Longtime NASCAR crew chief tells wild story about one of the sport’s biggest characters
One of the most memorable names in NASCAR history is Dick Trickle, and now his former crew chief is telling wild stories about what the 1989 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year was like.
Jimmy Fennig was a longtime NASCAR crew chief who worked with the likes of Mark Martin, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards.
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In 1989, Fennig was paired with Trickle, who entered his rookie season at age 48 after making occasional one-off appearances in the Winston Cup Series and racing in various other series before that.
Dick Trickle’s former crew chief Jimmy Fennig told some incredible stories about the NASCAR legend. (© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)
Fennig talked about working with fellow Wisconsin native Trickle during an appearance on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast: The Dale Jr. Download.
“I think our first race was Rockingham and I’ll never forget it because old Dick was from the north and Dick always wore cowboy boots, so I had a set of driving shoes for him (at the track) because I know those cars are warmer inside than the ASA (American Speed Association) cars.
“I said, ‘Dick, you’re going to have to take these boots off and put on these Simpson (racing) shoes.’ And he said, ‘No, I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.”
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So Fennig acquiesced, and Trickle jumped into the car wearing cowboy boots that would never fly today.
But Trickle, who sadly died in 2013, realized this might have been a mistake.
“So I think they got a yellow card halfway through the race,” Fennig recalled. “He says, ‘I need those shoes.’ And I said, ‘Okay, four tires and a set of shoes, guys.'”
Dick Trickle made his full-time NASCAR debut in 1989. (Photo: George Tiedemann /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)
Earnhardt then asked about another Dick Trickle legend.
“Did you have a cigarette lighter in your car?” Earnhardt asked.
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“Oh, yeah,” Fennig said. “He put it there.”
Fennig talked about a race at Dover where Trickle crashed while entering the pit lane, and he suspected it was because he was lighting a cigarette.
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We may never know for sure, but just before this interview was published, footage was circulating on X showing Trickle inflating a lung dart mid-race.
They definitely don’t make them like they used to, right?
