Dicken Wear . . . Gettin'​ His Kicks On Route 66

How does one define a Dicken Wear? Neither easily nor shortly. A recognition of a friend and colleague who passed from this life a bit too quickly on Father's Day 2020. Image Credit: John Dinkel (2017)

Dicken Wear . . . Gettin'​ His Kicks On Route 66
By: John Dinkel, Contributor to the SAE's Automotive Engineering magazine - Republished with permission - published originally on June 24, 2020

So . . . how to define a Dicken Wear.  That’s the third thought that hit me after learning from friends back in the north country (the One that is North of Australia) that Dicken had passed away.

My first thought was that Dicken was in a far better place, free of the cancer that had wracked his body for the past two years, and, secondly, great sadness at the loss of a dear friend.

Dicken behind the wheel of a Kidracer at the 2017 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Image Credit: John Dinkel (2017)

Dicken was amazing.  I don’t know another person who had the knowledge and connections in motorsport that Dicken had.  And seemingly in every area and at every level of motorsport.  And these were not just casual acquaintances from chance meetings.  He literally knew and was friends with motorsports connections from go-karting to Formula 1.

Dicken hauled my Meyers Manx all the way from Arizona when I bought it. And yes, that is "Competition-Engineering.com" lettered on the engine-protection bumper. Image Credit: John Dinkel (2017)

But Dicken was much more than a storehouse of motorsports knowledge.  He was a genuinely nice guy.  You got a problem?  Dicken was there to help. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I called Dicken, or he called me, when he wasn’t behind the wheel of a truck or a car . . . typically a BMW.  Someone needed a car or something hauled somewhere.

Question: Did Dicken ever NOT wear a car shirt? Image Credit: John Dinkel (2017)

About 10 years ago [2010], I posted the following words on Dicken’s Linkedin page that are as true today as they were then:

How do you define a Dicken Wear? 

Neither easily nor shortly. An East Coaster, from Road [sic] Island, with deep roots in the auto industry. His grandfather was a Duesey of an enthusiast who built Rolls-Royces and imported, distributed, or sold almost all English sports cars from the 1940s through the mid 1960s. Aston-Martin, Morris, MG, etc. In other words he Triumph-ed over adversity to live a live of Riley, but it was not an Austin-tacious lifestyle. 

Ditto his father. Dealerships, racing, fabrication . . . that’s a small microcosm of a Dicken Wear. 

Wanna design and build a go-kart track? That’s Dicken. Name a dozen top currents racers and more than a few probably attribute their success to Dicken. Formula Atlantic, IMSA, Grand-Am? Dicken has had his hands wrapped around all of them. SEMA, LBGP, PRI? Dicken will be hanging out. LA Auto Show, Grand National roadster Show? Yup, he’ll be there too. Ditto car museums. 

Write him a big enough check and he’ll design and build you a sports racer/track car/hot rod. And that’s not a complete fabrication! Right now he’s got a hot SEMA Dodge Challenger connected to his name. Dicken loves anything dealing with cars and car people. 

He owns more BMWs than most car dealers . . . and most of them need a little work. But they are fast and they handle. He also loves writing and shooting cars, following in the foot steps of one of his heros, Pete Lyons. 

I can’t think of anyone more fun to hang out with than Dicken Wear. Okay, Paris Hilton would probably get me “access” to a few more places than Dicken. Oh, and we have one other thing in common: We’re both pizza snobs! 

You owe it to yourself to know a bit more about this unique human being called Dicken Wear.  I suggest the following links as a start.

http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/i/inskip/inskip.htm

http://www.competition-engineering.com/albums.html

http://www.the-motorsports-report.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dicken-wear-1b3a878/
ENDS

... notes from The EDJE




TAGS: Dicken Wear, Inskip, Competition-Engineering, Go-Karts, Rolls Royce, Motor Press Guild, SEMA, PAPA, AARWBA, ASRA, The Motorsports Report, The EDJE