NASCAR

ARCA could go ORCA at the Talladega Superspeedway ... because one of the drivers is trying to raise $115k to get behind the wheel of a "Blackfish" car at a race in May ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We spoke to Leilani Munter -- one of the Top 10 female drivers in the world -- who tells us she was so moved by the documentary, she wants to do everything in her power to spread awareness about the plight of killer whales in captivity.

"I believe that it is a crime for these magnificent, intelligent, and socially complex creatures to be forced to live in tiny concrete tanks," Leilani says.

And her first order of business is wrapping a car in a custom "Blackfish" design to race at an ARCA event at Talladega Superspeedway on May 3rd. The only catch -- it's expensive.

Leilani tells TMZ Sports she needs to raise $115k for the cost of the car so she can enter the race ... which she's doing in part with the Oceanic Preservation Society, the people behind the documentary, "The Cove."

The band that performed an unusual rock and roll version of the National Anthem at the Nationwide at Daytona race is firing back at haters -- insisting their song was super patriotic ... and not a horrible disgrace.

TMZ Sports spoke with the lead singer of Madison Rising ... who tells us the band has been getting a serious backlash from some NASCAR fans who didn't like their guitar-heavy version ... with some people calling them "disgraceful" and "disrespectful."

But Dave Bray -- who also happens to be a Navy veteran tells us ... "We know NASCAR has some of the most patriotic fans in the country, so I'm obviously disappointed that we didn't make a better impression."

"But the vast majority have come out with goose bumps, tears in their eyes and our version downloaded onto their iPods to listen to every day."

Bray adds, "The mission of Madison Rising is to help restore a sense of pride back into this country, and we are absolutely thrilled it’s having that effect.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. tells TMZ Sports ... he celebrated his big Daytona 500 victory by boozin' with his team 'til around 4AM -- so why isn't he a hungover mess this morning??? Simple. He followed the cardinal drinking rule.

You know how it goes ...

"Beer before liquor, never been sicker.
... Liquor before beer, you're in the clear."

Dale Jr. was out in NYC yesterday and told us he abides by the code -- usually startin' with some Jim Beam before switchin' to suds.

*Warning -- cardinal drinking rule does not always work. Booze with caution*

Gentlemen ... and ladies ... start your engines -- 'cause Richard Petty says he's ABSOLUTELY DOWN to race Danica Patrick in a 1-on-1 grudge match after trading shots in the media.

Of course, this whole thing started when Petty criticized Danica's crappy record -- and D.P.'s friend/team owner Tony Stewart said Petty and Patrick should settle their beef on the track.

Well, today ... Petty went on "Fox and Friends" and said HE ACCEPTS.

”Yeah you know, I’m 76 years old ... and it’s been 25 years since I’ve been in a racecar, but I’ll take that challenge.”

He then asked, "When's this gonna happen?"

Good question -- ball seems to be in Danica's court now.

A woman who was injured in a nasty 2013 Nationwide crash at Daytona is trying to hammer out a settlement with NASCAR ... claiming her body and her career were wrecked as a result of the freak accident.

The crash occurred in February 2013 -- when Kyle Larson's #32 car was smashed into a wall and pieces of the vehicle went rocketing into the stands, injuring several spectators including Whitney Turner.

The race went on ... but Whitney's attorney Matt Morgan tells TMZ Sports her life has been a disaster ever since.

"[She's] been living on her back since the date of the Nationwide crash. She has had multiple surgical procedures performed to repair her severed Achilles' tendon and internally deranged knee."

Morgan continues, "Whitney has lost her job as a marketing specialist and is struggling to support her young daughter."

As a result, Whitney has threatened to sue the International Speedway Corporation and NASCAR claiming they're to blame for her condition.

But before she files the suit, Whitney's lawyer says the parties will gather 'round a negotiating table to try and work out a deal to "amicably resolve their claims."

Danica Patrick's nipple is officially off the Internet ... TMZ Sports has learned the people at Sports Illustrated have finally removed a pic of the driver's exposed breast from its swimsuit website.

As we previously reported, several pics from a 2008 photo shoot were recently put on S.I.'s Swim Daily website as part of a "Throwback Thursday" gallery. One of the pics was a topless "selfie" in which Danica's nipple was fully visible.

There were questions as to whether the pic was posted by accident or if it was an intentional "artsy" thing -- but now that it's been removed from the gallery, it seems pretty clear ... it was never supposed to be there in the first place.

So ... Danica Patrick's exposed nipple is hanging out on a Sports Illustrated website.

The racy pic of the NASCAR driver is featured in a "Throwback Thursday" photo gallery on S.I.'s "Swim Daily" website ... which features a "selfie" style photo shoot of Danica from 2008.

We called S.I. to find out if it was a mistake ... or one of those intentional "nipples are artsy" sort of things ... but so far, we haven't heard back.

Jimmie Johnson tells TMZ Sports ... Donovan McNabb was talking out of his ass when the QB said race car drivers aren't athletes ... and JJ says he'll crush him on the track to prove it.

Of course, the racing world went crazy this weekend ... when DM went on Fox Sports 1 and told Erin Andrews, "Do I think [JJ's] an athlete? Absolutely not."

FYI -- ESPN ran a Sports Science special on racing back in 2011 and said that testing proved race car drivers have some of the best reaction times, endurance, strength and concentration in any sport.

Jay-Z is putting Jerry McGuire to shame -- because his budding sports agency just signed three-time NBA all-star Kevin Durant.

The OKC Thunder superstar just posted an Instagram of he and Jay signing docs that make him Roc Nation Sport's newest client.

Durant is the latest in a growing list of HUGE athletes jumping ship to Jay's new venture ... like NY Yankee Robinson Cano, NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr., and NY Jet Geno Smith

Durant is Jigga's first NBA star.

The Wisconsin racetrack where Dick Trickle forged his legacy -- winning TONS of races en route to becoming a NASCAR star -- is honoring the driver with a special pre-race ceremony when stock car season kicks off later this month, TMZ has learned.

It's all happening at the Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna, WI (just south of Green Bay) -- where Trickle won so many races during his pre-NASCAR career, track officials named a building in Turn 2 the "Dick Trickle Pavilion."

We've learned ... officials at the W.I.R. have greenlit plans to commemorate their local hero with a memorial lap in Dick's honor on May 30 ... with the pace car carrying a black flag.

A rep for the company says Trickle was "a true champion, good friend and will be missed by all."

As we previously reported, officials say Dick died Thursday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in North Carolina.

Dick Trickle suffered from excruciating pain under his left breast in the days before he killed himself ... and was "very down" about his health situation in his final days, this according to Trickle's brother.

Chuck Trickle opened up to both TMZ and the Las Vegas Review Journal ... saying Dick's death from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound is "a shock to me ... it's real hard to think about."

Chuck says he spoke with Dick just last week ... and the former NASCAR driver was complaining about a severe pain under his left breast that seemed to be getting worse.

"He was having a lot of issues w some pain ... he had sharp pain by his left breast and constant hard pain," Chuck told TMZ.

Chuck says Dick went to the doctor twice a day in an effort to remedy the issue -- and underwent numerous MRIs and CAT scans -- but doctors were never able to determine the cause of the pain.

“He was very down,” Trickle said ... adding, “He more or less said he didn’t know how much longer he could take the pain.”

As TMZ first reported, Trickle left a suicide note at the North Carolina cemetery where he died -- it's unclear if the note explains why Trickle decided to take his own life.

Dick Trickle sounded extremely calm for a man planning to kill himself when he called 911 yesterday and told the operator, "There's going to be dead body ... suicide."

TMZ has obtained the 911 call made by the NASCAR driver moments before he shot himself. In the call, Trickle gave the dispatcher very detailed instructions about where to find the body at Forest Lawn Cemetery in North Carolina.

When the dispatcher asked Trickle if he was calling about someone else, Trickle replied, "No, I'm the one."

The operator begged Trickle to wait for help ... but her pleas went unanswered.

When emergency personnel arrived at the scene, Trickle's body was discovered right where he said it would be.

Officials say Trickle died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

2:44 PM PT -- NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France 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."

"Dick was a legend in the short-track racing community, particularly in his home state of Wisconsin, and he was a true fan favorite. Personalities like Dick Trickle helped shape our sport. He will be missed."

2:28 PM PT -- We're told ... Trickle's body was removed from the cemetery and has been transported to a nearby hospital.

2:17 PM PT -- Multiple sources who knew Trickle tell us he had been sick for a while and depressed. We're not sure what kind of illness Trickle had been suffering from.

1:51 PM PT -- 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.

Former NASCAR driver Dick Trickle is dead ... apparently having taken his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 71 years old.

Cops in North Carolina say Trickle shot himself at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Lincoln County at 12:02 PM today.

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.

Operators scrambled, trying to place a return call, but there was no answer.

When emergency responders arrived, they found Trickle's body near his pickup truck.

Trickle was a fan favorite in NASCAR -- often smoking cigarettes while he raced.

Dick won the NASCAR "Rookie of the Year" award in the Winston Cup in 1989, when he was 48 years old.

Trickle was also beloved by the gang on "SportsCenter" -- Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick used to almost always report his race results -- no matter how poorly he finished -- just because they were amused by his name.

Olbermann just tweeted ... "No sports figure Dan + I had fun with took it more graciously. In fact, gratefully."

He added, "Trickle helped mainstream NASCAR coverage on @SportsCenter We gave prominent attention to him, then his races, then ALL races."

Racing legend Darrell Waltrip thinks NASCAR should follow in hockey's footsteps ... and let drivers punch out their differences -- and each other -- after races. Beats left turns, right?

Kyle Busch -- one of NASCAR's famous hot-heads -- has signed on for some professional help from Charlie Sheen ... on his TV show, "Anger Management" ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the show tell us Busch just signed the deal -- in the last 30 minutes -- to play himself in one episode of the FX comedy. He'll be seeking counseling ... we presume for road rage ... from Charlie's character.

Busch -- the most successful driver, in recent years, for Joe Gibbs Racing -- has more than earned his nickname ... "Wild Thing" with his antics on the track ... and off.

We're told Busch wanted to do the guest spot because he's a "giant Charlie Sheen fan" ... and loves the show.

Don't blame 50 Cent for the awkward encounter he had with Erin Andrews at the Daytona 500 last week -- the hottest woman in sideline reporting says the blame lies squarely with her.

During the big race last Sunday, Erin was searching for Danica Patrick (to no avail) when she ran into Fiddy and ... well, it was weird.

But yesterday at LAX, Erin told our photog she was so frazzled in the moment ... the entire encounter was totally her fault and she's actually good friends (and even business partners) with 50.

The old "it's not you, it's me" -- we've heard that one before.