sure of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrodder Posted May 18, 2013 Report Share Posted May 18, 2013 In Nashville at the all american 400 in 1983 Iwas taking pictures on turn 2, each time a yellow would come out you see smoke pour out of the window net, first time I ever saw a cigarette lighter in a race car. RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliottfan Posted May 22, 2013 Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 I suspect Mr Chrudimsky has some Trickle tales to tell..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted May 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2013 Found this on ESPN.go.com written by David Newton CONCORD, N.C. -- Short-track legend Dick Trickle wouldn't have committed suicide were he not in such severe pain, his brother told ESPN.com on Friday. Trickle, 71, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Thursday in the same cemetery where his granddaughter is buried in Boger City, N.C. A day earlier, according to Chuck Trickle, the man known as the sport's greatest local short-track racer went to Duke University for more tests to help determine what was causing pain under his left breast. "Last week he told me, 'I don't know how much longer I can put up with this,'" Chuck Trickle, 68, said by phone from Las Vegas. "They were going to put something in him to help with the pain. It was a five-step process. I don't know how far along he was. "He must have just decided the pain was too high, because he would have never done it for any other reason." The Lincoln County sheriff's department said the incident occurred at 12:02 p.m. at Forest Lawn Cemetery off Highway 150. The Lincoln County Communications Center received a call, apparently from Trickle, that "there would be a dead body and it would be his." Center workers tried to place a return call to the number but did not get an answer. Emergency units found Trickle's body near his pickup truck when they arrived. A private ceremony for family members is being planned for Monday, Chuck said. Trickle is survived by his wife, Darlene, and three children - Vicky, Tod and Chad. Chuck said he hasn't heard what was in the note found at the cemetery with his brother. "I'm at a loss for words," he said. "I wish I knew the answer. This is not a thing he would do. I believe the pain was the problem." Chuck said he didn't realize how bad the pain was until last week when his brother cursed during a phone conversation. "He never cussed in his life," Chuck said. "The type of person he is, he never was sad. There were some words that came out last week that were not very good." He said his brother was talking to or meeting with doctors twice a day. "With all the technology in the world, there is no way in the world they shouldn't find this [cause for the pain]," Chuck said. "He had so many MRIs and CT scans that he said 'My skin is hurting.'" The entire NASCAR community was mourning Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway as drivers and crew members began preparation for Saturday night's All-Star Race. Those who knew Trickle best were looking for answers. "I thought about it pretty hard last night," said ESPN analyst and former Sprint Cup crew chief Ray Evernham. "The only thing you can say is Trickle lived on his terms and died on his terms, and that's the only sense I can make of it." Trickle tried to qualify one of then-Evernham Motorsports speedway development cars at Talladega in the mid-2000s. He was also scheduled to do an interview on one of his old cars being restored for Evernham's new television series "AmericaCarna," set to debut in January. "He raced the way he wanted to race," Evernham said. "He came up with that one hour sleep for every hundred miles. He partied hard. He raced hard. He did nothing his whole life but race and help people that raced. He lived for it. "His life was racing. He didn't conform. He didn't worry about all the other things. He lived on his terms." Many remember Trickle for having a working cigarette lighter in his car so he could smoke during a race. Others remember him for being a part of almost every ESPN race report just because of his colorful last name. They all remember him for being an amazing talent on short tracks, where he won more than 1,000 feature events, many in his home state of Wisconsin. "Man, Dick was a legend, you know, especially up in Wisconsin, short-track racing where I grew up," said 2003 Sprint Cup champion Matt Kenseth of Cambridge, Wis. "That era of stock car racing up in that area really died with him. "It's just crazy, surprising news." Kenseth last talked to Trickle in July at the Slinger (Wis.) Nationals. They spent most of the two-hour conversation discussing Kenseth's move from Roush Fenway Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing this season. "He kind of peeked in the trailer afterward, and of course he asked if we had any beer in there," Kenseth said. "He had a unique way of looking at things. He had a ton of common sense, and he was really smart and always had a really funny way of putting things. "Man, he went on for about an hour just about my move and what he thought was great about it and just a lot of other interesting things that made me feel good. Ninety percent of the stuff he told me through all the years I raced with him ... stuff always proved to be right. That's the last time I saw him. I'm still in shock. I don't really get it." Neither does Mark Martin, who was mentored by Trickle early in his career. "I'm confused and broken-hearted about what happened," the 54-year-old Michael Waltrip Racing driver said. Martin remembers Trickle as much for how he helped him off the track as for how he helped on it. "For the influence that he had on us and the etiquette and the way he raced," Martin said. "He raced us real hard on the racetrack, but off the racetrack he was very free with parts or advice. He gave freely. Really, really good dude." Trickle didn't move to NASCAR's top series until 1989, winning the rookie of the year award at 48, an age many in the sport are retired or close to it. "He was in his element -- short-track racing where he didn't have to look over his shoulder or worry about anything," Martin said. "That's why he didn't come NASCAR racing when he might have and was young enough that he really could have gotten his feet planted firmly here. "He was doing it his way." Trickle's only victory in NASCAR's premier series was a non-points victory in the 1990 Winston Open, the preliminary to the All-Star Race. Martin said Trickle wasn't a person to let others see him down. Chuck agreed, saying that is what tipped him off that the pain was becoming unbearable. "You can talk to any of the NASCAR guys, and every one of them would tell you this is not Dick Trickle," Chuck said. The Trickle family is not a stranger to tragedy. Chuck's son, Chris, was shot in 1997 and died the next year. Police never solved the case. Trickle's granddaughter, Nicole Ann Bowman, was killed in an accident in front of East Lincoln High School in 2001. "Whether that was part of the toll, I don't know," Chuck said. "I don't believe so. I believe the pain was the problem." 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