Dick Trickle

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Richard Trickle
Born: October 27, 1941 (age 65)
Birthplace: Flag of United States Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin
Awards: 1984 and 1985 American Speed Association Champion

1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year

Considered "America's Winningest Driver" with an estimated 1,200 career wins

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Statistics
303 races run over 24 years.
Best Cup Position: 15th - 1989 (Winston Cup)
First Race: 1970 Daytona 500 Qualifier #2 (Daytona)
Last Race: 2002 MBNA Platinum 400 (Dover)
Wins Top Tens Poles
0 36 1
NASCAR Busch Series Statistics
First Race: 1984 Red Carpet 200 (Milwaukee)
Last Race: 2001 Outback Steakhouse 300 (Kentucky)
First Win: 1997 Galaxy Food Centers 300 (Hickory)
Last Win: 1998 Dura-Lube 200 Presented by Bi-Lo (Darlington)
Wins Top Tens Poles
2 42 1

Dick Trickle (born October 27, 1941 in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin) is an auto racer. He raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin, winning many championships along the way.

[edit] NASCAR career

In 1989 Trickle made his debut driving the #84 Miller High Life Buick for Stavola Brothers Racing. He was rookie of the year in NASCAR's Winston Cup (now the NEXTEL Cup) at age 48. His best career Winston Cup finish was third (5 times). He started 297 races, with 14 Top 5 and 32 Top 10 finishes.

In 1990, he won the Winston Open (now the NEXTEL Open) in the #66 TropArtic Pontiac. It was a non-points All-Star event for drivers who didn't win in the previous year. He beat Rob Moroso by 8 inches, which is 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 #24 Team III Racing Pontiac. He best finish was 6th at Dover International Speedway. In 1992 he teamed up once again with the Stavola Brothers, driving the #8 Snickers Ford. In 1993 he drove the #75 Carolina Pottery Ford.

Part of his popularity stemmed from his unusual and innuendo-laden 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 also infamous 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. [1] Trickle was allowed by NASCAR to smoke in the race car during yellow flag periods, and in the 1990 Winston 500, Trickle was seen on live television by the in-car camera lighting up and smoking a cigarette.

Dick also raced in the Busch Series, where he won two races. He had 158 career starts, with 24 Top 5 and 42 Top 10 finishes. He made his Busch Series debut in 1984.

[edit] Wins in major series

Although he won no points-paying races in NASCAR Winston Cup, he was very successful elsewhere:

1 NASCAR Winston Open (exhibition race, 1990)

2 NASCAR Busch Series wins

32 American Speed Association wins

68 ARTGO Challenge Series wins

6 USAR Hooters Pro Cup wins

2 NASCAR Southwest Tour wins

2 USAC wins

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Ken Bouchard
NASCAR Rookie of the Year
1989
Succeeded by
Rob Moroso