Sheriff: Ex-NASCAR driver Dick Trickle dies of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound

In this June 4, 1999, file photo, NASCAR driver Dick Trickle speaks to fans after qualifying on the pole position the NASCAR Busch series auto race at Dover Downs in Dover, Del. Authorities in North Carolina said Thursday that Trickle has died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 71.

CONCORD, N.C. — Authorities in North Carolina say former NASCAR driver Dick Trickle has died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 71.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office says authorities received a call believed to be from Trickle on Thursday saying that “there would be a dead body and it would be his.” Authorities tried to call the number back, but no one answered.

The sheriff says Trickle’s body was found near his pickup truck at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City, N.C., about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte. Sheriff’s Lieutenant Tim Johnson says foul play is not suspected.

Trickle was the Winston Cup series rookie of the year in 1989 but never won a Cup race. He won two Busch Series races.

In February 1997, Richard Trickle’s nephew, Chris, was shot in a still-unsolved Las Vegas crime. He was driving on Blue Diamond Road near Interstate 15 when he was struck by a bullet.

Lonnie Hammargren, who was serving as Lieutenant Governor of Nevada at the time, operated on Chris Trickle at UMC to remove brain fragments in his brain, but Trickle did not survive.