Dick Trickle

Dick Trickle

Trickle (right, facing away) in 1998
Born (1941-10-27)October 27, 1941
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died May 16, 2013(2013-05-16) (aged 71)
Boger City, North Carolina, U.S.
Cause of death Suicide
Achievements 1984 and 1985 American Speed Association Champion
7 ARTGO championships between 1979 and 1987
Considered "America's Winningest Driver" with an estimated 1,200 career wins[1]
Awards 1968 USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year
1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
303 races run over 24 years
Best finish 15th (1989)
First race 1970 Daytona 500 Qualifier #2 (Daytona)
Last race 2002 MBNA Platinum 400 (Dover)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 36 1
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
158 races run over 11 years
Best finish 11th (1999)
First race 1984 Red Carpet 200 (Milwaukee)
Last race 2001 Outback Steakhouse 300 (Kentucky)
First win 1997 Galaxy Foods 300 (Hickory)
Last win 1998 Dura-Lube 200 Presented by BI-LO (Darlington)
Wins Top tens Poles
2 42 7
Trickle's 1968 Ford Torino, raced on Wisconsin tracks

Richard "Dick" Trickle (October 27, 1941 – May 16, 2013) was an American race car 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.[2] He was billed as the winningest short track driver in history.[3] Trickle's career highlights include racing to 67 wins in 1972,[4] winning seven ARTGO Championships in nine years between 1979 and 1987, winning back to back ASA AC-Delco Challenge championships in 1984 and 1985, the 1968 USAC Stock Car rookie of the year, and winning the 1989 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award in the Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) series. Trickle was nicknamed the "White Knight" as referenced by his sponsored SuperAmerica paint scheme, when he raced in Wisconsin.[5]

Early life

Eight-year-old Dick Trickle was playing tag with his cousin Verlon on the rafters in a house under construction when he fell two floors to the basement and broke his hip.[6] He was transferred from a local hospital to the University of Wisconsin Hospital and continued his slow recovery.[6] His recovery was so slow that the doctors gave up and sent him home, presuming that he would be an invalid for the rest of his life.[6] Trickle later began to walk, although he walked with a slight limp for the rest of his life.[7] He spent three years in a cast from his waist to his foot.[6] While he was recovering as a nine-year-old, a friend took him to his first races at Crown Speedway in his hometown of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.[7] "When I got there I was flabbergasted," Trickle said. "I thought it was the neatest thing. Free shows were nothing compared to it. That race never left my mind until I was 16. I knew I was going to drive a race car when I was 16."[7]

Trickle married Darlene in 1961.[7][8] They originally lived at his grandmother's house for a while before they bought a trailer on someone else's property.[7] His nephew, Chris Trickle, was a race car driver before dying in a drive-by shooting.

Racing career

Wisconsin short track career

Trickle's family lived on welfare, so there was no money available for racing.[7] Trickle spent his summers working for area farmers, starting as a 13-year-old.[9] He also spent a lot of time at the Rudolph Blacksmith shop that his father was a partner in.[7] While his father was ill, his uncle Leonard ran the shop.[7]

"I worked part time at the shop to earn a nickel or dime," Trickle said. "At that age, it was mostly sweeping the shop, but I started to play with the welder and soon I could make an arc and then weld. I started junking machinery. I save some things getting a head start for when I would go racing at 16. I didn't have any money, but I had this pile of stuff to build a race car with. It was a hope chest.
When I turned 16, I let the farmer I was working for keep most the money I earned until fall. That fall I collected my money and went down Main Street wheeling and dealing. I finally bought a 1950 Ford in good condition for $100. It was going to be my street car, but the urge to race got too strong and I cut up and made a stock car out of it."
I did run the car a little bit before I cut it up and I ended up drag racing a classmate, Melvin Hunsinger, who had a 1949 Ford. He beat me. It seems kind of dumb when I already knew there was a car that could beat me. Eventually, I bought Hunsinger's 1949 Ford for $32.50 and put the motor in my car".[7]

Trickle started out as the slowest car in a 100-car field at a Stratford, Wisconsin short track race.[7] He raced that car at the end of the 1958 season and throughout the 1959 season, after which time he built a 1956 Ford into a race car using all of the knowledge that he had acquired.[7] In his first time out with the new car, he finished second in the feature event at Griffith Park at Wisconsin Rapids.[7] His competitors checked the rules and found out that Trickle was too young to race, even though he had already raced there for two years.[7] He had to race at other tracks for a year until he was old enough to race at his hometown track.[7] He raced for several years before deciding to race full-time.[7] After working at several jobs after high school, he had worked for two years for a local telephone company. He had been uncomfortable climbing telephone poles as he was afraid of heights.[7] He transferred to a different part of the company. Two or three years later he discussed racing full-time with his wife for he felt that he could be profitable, and they decided to make the change.[7]

Trickle raced at over 100 events each year for over 15 years.[7] He was racing at the Tomah-Sparta Speedway when Francis Kelly noticed that Trickle was always in contention for winning the races, but he lost a lot of them because he had an inferior motor. One day Kelly approached Trickle and asked him what it would cost for Trickle to win. Trickle told him a new motor; Kelly asked Trickle to compile a list of parts that he needed. When Kelly asked who would assemble the motor, Trickle responded that he could but he was a junkyard mechanic. Trickle suggested that Alan Kulwicki's father Jerry Kulwicki, who was building motors for Norm Nelson's USAC stock cars, should build the engine.[7]

A turning point in Trickle's career happened at the National Short Track Championship race at Rockford Speedway in 1966.[7] Trickle said, "The cars in that area were fancier and looked like they were ahead of us. The didn't treat us bad, but they sort of giggled at us kids with the rat cars. After two days, they look differently at those rat cars. I won and pocketed $1,645. Before, I questioned spending the money to travel that far. But if you could win, that was a different story."[7] Trickle started the 1967 season by winning at State Park Speedway and ended the season with 25 feature victories including wins at Wisconsin Dells Speedway (now Dells Raceway Park) and Golden Sands Speedway (near Wisconsin Rapids).[10]

He toured on the Central Wisconsin Racing Association (CWRA) tracks in 1971. The circuit consisted of larger asphalt track racing on most nights of the week.[11] The CWRA regular drivers were able to run over 100 events in a year, and most did the tour with one car and one engine.[12] Drivers would drive on Wednesday nights at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway, Thursday nights at State Park Speedway near Wausau, Friday nights at Capitol Speedway (now Madison International Speedway) near Madison, La Crosse, or Adams-Friendship, Saturday nights at Wisconsin Dells Speedway, and Sunday nights at Griffith Park.[12] Tuesday nights were available for special events.[12]

On Thursday nights at the quarter mile State Park Speedway, he won seven features and lowered his July 1 14.27 second track record to 14.09 seconds on the following week.[11] On Friday nights he raced primarily at Capitol Speedway, winning most nights that it did not rain and his car did not break.[13] Trickle went to Adams-Friendship on July 23 and won the feature after setting the track record.[14] He held the track record at six tracks: Adams-Friendship, Capitol, Wausau, Wisconsin Dells, and La Crosse.[14] He raced at the newly opened third mile Wisconsin Dells Speedway on Saturday nights. By the end of the year, Trickle had won 58 feature events.[15]

Trickle started his 1972 season by winning at Golden Sands Speedway near Wisconsin Rapids.[4] Wisconsin's short track racing season starts in April. By May 13, he had twelve wins in thirteen events.[4] He got this fifteenth win in twenty starts on May 27.[4] Trickle became the winningest short track driver that year when he won his 67th race.[4]

Trickle won numerous special events outside of Wisconsin in 1973, including a 200-lap feature at Rolla, Missouri in April, followed by winning a 50-lap feature the following day at I-70 Speedway near Odessa, Missouri.[16] In May he won a 50-lapper at Springfield, Missouri and two more features at I-70 Speedway.[16] Trickle used his purple 1970 Ford Mustang to win at the Minnesota Fair and at Rockford Speedway in September.[16] He had a total of 57 wins in 1973.[7]

Sanctioning bodies put in a weight-per-cubic-inch rule, and Trickle's career had problems in 1974 and 1975. "Fords almost broke me. I couldn't get any pieces for racing at my level. It took two years of hard labor and depleting my funds to realize I couldn't do this anymore. I told myself either I had to change my program or get out of racing."[7] Therefore, Trickle decided to use a General Motors car and engine. He bought a car for $13,000 on his word that he would pay for it by September. He won 35 or 40 races that year and paid for the car by July.[7]

In 1982, Trickle won track championship at State Park Speedway in Wausau where he started out the season by winning the first two features and seven total.[5] He also won the track championship at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway after winning three events in August.[5] That season he won his first Miller 200 special event at the Milwaukee Mile.[17] Trickle started racing out of state a lot more in 1983.[18] Of all of Trickle's victories, his best memory was winning the 1983 World Crown 300 in Georgia. "It took three weeks of preparation and a lot of determination," he said. "It was the biggest payday of my career up to that point ($50,000)."[7] He beat Jim Sauter by two car-lengths at the season opener, and won three straight races in May.[18] After winning on June 1, LaCrosse business raised a $700 bounty for anyone who could beat him.[19] Trickle skipped the following week, and returned the week after to lose to Steve Burgess.[19] He did not win as much at State Park, but he did win the track championship.[18] Trickle won ASA races at Coeburn, Virginia and Cayuga, Ontario in 1984, as well as the Red, White, and Blue state championship series at WIR and the Slinger Nationals at Slinger.[20]

Regional and national touring career

Trickle raced in United States Automobile Club (USAC) stock cars in 1968, and he won the series' rookie of the year award.[21]

NASCAR career

1989 rookie of the year car
Heilig Meyers' car

In 1989 Trickle made his full schedule debut driving the No. 84 Miller High Life Buick for Stavola Brothers Racing. He had raced occasionally during the 1970s and 1980s.[22] He was rookie of the year in NASCAR's Winston Cup (now the Sprint Cup) series at age 48 (and a grandfather), becoming the oldest driver in Winston Cup history to do so.[23] 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".[23] His best career Winston Cup finish was third (five times). He started 303 races, with 15 top five and 36 top ten finishes.

In 1990, he won the Winston Open (now the NASCAR Sprint Showdown) in the No. 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. In the middle of the 1991 season he went to drive the No. 24 Team III Racing Pontiac. His best finish was sixth at Dover International Speedway. In 1992 he teamed up once again with the Stavola Brothers, driving the No. 8 Snickers Ford. In 1993 he drove the No. 75 Carolina Pottery Ford for Butch Mock Motorsports and then the No. 41 Manheim Auctions Chevy for Larry Hedrick Motorsports.

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.[24] 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.[24] Trickle was 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.

Trickle even made fun of his lack of success in NASCAR's top-level series in a 1997 TV commercial for NAPA Auto Parts. In it, Trickle announces a contest where fans can win $100,000 if they pick the winner of that year's NAPA 500 race. "A little tip...it's gonna be me," he says, as an on-screen graphic points out "Dick is 0 for 243 in Cup races". "I think we get champagne (after winning)," says Trickle.[25]

Dick also raced in the Busch Series, where he won two races. He had 158 career starts, with 24 top five and 42 top ten finishes. He made his Busch Series debut in 1984.

Through the 2000s, Trickle continued to race in occasional events in Wisconsin, including the 2001 and 2007, Slinger Nationals at Slinger Super Speedway and in the ASA Midwest Tour.

Legacy

Trickle (right) at the 2009 Dick Trickle 99
Grand marshal at 2012 Slinger Nationals race

The La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway created the Dick Trickle 99 race, a 99 lap super late model event during its annual Oktoberfest race weekend.[26] Wisconsin International Raceway has named a building in turn two the "Dick Trickle Pavilion".[27] Trickle served as the de facto grand marshal of the Slinger Nationals after he retired until his death.[28]

His crashes at the Lake Placid bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track at the Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge (NASCAR and NHRA drivers raise funds for the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, owned by Bodine, to build sleds for the United States Olympic bobsled team) has that turn (17, 18, 19, the "heart curve") named the "Trickle Turn".[29]

Death

Trickle's family and Rich Bickle giving tribute at the 2013 Slinger Nationals

Trickle died May 16, 2013, from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.[30] The incident occurred at 12:02 pm 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."[28] Police attempted to call his phone back but there was no response.[30] Trickle was found dead beside his pickup truck.[30] His granddaughter, who died in a car accident, is buried in the same cemetery.[31]

Trickle's family later released a statement which in part said: "He had been suffering for some time with severe chronic pain, had seen many doctors, none of which could find the source of his pain. His family as well as all those who knew him find his death very hard to accept, and though we will hurt from losing him for some time, he’s no longer suffering and we take comfort knowing he’s with his very special angel."[24]

NASCAR chairman Brian France released a statement saying "Dick was a legend in the short-track racing community, particularly in his home state of Wisconsin, and he was a true fan favorite. Personalities like Dick Trickle helped shape our sport. He will be missed."[30] Former competitor Rusty Wallace battled Trickle for championships at several levels. "I'm in 100 percent shock. Dick Trickle was my mentor," Wallace said. "When I was short track racing, I would call him every Monday morning and he would always help me with race setups and stuff. He and I had such a good time telling little stories, but he was the guy that taught me almost everything in the American Speed Association. And he was the guy that I battled right to the end for my 1983 ASA championship. I barely beat the guy that taught me everything. I'd not seen Dick as much as I'd like to of late. He was a legend. A man that'd won over a thousand short track races, was one of the most winning short trackers in America, was a role model to many short track racers coming up. Could just do magic with the race car and he taught me so much about racing. My success in the ASA and what Trickle taught me is what got me into NASCAR. That's what got me hired by Cliff Stewart back in '84. Between Larry Phillips and Dick Trickle, they taught me everything."[32]

A moment of silence was observed for Trickle during the start of the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 17. A tribute was held for Trickle at the July 2013 Slinger Nationals race with his family telling stories about his career.[33]

Legacy and memorial

Trickle's Wisconsin friends and competitors, including Tom Reffner and Marv Marzofka, began organizing a Dick Trickle memorial fund to build a memorial statue at Rudolph Community Park.[34] The group is collecting money including securing the title sponsorship of a TUNDRA super late model race at Golden Sands Speedway.[35]

Various Midwestern short tracks have Trickle Memorial races, with most being 99 laps for his car number.

Wins in major series

Although he won no premiership championship races, he was very successful elsewhere:

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1970 Fran Kelly Racing Ford 36 26
1975 Puro Racing Mercury 27 36
1984 Billy Matthews Racing Chevrolet 21 36
1986 Billy Matthews Racing Chevrolet 28 17
1990 Cale Yarborough Motorsports Pontiac 32 12
1991 28 11
1992 RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 28 5
1993 Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 21 41
1994 Active Motorsports Chevrolet 29 20
1995 Bud Moore Engineering Ford 17 11
1996 Schnell Motorsports Ford 28 43
1997 Donlavey Racing Ford 27 30
1998 34 27
1999 Elliott-Marino Racing Ford DNQ

Busch Series

Bibliography

Notes
  1. ↑ Zeller, Bob (May 18, 1997). "A Trickle of wins, but a flood of fans". The Virginian-Pilot. Norfolk, VA. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Retired NASCAR Driver Dick Trickle Commits Suicide". Automoblog.net. Retrieved 2013-05-17.
  3. ↑ Grubba, page 214
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Grubba 2000, p. 78
  5. 1 2 3 Grubba; page 177
  6. 1 2 3 4 Grubba, page 20
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Grubba, pages 211–222
  8. ↑ "Dick and Darlene Trickle a Long Lasting Love". Fabwags.com. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  9. ↑ Grubba, page 21
  10. ↑ Grubba, pages 27 – 29
  11. 1 2 Grubba, page 70
  12. 1 2 3 Grubba, page 7
  13. ↑ Grubba, page 72
  14. 1 2 Grubba, page 73
  15. ↑ Grubba, page 75
  16. 1 2 3 Grubba, pages 101–102
  17. ↑ Grubba, page 1982
  18. 1 2 3 Grubba, page 183
  19. 1 2 Grubba, page 184
  20. ↑ Grubba, page 192
  21. ↑ Grubba, page 32
  22. ↑ Dick Trickle NASCAR statistics
  23. 1 2 Knapinski, Dick. "Racing legend Trickle never slowed down". The Post-Crescent. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  24. 1 2 3 Bernstein, Viv (May 18, 2013). "A Racer Known to Many, and Now a Mystery". New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  25. ↑ Video on YouTube
  26. ↑ "History". Oktoberfest Race Weekend official website. 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  27. ↑ Haglunch, Bill (October 27, 2013). "Haglund Column: Passing of the legendary Dick Trickl". Ames Tribune. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  28. 1 2 Ryan, Nate (May 17, 2013). "NASCAR drivers recall Dick Trickle as unique and fun". USA Today. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  29. ↑ "2008 Geoff Bodine Chevy Bobsled Challenge from Lake Placid, New York". Bobsled on Speed TV. January 27, 2008.
  30. 1 2 3 4 Takeda, Allison. "Dick Trickle Dead: Former NASCAR Driver Dies of an Apparent Suicide at 71". Us Weekly. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  31. ↑ "The Early Lead". The Washington Post.
  32. ↑ David, Newton. "Ex-driver Dick Trickle dead at 71". ESPN. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  33. ↑ "Slinger Speedway SuperSeal Nationals presented by Miller Lite $9,999 To Win". Slinger Super Speedway. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  34. ↑ "Dick Trickle gets well-deserved memorial at home". Wisconsin Rapids Tribune. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Dick Trickle Memorial Fund Race". Golden Sands Speedway. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dick Trickle.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Rusty Wallace		 ASA National Tour Champion
1984, 1985 		Succeeded by
Mark Martin
Preceded by
Dave Watson		 ARTGO Challenge Series Champion
1977 		Succeeded by
Tom Reffner
Preceded by
Tom Reffner		 ARTGO Challenge Series Champion
1979, 1980 		Succeeded by
Jim Sauter
Preceded by
Jim Sauter		 ARTGO Challenge Series Champion
1983, 1984, 1985 		Succeeded by
Joe Shear
Preceded by
Joe Shear		 ARTGO Challenge Series Champion
1987 		Succeeded by
Joe Shear
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Ken Bouchard		 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year
1989 		Succeeded by
Rob Moroso
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