The Lincoln County (NC) Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that former NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year Dick Trickle died today from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot 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.
The first emergency units arriving on the scene located the body lying near the victim’s pickup truck.
Born October 27, 1941 raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin and the midwest, winning an estimated 1,000 races and innumerable championships on the ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All Pro, IMCA, NASCAR, and USAC circuits. Almost unquestionably the winningest short track racer of his – or any other – time, his finest season came in 1972 when he won an amazing 67 main event features.