I still have some request to get to that I haven't forgotten about, but I've gotta get some spare time to take the pictures, and do some editing to them~ Following the end of the 1997 BGN season, where Trickle won his first career BGN race, he lost his Dura-Lube sponsorship, and replaced them with Schneider National~ He was driving for Dennis Shoemaker, in what ended up being his final season with the team~
Dick Trickle T-shirt design~
Trickle's first race with his newly sponsored Chevrolet came in the 1998 season opening NAPA Auto Parts 300 @ Daytona, where he qualified in 15 place, but never was a factor in the event, and finished in 23rd, one lap off the pace of eventual race winner, "Front Row" Joe Nemechek, who led an outstanding 105 of the 120 laps~
Dick's first top 10 of the season came three races later, in the BellSouth Mobility/Opryland 320 @ Nashville, where he started in 22nd, and worked his way up to a 9th place finish~ He followed that up with his first top 5 of the season, with a 3rd place finish in the Diamond Hill Plywood 200 @ Darlington~ After five events, Trickle found himself 7th in the BGN points standings, despite also running a full Cup season in Junie Donlavey's #90 Heilig-Meyers Ford~
He qualified poorly in the Moore's Snacks 250 @ Bristol, with a 28th place starting spot, but was able to claw his way up to a 13th place finishing position, and was still in 7th place in the BGN points standings~ He then failed to qualify for the Coca-Cola 300 @ Fort Worth Texas, along with seven other drivers~ This race is notable for being the first BGN win of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s career, as well as having some pretty scary crashes, and driver injuries~ It was also the first, and only career top 5 for Idaho driver, Jeff Krogh, whose career was cut tragically short @ Milwaukee in 1999~
Trickle crashing with Dale Jr. @ Daytona~ 1998~
"Tricky" Dick was back the following week for the Galaxy Food Centers 300 @ Hickory, where he qualified nicely, in 9th spot, but wasn't able to make up any ground in the race, and finished in the 11th position~ He picked up another top 5 the next week, in the Touchstone Energy 300 @ Talladega, where he started in the 16th position, led for 37 laps, and finished in 5th place, behind Buckshot Jones, Mike McLaughlin, Phil Parsons, and race winner "Front Row" Joe Nemechek~
Trickle finished 13th in the Gumout Long Life Formula 200 @ Loudon, and 12th in the First Union 200 @ Nazareth~ He finished 20th in the Carquest Auto Parts 300 @ Charlotte, but still remained 7th in the BGN points standings~ He qualified 4th in the MBNA Platinum 200 @ Dover, but didn't have the power he needed to stay there, resulting in a 12th place finish~ Dick qualified 10th in the Hardee's 250 @ Richmond, and drove the car to an 8th place finish~ After the race, he had climbed to a season high of 5th in the BGN points standings, but bad luck was coming his way~
After starting in 7th place, a blown engine in the DieHard 250 @ the Milwaukee Mile resulted in a 41st place finish~ After skipping the Myrtle Beach race due to his Cup schedule, he next raced in the Kentwood Home & Car Audio 300 @ Fontana, where again he had engines woes, which resulted in a 39th place finish~ He finished 11th in the Pepsi 200 Presented by DeVilbiss @ Michigan, before finishing a disappointing 29th in the Food City 250 @ Bristol~ By this point, he had fallen to 21st in the BGN points standings, and also skipping the races @ South Boston, and IRP~
Trickle tames Darlington~
Dick's season came to a climax in the Dura-Lube 200 Presented by Bi-Lo @ Darlington, where he qualified in 4th place, and had his way with the "Lady in Black", leading 24 laps, on his way to his only victory of the season, as well as the last in his BGN career~ He followed his win up with an 8th place finish in the Autolite Platinum 250 @ Richmond, in what would be his final top 10 of the season~
Trickle qualified 5th in the MBNA Gold 200 @ Dover, but was involved in a lap 1 crash, which also claimed Dale Jarrett, which resulted in a 42nd place finish~ He then went to Charlotte, for the All Pro Bumper To Bumper 300, where he started the race in the 4th spot, but had engine problems, and finished in 34th place~ He won the pole for the Stihl 300 @ Atlanta, but the car had radiator issues, which resulted in a 38th place finishing position~
In his final race with the team, which was also the final race of the season, the Jiffy Lube Miami 300 @ Homestead, Trickle qualifed 32nd, and was involved in a solo crash on lap 2, which knocked him out of the race, with a 43rd place finish~ He ended the 1998 BGN season with 1 pole position, 1 win, 3 top 5's, and 6 top 10's, while leading 70 laps, and finishing 22nd in the BGN final points standings~ He ran a total of 23 of the scheduled 31 events~ Trickle would leave the team at the end of the season, and run the next 2 BGN seasons driving the #5 Schneider National Chevrolet for Jimmy Spencer~
Dick Trickle #64 Schneider National Chevrolet~
I was always a big fan of this paint scheme~ I'm also a fan of the orange Schneider trucks that you see driving on the interstate (although my favorites are the Werner trucks)~ I pretty much like any orange race car, the Tide car, the Yellow #1 car, even Carl Long's #13 car~ Trickle was always a fan favorite, as well as a favorite of mine~ When he drove this car, he was 56 years old, and still getting the job done, and winning a race here and there~
As I've said in previous posts, I'm not a fan of these later model Racing Champions cars~ They are very cheap, and the tires are horrible looking~ They don't weigh near as much as an older version does, and the interior looks plain, and just not good~ I liked them better with blacked out windows~ I also don't really like the green door post on this car~ That's how it looked on the real version, I just never liked it, and didn't understand why it was there~
I'm gonna give this car a B- on the Racing Champions quality scale, mainly due to the card being pretty much plain, and also because I'm just not a fan of these later editions~ Dick Trickle was a heck of a race car driver, and I'm glad I got to see him race many times~ He was a real fun guy, and had a heart of gold, as well as a personality that could light up the sky, and I'll miss him~ Below are some videos that span throughout his career~ Enjoy them, and as always, thanks for stopping by the blog~ Please remember to share this post on any for of social media out there, and have a happy Fall, y'all~
Rusty Wallace statement on Trickle~
Funny NAPA commercial featuring Dick~
Dick's Darlington win~
Dick's 1989 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year speech~ 48 years old~
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