NASCAR Legend Dick Trickle Commits Suicide at 71, calling police beforehand to instruct them where to find his dead body
- Former race car driver called police to a North Carolina cemetery where he said his body would be found
- Tricke's career spanned 24 years and included 2,200 races
- Remembered for his fun and outrageous personality
- Once drilled a hole in his helmet to allow him to smoke a cigarette and installed lighters in his vehicle
- Trickle inspired Tom Cruise's character of Cole Trickle in movie Days of Thunder
By Daily Mail UK, 16 May 2013
NASCAR legend Richard 'Dick' Trickle died on Thursday at age 71 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police say.
The body of the retired race car driver was found at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City, North Carolina, 30 miles west of Charlotte. His body was discovered near his pickup truck.
The victim had actually called police before shooting himself and forewarned them 'there would be a dead body and it would be his.'
Suicide: Dick Trickle, in Sept. 1989, died on Thursday at age 71 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police say
Death: NASCAR driver Dick Trickle, in 1997, was found at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City, North Carolina
Trickle made his debut on the NASCAR circuit in the #84 Miller High Life Buick for Stavola Brothers Racing.
His career spanned 24 years, during which he competed in a total of 2,200 races.
Dubbed the 'White Knight' by his corporate sponsor SuperAmerica, he was said to have nabbed the most wins in short track racing.
He was named the Rookie of the Year in NASCAR's Winston Cup in 1989 at age 48.
During his racing career, he attracted attention when he drilled a hole in his safety helmet to allow him to smoke a cigarette as he competed.
He also installed cigarette lighters in his cars so he could smoke during races, the local news station noted.
Trickle recalled in an interview with Fox Sports two years ago of a fan who came up to him while signing autographs and asked him about the cigarettes.
Legend: The career of NASCAR driver Dick Trickle, in 2006, spanned 24 years, during which he competed in a total of 2,200 races
Hollywood: Tom Cruise's character in Days of Thunder, Cole Trickle, was name in honor of the NASCAR legend
'He says, 'how many cigarettes did you smoke during that race?' And I said, "how many yellows were there?" I said, "one for every yellow."'
Trickle said he quit smoking two and a half years before that interview but did it 'just for no good reason.'
During races ESPN commentators Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann also enjoyed making light of the alliteration in his name and would always take notice of Trickle's finish, regardless of his placement, according to WCNC-TV.
'No sports figure Dan + I had fun with took it more graciously. In fact, gratefully,' Olbermann tweeted on Thursday.
Former NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine expressed his grief over the sudden news of his friend while remembering him in an interview with the Associated Press as a man who was 'fun, just plain fun.'
Popular guy: No matter where Trickle placed during his races, seen in North Carolina at the Coca-Cola 600 in 1997, ESPN commentators Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann would broadcast his name just because of the way it sounded
Larger than life: Trickle, who made his debut driving the No.84 Miller High Life Buick for Stavola Brothers Racing in 1989, is seen holding one of his famed cigarettes in a hand
Retirement: After retiring from the sport Trickle said he hoped to live out the remainder of his days as a grandfather at home in North Carolina
'It's all just sad. We don't understand why he would do this. Hopefully we will all learn why he would do that. There was something that triggered him to take his own life. We are all really saddened by this in the racing community,' Bodine said.
Trickle lived in Iron Station, N.C., for more than 20 years. Bodine said Trickle was full of stories and popular because of it.
'People everywhere knew his name,' Bodine said. 'That’s why they used his likeness in that movie Days of Thunder. He was such a character.'
The main character in that popular niche racing movie, played by Tom Cruise, was named Cole Trickle.
Bodine said that a few years ago he had to back out of a celebrity cruise for patients who were on kidney dialysis. He asked Trickle to fill in.
Resting place: The 71-year-old was found dead near his pickup truck at the Forest Lawn cemetery in Boger City, North Carolina
'He made such an impression on people on that ship that everyone wanted to know when Dick was coming back,' Bodine said. 'They loved him. They tell me he was the last man to leave most of the bars on the ship and I believe it.'
Bodine also recalled inviting Trickle to compete in one of his bobsled events in 2004 at Lake Placid, New York.
Quote:
'I just want to be who I am and satisfied that I had a great career. I'm happy with it. I think I made a lot of friends'
- Trickle on how he wanted to be remembered
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He said Trickle went down the first time and crashed. After being cleared by doctors to continue, Trickle tried again and crashed in the same place.
'They were doing interviews with him on TV and he was like, "I don’t know what happened, I did the exact same thing I did the first time,”’ Bodine said. 'And we’re all looking at him like, hey Dick, maybe that was the problem.'
When Trickle was asked how he hoped to be remembered in his interview two years ago, he answered: 'I just want to be who I am and satisfied that I had a great career. I'm happy with it. I think I made a lot of friends.'
He also said he hoped to live out the remainder of his days as a 'stay-at-home grandpa.'
In a statement, NASCAR said its thoughts and prayers were with Trickle's family and friends.
'Dick was a legend in the short-track community, particularly in his home state of Wisconsin, and he was a true fan favorite,' NASCAR's statement read in part. 'Personalities like Dick Trickle helped shape our sport. He will be missed.'
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