Posted by Chad Tea received a brief visit by a very speedy guest on November 2. Trickle Racing Trivia
on 11/29/2006, 11:55 am
24.196.135.114
Racing legend breaks in Tea
By Jamie Gibson
Posted online: November 15, 2006
Dick Trickle – frequently referred to as the “winningest race car driver of all time” – passed through town enroute a celebrity pheasant hunt in Aberdeen.
It was the South Carolina resident’s first visit to South Dakota. Trickle accompanied local western and wildlife artist Ray Kelly and fellow racing legend Dave Marcis to the annual American News Celebrity Pheasant Hunt, which benefits Camp Gilbert and children with diabetes.
Trickle, a Wisconsin native, joined the hunt to revisit the Midwest, share his wealth, and help add color to the lineup of celebrities.
“I’m here to spice up the show and hopefully bring more money to the hunt. Not to promote Dick Trickle” – or to shoot the most birds, he added.
So what was his impression of South Dakota?
“It feels like I’m in the upper Midwest,” Trickle said with a chuckle. He also noted the many neighborhood bars, adding that the area seemed more social than his part of the country. At home, he said, he was just a “regular guy” – a husband, dad, and grandpa who enjoys attending his grandchildren’s sporting events. Even so, Trickle said he still gets recognized by older and younger fans.
“I’m kind-of a ‘hand-me-down,” he explained.
But he didn’t become famous in the racing world overnight. Trickle was 48 when he was named the 1989 Rookie of the Year in NASCAR’s Winston Cup. He started competing in the 1970s; in those days, he said, racers earned notoriety through their talent. Today, they must also be marketable – good-looking and charming – to get noticed. But he continues to follow racing, and admires a number of current competitors.
“Anyone who can make a career out of their hobby is very fortunate,” Trickle said.
That’s one aspect he shares with Kelly, along with a mutual respect for each other’s work. Kelly sells his drawings all over the country, and he’s been a regular in the celebrity hunt circuit for 11 years. Since Trickle retired from professional racing, he continues to compete in special events and big-money races and make appearances at car and safety shows. Trickle said that although he isn’t knowledgeable about art, Kelly’s dedication to his work seems to parallel his own loyalty to racing.
Trickle tells amateur racers who want to make it big that they have to want to dedicate their lives to the sport.
“It’s a lot of sacrificing,” he said. “You have to start small, drive in your capability. A lot of it’s being at the right place at the right time.”
He said racers must also depend on contingency sponsors, donations, and prize money to advance their careers.
•He has a combined total of 1,200 wins in all forms of racing.
•In 1972, he set a national feature win record of 67 victories.
•He started 297 races, with 14 Top 5 and 32 Top 10 finishes.
•He is infamous for his innuendo-laden name and for having drilled a hole in his safety helmet so he could smoke while racing, and for installing cigarette lighters in his race cars.
•His first race was at Daytona International Speedway in 1970; his last, at Dover International Speedway in 2002.
•He competed in 303 NASCAR Cup races over 24 years.
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