He keeps coming back

Published: July 6, 2010

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)

By NICK DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor

The spectacle they now call Slinger Nationals was originally a ploy for Dick Trickle to race at Slinger.
It was supposed to be a one-time deal. Maybe two.
A generation later, Trickle still comes to Slinger for the annual event, which has become one of the most popular events in the Midwest — if not the United States.
You can say the ploy worked.
"It's a great track; a great show," the 68-year-old Wisconsin Rapids native said by phone from his home in North Carolina. "It separates it from other tracks because other tracks aren't half as special. There's no other track like Slinger. You can bring it up in a Sprint Cup garage and they want to talk about it because it's special."
More than 30 years ago, Trickle was the hot-shot in auto racing, especially here in Wisconsin. Everybody wanted to race with or against him. Every track promoter wanted him at their track.
He was a money-maker. He drew crowds.
One evening in Wisconsin Dells, Trickle, then in his early 30s, met Wayne Erickson, the owner of Slinger Super Speedway then and now.
"Wayne called me and asked me to come to race at Slinger," Trickle recalled. "I said, 'I can't. I'm busy.'
"One night at the Dells, he said to me, 'You gotta get there.' I said, 'I'll tell you what, find a Tuesday I'm available.'"
Erickson immediately got to work. He found the first Tuesday in June that year, which was about 33 years ago, Trickle said, available. Right away, Erickson booked the race and promoted it.
When Trickle arrived at the track, he couldn't believe his eyes. The stands were full. Standing room only — to see him.
Afterward, Erickson told Trickle in the pits that night that they have to do this again.
"I said, 'Let me look at my schedule,'" Trickle recalled.
One month later, Trickle had a Tuesday in July open. Trickle notified Erickson of it and immediately, not even 24 hours after the first go-round, the event was booked and the promoting began.
One month later, the stands were full once again. Trickle again couldn't believe his eyes. The rest you could say was history.
Since then, many of racing's legends have come and gone at Slinger Super Speedway. Drivers like Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Robbie Reiser, Darrell Waltrip, Ernie Irvan, Rusty Wallace, Matt Kenseth and, of course, Trickle. Daytona 500 champions; NASCAR champions, they've been here.
"The fact that it's still going is a success," Trickle said. "You've got to give it credit. It's really exciting for me (to come back).
"The Slinger Nationals put Slinger on the map."
Up until three years or so ago, Trickle was still racing on short tracks around the state. But hip replacement surgery has taken him out of the car. He still has the itch to race, though.
"You'll never lose that," Trickle said. "Should I? Probably not. Do I want to? Yeah."
Trickle will be the Grand Marshall for this year's event. It's the second year in a row he's been at the nationals in that capacity. He estimated this is the 28th nationals he's been to either as a driver or as a Grand Marshall.
He said if his health was better, he'd still be racing and wouldn't mind getting back behind the wheel of a stock car, something he did for more than 50 years.
"I think one of the reasons I'm Grand Marshall is that Wayne realizes the two of us built this thing," Trickle said. "I think he likes for me to be there because I'm a part of it. That makes you feel good."
Trickle retired from NASCAR in 2000 when the rides weren't as plentiful as they used to be. He said he could've probably continued to race, but would've been for low-budget or bad teams. He didn't want to sacrifice his standing by not being competitive. He believes he wouldn't have had fun anymore. That would've eaten at him.
So he returned to Wisconsin where he planted his roots for a handful of races each year. But so did a lot of today's NASCAR and racing legends. That is sometimes forgotten because of the struggles many short tracks have financially around the United States.
"Those guys, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, in order to get good, they raced a lot in Wisconsin because we have the best racers in the area," Trickle said. "If you wanted to be a great racer, you had to run the Wisconsin circuit. It's so tough. It's the toughest competition, ongoing probably in the United States."
Trickle enjoys that drivers such as Kenseth and Kyle Busch, who will be at nationals once again Sunday, are still strong and outspoken supporters of short-track racing.
"My interest is still in short track racing," Trickle added. "But you take a Kyle Busch, a Darrell Watrip in his day and Earnhardt in his day, they love short-track racing. That's what got them going.
"All these guys remember their roots. It's in their heart. The same with me. I achieved a great deal in short-track racing. I think I was really fortunate."
Nowadays, Trickle lives in Iron Station, North Carolina, which is about 30 miles from Charlotte. It's nothing fancy, he says. It sits on about 8.5 acres of land. But his daughter and one of his two sons live nearby.
He's also a stay-at-home grandpa with three grandchildren. His fourth grandchild, Nicole died eight years ago in a car accident. If she was alive, she'd be 25. His other grandchildren are Luke (23), Courtney (13) and Carlee (7). He's also still married to the love of his life, Darlene. They'll celebrate their 50th anniversary in May.
Trickle said he has been more than blessed with his life and his family.
"I had great 20 years short-track racing and 20 years of racing NASCAR," he said. "I got the best of both worlds.
"I've suited up for a lot of races, made a living doing what I would've done for a hobby."