Former NASCAR driver Dick Trickle dies of apparent suicide - MotorSportsTalk

Dick Trickle, 71, died Thursday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Lincoln County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office, in a report by Charlotte affiliate WBTV.

The County reported this happened at 12:02 p.m. local time, where Trickle was found dead next to his pick-up truck.

MORE: Trickle was the ‘the roughest, toughest, meanest, craziest and grouchiest son of a gun who ever climbed into a race car’

Trickle was a veteran short track legend in Wisconsin, and 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie-of-the-Year. He occasionally lit up cigarettes during caution flags, as shown in the video below.

But more than that, Trickle doubled as a fierce competitor and rival to all who raced against him, and a “throwback” who was never afraid to race by day, and have a beer by night. His NASCAR career – which paled in comparison to the statistics achieved on short-tracks throughout the country, where he won more than 1,200 career races – included 36 top-10 finishes in the Cup level over 24 years, and two wins in 11 years of Nationwide (then Busch Grand National) competition.

Tweets poured in throughout the afternoon and spanned the generation gap. Mark Martin, who at 54 had parts of nearly three decades racing against Trickle, said of Trickle, “He kicked butt everywhere he went.”

Landon Cassill, who’s only 23, had this to say about the driver born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.: “Trickle was a legend-When i was 14 we beat doors for 50 laps @ Madison-He gave me the boot w/ 5 to go, offered me a cigarette after the race.”

Proof then, that some things never changed.

The NBC Sports IndyCar power rankings naturally were as jumbled as the action on the streets of St. Petersburg after a chaotic opener to the 2023 season.

Pato O’Ward, who finished second because of an engine blip that cost him the lead with a few laps remaining, moves into the top spot ahead of St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. Scott Dixon and St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who led 31 laps) rounded out the top five.

St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who started first at St. Pete after capturing his second career pole position) Callum Ilott (a career-best fifth) and Graham Rahal entered the power rankings entering the season’s second race.

Three drivers fell out of the preseason top 10 after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – including previously top-ranked Josef Newgarden, who finished 17^th after qualifying 14^th.

Heading into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through the first of 17 races this year (with previous preseason rankings in parenthesis):

NBC Sports’ IndyCar Power Rankings

1. Pato O’Ward (5) – If not for the dreaded “plenum event” in the No. 5 Chevrolet, the Arrow McLaren driver is opening the season with a victory capping a strong race weekend.

2. Marcus Ericsson (7) – He might be the most opportunistic driver in IndyCar, but that’s because the 2022 Indy 500 winner has become one of the series’ fastest and most consistent stars.

3. Alexander Rossi (10) – He overcame a frustrating Friday and mediocre qualifying to open his Arrow McLaren career with the sort of hard-earned top five missing in his last years at Andretti.

4. Scott Dixon (3) – Put aside his opening-lap skirmish with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist, and it was a typically stealthily good result for the six-time champion.

5. Romain Grosjean (NR) – The St. Petersburg pole-sitter consistently was fastest on the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of the race weekend, which he couldn’t say once last year.

6. Scott McLaughlin (6) – Easily the best of the Team Penske drivers before his crash with Grosjean, McLaughlin drove like a legitimate 2023 championship contender.

7. Callum Ilott (NR) – A quietly impressive top five for the confident Brit in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s first race as a two-car team. Texas will be a big oval litmus test.

8. Graham Rahal (NR) – Sixth at St. Pete, Rahal still has the goods on street courses, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan remains headed in the right direction.

9. Alex Palou (4) – He seemed a step behind Ericsson and Dixon in the race after just missing the Fast Six in qualifying, but this was a solid start for Palou.

10. Will Power (2) – An uncharacteristic mistake that crashed Colton Herta put a blemish on the type of steady weekend that helped him win the 2022 title.

Falling out (last week): Josef Newgarden (1), Colton Herta (8), Christian Lundgaard (9)