The Lincoln County North Carolina Sheriffs Department has reported that NASCAR driver Dick Trickle has died from a self inflicted gunshot wound.

Mr. Trickle was 71-years-old. He had a 24 year racing career, he never won a race in the Cup series, but had 36 top 10 finishes in 303 races.

The Lincoln County communications center said they received a call shortly after noon from Trickle, and the caller said there would be a dead body at the funeral home, and it would be him. They tried to return the call but got no answer. Emergency crews responding to the scene discovered Mr. Trickle's body near his pick-up truck.

Sure, there were lots of jokes about his name over the years, but back in the day he was a tough competitor, that's how I choose to remember the man.

Here's some video of Dick from back in the day...smoking a cigarette in his race car...

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