The pages of NASCAR’s history are filled with drivers of immense character and personality. One particular legend stands out from the rest in the name of Dick Trickle. This short-track racing legend is best remembered for the formidable attitude that he had on the race track. But behind all the rough exterior that he sported was a man in pain. Pain that he chose to end himself in 2013.
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The bullying that Trickle faced throughout the 90s because of his name is something that makes many hang their heads down in shame. ESPN Sports anchors regularly mocking his name was a regularity back then. But the man overcame such jeers and positioned himself as one of the best race car drivers in the country. Icing on the cake? He did it with a cigarette in his mouth.
His exploits in the Cup Series came after he’d already achieved the status of a short-track legend in the Wisconsin community. It was only at the age of 48 that he entered the biggest spectacle as a rookie. He joked a year later, with the Rookie of the Year award in his hand, “I guess I’d just like to thank everyone who gave a young guy like me a chance.”
Trickle had secured 15 top-5s and 36 top-10s over the 303 races that he started. He retired in 1998 at the age of 57 and moved back to Wisconsin. His time in the premier tier was done. He’d climbed mountains to carve out a legacy for himself and it was time to live out the rest of his life in peace. But life decided to show him its ugly face. In 2001, his granddaughter died in a car accident.
The reasons behind the demise of one of NASCAR’s best
A little over a decade after her death, Trickle began complaining of pain under his left chest. Doctors couldn’t identify the reason behind it but he persistently consulted them despite their cluelessness. His brother Chuck said to the Associated Press, “He was very down. He more or less said he didn’t know how much longer he could take the pain.” He was 71 at the time.
On May 16, 2013, he drove to the Forest Lawn cemetery in Boger City, where his granddaughter was buried. He called 911 and informed an operator that he could be found there dead soon. Moments later, he shot himself. The authorities suspected no foul play. One can only guess that grief and pain engulfed the man to commit such an act. But it is a matter of certainty that his loss left an unfillable void in NASCAR.
