Dirt Track racing icon Scott Bloomquist killed in plane crash close to his Mooresburg home

The legendary racing car driver Scott Bloomquist was been killed early on Friday in a minor plane crash close to his residence in Mooresburg Community in Hawkins County.

Sheriff Ronnie Lawson told the Review that Bloomquist is the owner of the air strip at his residence in Mooresburg appeared to have crashed into the barn on his property.

Bloomquist 60, was among most popular dirt-track stock cars racers ever. He was the only person on the plane.

 

at 7:50 a.m. Friday, multiple fire and rescue services were called to a call of black smoke and fire at the Bloomquist’s residence located at 209 Brooks Road in Mooresburg.

Bloomquist was piloting a tiny two-seat Piper Cub J3C-65 aircraft. He was confirmed dead on the spot.

As per Federal Aviation Administration records Bloomquist was not a certified pilot, and the aircraft that he was piloting wasn’t licensed since 2012.

The iconic racing career of Iconic

Bloomquist’s debut race was on the Corona Raceway in Corona, California in 1980.He took home several races and also the track championship in 1982.

In 1983, he relocated to Mooresburg to help on the farm his father had in the area and started running bigger purse races within a 100-mile radius of home. In the 1980s, he became a popular local on Kingsport Speedway, and in 1988, he shocked the world of racing by winning the highly coveted Eldora Speedway’s World 100. He again won the race in 1990.

Some of his awards include:

2004 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Champion

2009, 2010, 2016 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Champion

1994, 1995, 1998, 2000 Hav-A-Tampa Dirt Late Model Series Champion

1995, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2018 Dirt Late Model Dream Winner

1988, 1990, 2001, 2014 World 100 Winner

1992, 1994, 1996, 2014 Blue-Gray 100 Winner

2002 National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame

Tributes

The morning of Friday, the Scott Blinquist Racing Facebook page posted:

 

“Nothing can prepare you for the day that comes today’s. With sadness, we must announce that we lost our dear friend and hero of the day today. If you cheered for him or booed his name You still made noise and Scott loved you all equally for it. A loved father, a wonderful son one who loved his family and friends and, last but not least an absolute wheelman.”

Jerry Caldwell, president and manager of Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee on Friday, stated the racer Bloomquist is “arguably the greatest dirt late model racer in the sport’s history.”

In a different tribute to Bloomquist, another racing driver Tony Stewart said Bloomquist was “probably the smartest guy I’ve ever been around when it comes to dirt racing.”

“What he could do behind the wheel of a racecar was matched by the ingenuity he put into building his racecars,” Stewart wrote on social media. “He was a force on the track and off, with a personality as big as his list of accomplishments.”

Reid Millard, a fellow race car driver and funeral director from Missouri and Missouri, posted on Facebook that the mother of Bloomquist requested that he announce his death of the driver. “Along with Scott’s daughter Ariel his parents his sister and along with all of you who knew and loved Scott – you are in our hearts and prayers,” Millard wrote.

“Rubbing is racing,” said Gerald Newton, president of the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in a telephone chat in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s door-to-door. It’s thrown sideways, and throwing dirt.”

Bloomquist was part of the class of 2002 in the Hall of Fame. Newton stated that Bloomquist was like a big brother to him and that he had been with the racer for more than 40 years. He also created Bloomquist’s official apparel as senior vice-president of Arizona Sport Shirts.

Bloomquist was born in Iowa and then moved to California and where his father was an air pilot Newton said. The family decided to relocate east and bought an agricultural property in Tennessee.

Newtown reported that Bloomquist was interested in racing after the car his father purchased but later became bored, and passed the car on to his son.

“He would do work for people, make a little bit of money to buy a tire, go win a race,” Newton declared. “He’d spend the money and invest it back into the team. The rest is the story of.”

In addition to being a winner, Bloomquist became known for being arrogant and a sexy guy, Newton said. His image was built around the skull put inside the zero on the racecar he drove.

In 2000 In 2000, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote Bloomquist “looks like Tom Cruise, drives like Dale Earnhardt and speaks out like Darrell Waltrip.”

Waltrip was an NASCAR driver who annoyed his rivals by slapping them on the track before he blew over them with his mouth.

“He always told me it’s not boasting or bragging if it’s fact and you can back it up,” Newton declared about Bloomquist. “And he did.”

Newtown claimed that Bloomquist’s achievements “will never be exceeded.”

“The world has lost a great racer, a great friend, a great dad,” Newton stated. “And heaven has gained a great angel.”

Like many other drivers, Bloomquist suffered various injuries throughout his career. However, he still raced and was preparing to participate at next month’s World 100 at Eldora Speedway.

“He still felt like he could win a race,” Newton declared.