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"&lt;img alt=\"0516-dick-trickle-getty\" src=\"http://ll-media.tmz.com/2013/05/16/0516-dick-trickle-getty-3.jpg\" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img alt=\"update_bar\" src=\"http://ll-media.tmz.com/2011/08/09/update-bar.jpg\" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong dir=\"ltr\" id=\"tinymce\" class=\"mceContentBody \" contenteditable=\"true\"&gt;2:44 PM PT -- &lt;/strong&gt;NASCAR Chairman and CEO &lt;strong&gt;Brian France&lt;/strong&gt; just commented on Trickle's death ... saying, \"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Dick Trickle on his passing today.\"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;\"Dick was a legend in the short-track racing community, particularly in his home state of Wisconsin, and he was a true fan favorite.&amp;#160; Personalities like Dick Trickle helped shape our sport. He will be missed.\"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong dir=\"ltr\" id=\"tinymce\" class=\"mceContentBody \" contenteditable=\"true\"&gt;2:28 PM PT -- &lt;/strong&gt;We're told ... Trickle's body was removed from the cemetery and has been transported to a nearby hospital.&lt;strong dir=\"ltr\" id=\"tinymce\" class=\"mceContentBody \" contenteditable=\"true\"&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2:17 PM PT -- &lt;/strong&gt;Multiple sources who knew Trickle tell us he had been sick for a while and depressed.&amp;#160; We're not sure what kind of illness Trickle had been suffering from.&lt;strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1:51 PM PT --&lt;/strong&gt; Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Trickle did leave a suicide note at the death scene. The contents of the note are unclear at this time. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img alt=\"gray-bar-update\" src=\"http://ll-media.tmz.com/2013/03/21/gray-bar-update-1.jpg\" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Former NASCAR driver&lt;strong&gt; Dick Trickle&lt;/strong&gt; is dead ... apparently having taken his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.&amp;#160; He was 71 years old.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cops in North Carolina say Trickle shot himself at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Lincoln County at 12:02 PM today.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img alt=\"0516-dick-trickle-cemetary-2-tmz\" src=\"http://ll-media.tmz.com/2013/05/16/0516-dick-trickle-cemetary-2-tmz-3.jpg\" /&gt;Officials say they received a phone call before the shooting in which the caller said there would be a dead body at the cemetery and it would be his.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Operators scrambled, trying to place a return call, but there was no answer.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When emergency responders arrived, they found Trickle's body near his pickup truck. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Trickle was a fan favorite in NASCAR -- often smoking cigarettes while he raced. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;iframe width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/_9fB1IcTD48\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dick won the NASCAR \"Rookie of the Year\" award in the Winston Cup in 1989, when he was 48 years old.&amp;#160; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Trickle was also beloved by the gang on &lt;strong&gt;\"SportsCenter\"&lt;/strong&gt; -- &lt;strong&gt;Keith Olbermann&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;Dan Patrick&lt;/strong&gt; used to almost always report his race results -- no matter how poorly he finished -- just because they were amused by his name. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Olbermann just tweeted ... \"No sports figure Dan + I had fun with took it more graciously. In fact, gratefully.\"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He added, \"Trickle helped mainstream NASCAR coverage on @SportsCenter We gave prominent attention to him, then his races, then ALL races.\"&lt;br dir=\"ltr\" id=\"tinymce\" class=\"mceContentBody \" contenteditable=\"true\" /&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;a class=\"lightbox-link\" href=\"http://www.tmz.com/photos/2013/05/16/dick-trickle-racing-photos-through-the-years/\"&gt;&lt;img alt=\"0516_dick_trickle_remembering_footer\" src=\"http://ll-media.tmz.com/2013/05/16/0516-dick-trickle-remembering-footer-3.jpg\" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.tmz.com/2013/05/16/dick-trickle-dead-suicide-dies-gunshot-nascar/1/>