Scott Bloomquist, a dirt track race car driver who was known for his bravado and for being one of the club’s best, died Friday in a helicopter crash on his mother’s farm in Mooresburg, Tennessee, friends and local authorities said.
Bloomquist, 60, stood out with his long locks and a competition car that was emblazoned with the number zero and a skull and crossbones. He was likewise known for winning.
Jerry Caldwell, leader and director of Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, said Friday that Bloomquist was “arguably the greatest soil later model runner in the club’s history”.
Tony Stewart, a colleague racer, once called Bloomquist “probably the smartest man I’ve always been around when it comes to dust racing.”
Stewart wrote on social media that “what he could do while driving a car was matched by the brilliance he put into building his racecars.” ” He was a force on the trail and down, with a character as big as his list of accomplishments”.
The remains of Bloomquist’s only occupant are believed to be Bloomquist’s, according to the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office in a affirmation. The aircraft that Bloomquist was flying crashed into a house, and the remnants of its one occupant are believed to be that of him. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board collaborated to look into the Piper J3C-65 accident, according to a declaration from the NTSB.
Reid Millard, a brother race car driver and a funeral home producer in Missouri, stated on Twitter that Bloomquist’s mom asked him to reveal the death. You are in our souls and blessings, Millard wrote, along with Scott’s child Ariel, his parents, his sister, and all of you who knew and loved him.
In dirt-track race, motorists have to steer straight for the vehicle to get left. The top kept tire of turns is off the track, while the remaining rear tire provides traction.
The vehicles weigh about 2, 300 pounds and provide 800-plus power. At Eldora Speedway, the Ohio track owned by Stewart, the trucks reach leading speeds of about 150 miles.
No wipers, no windshields, and only little, plastic shields to shield drivers from rocks are present in the vehicles. It can be a difficult, email activity.
” Rubbing is racing”, said Gerald Newton, president of the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, in a phone interview with The Associated Press. ” It’s door to door. You’re slinging it backward and slinging dust”.
Bloomquist was in the 2002 course of the hall of fame. Bloomquist, according to Newton, had known the runner for almost 40 years and was like an older brother to him. Additionally, he created Bloomquist’s established merchandise as Arizona Sport Shirts ‘ senior vice president.
Bloomquist was born in Iowa and eventually lived in California, where his dad worked as an airline pilot, Newton said. The home purchased the plantation in Tennessee because they wanted to move west.
According to Newtown, Bloomquist began racing in a vehicle his parents had purchased but immediately lost interest in, passing it down to his brother.
” He would do work for people, create a little bit of money to buy a wheel, move win a contest”, Newton said. ” He’d take that money, spend in the group. The rest is history”.
Besides winning, Bloomquist became known for being conceited and kind of a bad child, Newton said. His image was a little more centered around the bones on his race car’s interior.
In the year 2000, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote Bloomquist “looks like Tom Cruise, drives like Dale Earnhardt and speaks out like Darrell Waltrip”.
Waltrip, a NASCAR driver, aggravated his rivals by beating them on the track and therefore kicking his lips out of the vehicle.
” He always told me it’s not boasting or bragging if it’s reality and you can back it up”, Newton said of Bloomquist. ” And he did”.
Newtown said Bloomquist’s honors” will never be exceeded”.
” The world has lost a great runner, a wonderful friend, a tremendous dad”, Newton said. ” And god has gained a great angel”.
Like many other sports car drivers, Bloomquist has suffered a number of injury over the years. But he was still racing and planned to engage in following week’s World 100 at Eldora Speedway.
” He also felt like he could get a contest”, Newton said.
