Dick Trickle

Trickle (right, facing away) in 1998

Born

October 27, 1941
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, U.S.

Died

May 16, 2013 (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

Awards

1968 USAC Stock Car Rookie of the Year
1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year

Monster Energy NASCAR 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

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. He was billed as the winningest short track driver in history. Trickle's career highlights include racing to 67 wins in 1972, 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 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.

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. He was transferred from a local hospital to the University of Wisconsin Hospital and continued his slow recovery. 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. Trickle later began to walk, although he walked with a slight limp for the rest of his life. He spent three years in a cast from his waist to his foot. 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. "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."

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Wikipedia