NASCAR Legend Dick Trickle Dead at Age 71

NASCAR legend Dick Trickle passed away on Thursday afternoon near his Lincoln Country residence. According to a news release from the local county sheriff's department, Trickle died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a North Carolina cemetery. 

He was 71. 

ESPN's Ryan McGee released a portion of the press release from the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. Here's an excerpt from that release:

Retired race car driver Richard “Dick” Trickle, 71, died today from an apparent self inflicted gun shot wound. The incident occurred at 12:02 p.m. at Forest Lawn Cemetery on Highway 150 East in Boger City.

The Lincoln County Communications Center received a call apparently from the victim that “there would be a dead body and it would be his“. Communications Center workers tried to place a return call to the number but did not get an answer.

Trickle was the 1989 Rookie of the Year on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now the Sprint Cup), and before his full-time NASCAR stint, he was one of the most decorated short-track race car drivers of all time.   

The Wisconsin native retired from the sport after a long career that spanned over four decades, but his legacy is one that includes all of his accomplishments in different racing circuits and a long-standing nickname—"The Purple Knight"—that captures his No. 99 purple mustang perfectly. 

Although his short-track success didn't transfer over into high-level Winston Cup wins (Trickle finished third five different times), he was one of the most notable drivers on the circuit. He made headlines during his NASCAR stint for drilling a hole in his safety helmet through which he could smoke cigarettes.

As McGee stated on Twitter after the news broke, Trickle will and should be remembered for his accomplishments on the track—where his career record speaks for itself:

With such a rich racing resume, his accomplishments on the track are undeniable.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Trickle family during the aftermath of this discovery. 

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