OutKick89%

Longtime NASCAR crew chief tells wild story about one of the sport's biggest characters 41%

By Matt Reigle91%

4/22/2026, 11:43:07 PM

Topics: Nascar

BS Summary: This article contains 26 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Biased Writer Voice, and Availability Heuristic, with Anecdotal as the most egregious example at 30.1% saturation with 132 hits. Analysis detected 1,139 faulty-reasoning hits from 439 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 45.6% and a BS Rank of 41% (12,997 of 21,886 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 59.40% of the article peer group.

One of the most memorable names in NASCAR history is that of Dick Trickle, and now his former crew chief is telling some wild stories about what a character the 1989 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year was. 
Jimmy Fennig was a longtime NASCAR crew chief who worked with the likes of Mark Martin, Kurt Busch, and Carl Edwards. 
NASCAR DRIVER KATHERINE LEGGE SLAMS 'DEI HIRE' SLIGHTS AFTER XFINITY SERIES CRASH 
In 1989, Fennig was paired with Trickle, who was entering his rookie campaign at the age of 48 after making occasional one-off appearances in the Winston Cup Series and racing in various other series before that. 
Fennig talked about working with his fellow Wisconsinite, 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 this one because old Dick was from the north, you know, and Dick always wore cowboy boots. 
So, he got (to the track) and I had a set of driving shoes for him because I know the interiors of these cars are hotter than ASA (American Speed Association) cars, you know. 
"I said, 'Dick, you're going to need to take these boots off and put these Simpson (racing) shoes on.' 
And, he said, 'No, I'm going to be all right. 
I'm going to be all right.'" 
RICKY NELSON’S SONS RECALL HIS FINAL CALL THAT SAVED THEIR LIVES BEFORE PLANE CRASH 
So, Fennig acquiesced, and Trickle hopped in the car with his cowboy boots on, something that would never fly today. 
However, Trickle  who sadly died in 2013  realized this may have been a mistake. 
"So, I think halfway during the race, they had a yellow," Fennig recalled. 
"He says, 'I need them shoes.' 
So I said, 'Okay, four tires and a set of shoes, guys.'" 
Earnhardt then asked about another Dick Trickle legend. 
"Did he have a cigarette lighter in your car?" 
Earnhardt asked. 
ZERO BS. 
JUST DAKICH. 
TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. 
DOWNLOAD NOW! 
"Oh, yeah," Fennig said. 
"He put it in there." 
Fennig talked about a race at Dover in which Trickle crashed entering the pit lane, and he suspected it was because he was lighting a cigarette. 
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP 
Well, we may never know for sure, but just before this interview came out, footage was making the rounds on X that showed Trickle puffing away on a lung dart mid-race. 
They certainly don't make them like they used to, do they? 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 6.4%Matt Reigle: 6.4%Fox Nation: 4.1%Confirmation Bias6.4%This article: 8.2%Matt Reigle: 1.9%Fox Nation: 1.2%Anchoring Bias8.2%This article: 16.4%Matt Reigle: 5.9%Fox Nation: 3.6%Availability Heuristic16.4%This article: 4.8%Matt Reigle: 2.3%Fox Nation: 1.1%Representativeness Heuristic4.8%This article: 3.6%Matt Reigle: 1.4%Fox Nation: 0.9%Hindsight Bias3.6%This article: 7.7%Matt Reigle: 5.8%Fox Nation: 3.0%Overconfidence Bias7.7%This article: 24.8%Matt Reigle: 10.8%Fox Nation: 11.9%Framing Effect24.8%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.5%Fox Nation: 0.6%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 7.1%Matt Reigle: 2.0%Fox Nation: 0.9%Status Quo Bias7.1%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.1%Fox Nation: 0.1%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 3.6%Matt Reigle: 5.4%Fox Nation: 2.8%Optimism Bias3.6%This article: 4.6%Matt Reigle: 1.2%Fox Nation: 1.7%Pessimism Bias4.6%This article: 12.8%Matt Reigle: 9.2%Fox Nation: 10.8%Negativity Bias12.8%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 4.3%Fox Nation: 2.7%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 7.7%Matt Reigle: 2.0%Fox Nation: 1.4%Fundamental Attribution Error7.7%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 1.2%Fox Nation: 0.3%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 8.4%Fox Nation: 3.2%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 2.1%Fox Nation: 1.9%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 13.4%Matt Reigle: 6.9%Fox Nation: 2.9%Halo Effect13.4%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.3%Fox Nation: 0.4%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.0%Fox Nation: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 13.9%Matt Reigle: 4.2%Fox Nation: 1.4%Recency Bias13.9%This article: 10.5%Matt Reigle: 0.6%Fox Nation: 0.5%Primacy Effect10.5%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.5%Fox Nation: 0.1%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 2.2%Fox Nation: 2.5%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 1.7%Fox Nation: 0.7%Straw Man0.0%This article: 5.5%Matt Reigle: 2.1%Fox Nation: 5.1%Appeal to Authority5.5%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 2.1%Fox Nation: 1.8%False Dilemma0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 1.2%Fox Nation: 1.1%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.0%Fox Nation: 0.2%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 14.1%Matt Reigle: 11.1%Fox Nation: 6.1%Hasty Generalization14.1%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 1.1%Fox Nation: 0.6%Red Herring0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 1.9%Fox Nation: 0.8%Bandwagon0.0%This article: 3.2%Matt Reigle: 10.3%Fox Nation: 7.8%Appeal to Emotion3.2%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 1.0%Fox Nation: 1.3%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 9.6%Matt Reigle: 1.2%Fox Nation: 2.7%Post Hoc (False Cause)9.6%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.0%Fox Nation: 0.3%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 1.1%Matt Reigle: 0.3%Fox Nation: 0.6%Burden of Proof1.1%This article: 7.7%Matt Reigle: 0.5%Fox Nation: 0.2%Appeal to Nature7.7%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.2%Fox Nation: 0.2%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 30.1%Matt Reigle: 6.8%Fox Nation: 2.4%Anecdotal30.1%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.1%Fox Nation: 0.2%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 1.5%Fox Nation: 1.6%Ambiguity (Equivocation)0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.0%Fox Nation: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 2.5%Matt Reigle: 0.1%Fox Nation: 0.1%Middle Ground2.5%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 1.0%Fox Nation: 0.1%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.5%Fox Nation: 0.2%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.0%Fox Nation: 0.6%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 13.4%Matt Reigle: 2.2%Fox Nation: 1.8%Unattributed Quote13.4%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 1.0%Fox Nation: 1.4%Quote-first Misdirection0.0%This article: 22.1%Matt Reigle: 19.7%Fox Nation: 6.2%Biased Writer Voice22.1%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 1.5%Fox Nation: 1.4%Indoctrination0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.1%Fox Nation: 0.3%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Matt Reigle: 0.5%Fox Nation: 3.4%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 4.6%Matt Reigle: 2.9%Fox Nation: 1.4%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…4.6%

439 words analyzed.

Speakers

3speakers33%attributed speech293writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 38 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 21 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 12 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 36 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 20 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 1 words • 100.0% coverageJimmy Fennig • 28 words • 100.0% coverageJimmy Fennig • 34 words • 0.0% coverageJimmy Fennig • 19 words • 0.0% coverageDick Trickle • 10 words • 0.0% coverageDick Trickle • 6 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 20 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 16 words • 0.0% coverageJimmy Fennig • 13 words • 0.0% coverageJimmy Fennig • 6 words • 0.0% coverageJimmy Fennig • 12 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 8 words • 0.0% coverageDale Earnhardt Jr. • 9 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 2 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 2 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 2 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 9 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 2 words • 100.0% coverageJimmy Fennig • 4 words • 0.0% coverageJimmy Fennig • 5 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 26 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 8 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 31 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 11 words • 100.0% coverage
Selected voice

Jimmy Fennig

66%flagged-word coverage
121 attributed words83% of attributed speech99% writer coverage
0%12.5%25.0%Biased Writer Voice-0.4 ptsWriter: 23.5%Jimmy Fennig: 23.1%23.1%Unattributed Quote+12.6 ptsWriter: 10.6%Jimmy Fennig: 23.1%23.1%Attempt to Sell a Product -6.8 ptsWriter: 6.8%Jimmy Fennig: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

Loading…
Loading…
Loading…
Loading…
Loading…

Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.