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We grew up together living less than a mile from the family. Dick was a fan of my Father who raced with Keikafer in the 50's and we watched him go from "hobby stock" to late model (any old farts like me from WI remeber his Ford Torino TEE-PEE supper club sponsored cars dominating the short tracks back then....and the deaths of our other close local freinds from the same city and surrounding areas (Lyle Naberfledt, etc.) before the safety advancements of today.
Dicks wife ran the speed shop out of their garage that us young motorheads frequented, and we wathced daughter vicky grow up (loosing an eye pulling nails one day while helpping a group of us remove work splintered bleachers at Golden Sands speedway where as a 11 year old I peddeled popcorn and soda).
Vicky grew up and married John and had to awesome kids (one who's life was cut short at age 16 in a car wreck) and as Dick grew into a NASCAR driver, Vicky ran the business end of things and his fan club.
Many can remember Dick had a ciggarette lighter in several of his rides to lite up during a caution, something you would never see today.
He never was good at interviews with his stuttering, but could rive with the best and seemed to always be plauged with bad luck, and not lack of skill when running the big races.
He of course suffered serious health issues toward the end and I suspect that was what contributed to this end. He had a doctors app yesterday and we dont what the results were, but Dick was a surviver and would not have have taken this path without it being bad news. He passed away at his granddaughters grave (he never recovered from her passing years ago so young). They were an awesome family, and always close to us, the Lewis family even when they moved to NC from our birth place in central WI (we moved to FL 20 years ago) and he will be missed. Very few I have known in my life were as good of people as the Trickle family, and they have always been there for us through the years. Our prayers go out to the rest of the family.
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