A disturbing call to police preceded former NASCAR driver Dick Trickle's death from an apparent self-inflicted gun-shot wound Thursday in Boger City, N.C.
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office told USA Today that authorities received a phone call they believed to be from Trickle on Thursday saying "there would be a dead body and it would be his." A 911 operator made a return call to the number but got no response.
According to multiple reports, an emergency response team found Trickle's body at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boer City, about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte. USA Today reported that Lt. Detective Tim Johnson said foul play was not suspected and a note was found next to the body.
He did not elaborate on the contents of the note. Trickle was 71.
"We're trying to protect the family as much as possible, and they had just gotten notified right after it happened," Johnson was reported as saying. "We're trying to respect their privacy."
Trickle was the Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup) Rookie of the Year in 1989 at age 48 but went 303 Cup races without a victory. He won two Nationwide Series races during his career.
Trickle gained notoriety after his rookie season on ESPN's SportsCenter. TMZ.com reported that SportsCenter anchors Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann often reported his race results - no matter how he finished - because of his unusual name.
"No sports figure Dan + I had fun with took it more graciously. In fact, gratefully," Olbermann tweeted on Thursday. "Trickle helped mainstream NASCAR coverage on @SportsCenter. We gave prominent attention to him, then his races, then ALL races."
Trickle, who was born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., was a successful short-track driver in the 1970s and 1980s, before getting his break on NASCAR's main circuit and winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1989. By that time, according to a Sports Illustrated article, Trickle - then a grandfather of two -- had won 1,200 stock car races.
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