Tripp got his nickname as a youth when he would fall asleep in his quarter midget car while waiting for his next race to start.

He stayed on the national tour for several more years before he started racing in the Western States series, on the West Coast.

He raced with USAC National series, until he returned to California to race the newly formed USAC Western States Championship, in which he joined car owners George and Gary Zarounian, to dominate the early years, winning the 1983, 85, 87, 88, 90, 91, 92 Championships.

After running his own car for six years, he teamed up with car owner, Danny Lendich, winning many of the prestigious races, such as the 50 Lap Classic, the World 30 Lap Derby, Bob Tattersal Memorial, Ross Goonan Memorial and the City of Auckland Grand Prix.

Tripp also had success in Australia during the 1970s and 1980s with many feature wins including winning the 1983 and 1984 Australian Speedcar Grand Prix on the paved Liverpool City Raceway, as well as both the Harry Neal and Rick Harvey Memorial's and the 40 Lap Speedcar Derby at Adelaide's Speedway Park.

Despite regularly beating the local drivers, Tripp's laid back nature, and his style of car set up and driving which often involved racing with the left (inside) front wheel not even touching the track, proved popular with Australian crowds.

The afternoon of October 7th, 2012, on his way home from a weekend away to Mammoth, he crashed his motorcycle and was airlifted to Antelope Valley Hospital, where he spent a touch-and-go month long in ICU, eventually moved to Brea Kindred Rehab, to learn to walk again.