Scott Bloomquist, a dirt track race car driver who was known for his bravery and for being one of the finest in the sport, his away on Friday as a result of a plane crash that occurred on the property that his family owned in Mooresburg, Tennessee, according to friends and officials from the local community.
With his long hair and a race car that was imprinted with the number zero and a skull and crossbones, Bloomquist, who was sixty years old, stood out from the crowd. Also, he was well-known for his victories.
This information was shared on Facebook by Reid Millard, a fellow race car driver and director of a funeral home in Missouri. Millard added that Bloomquist's mother had requested that he make the announcement of her passing. Millard added, "Along with Scott's daughter Ariel, his parents, and his sister, and along with all of you who knew and loved Scott, you are in our hearts and prayers." Millard also included all of the people who knew and loved Scott.
When competing on dirt tracks, drivers are required to steer right in order to make the vehicle travel left. When the vehicle is turning, the left front tire will come off the track, and the left rear tire will be responsible for providing traction.
The vehicles have a weight of approximately 2,300 pounds and produce more than 800 horsepower. Stewart's racecourse in Ohio, Eldora Speedway, is known for having high speeds of approximately 150 miles per hour for the automobiles.
In order to protect drivers from rocks, the cars are equipped with two-speed gearboxes and do not have windscreens; instead, they have short plastic shields. In some cases, it is a rough and contact sport.
During a phone interview with The Associated Press, Gerald Newton, the head of the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, stated that "Rubbing is racing." It's a door-to-door event. As you throw it in a sideways motion, you are also tossing dirt.
During the year 2002, Bloomquist was a member of the hall of fame class. The racer had been known to Newton for close to forty years, and Newton described Bloomquist as being similar to an older brother to him. During his tenure as senior vice president of Arizona Sport Shirts, he was also responsible for designing Bloomquist's official merchandise.
Despite the fact that Bloomquist was born in Iowa, he eventually settled in California, where his father was employed as a pilot for an airline, according to Newton. The farm in Tennessee was purchased by the family because they desired to relocate to the east.
According to Newtown, Bloomquist developed a passion in racing through the use of an automobile that his father had purchased, but he quickly lost interest in it and gave it to his son.
"He would do work for people, make a little bit of money to buy a tyre, and then go win a race," observed Newton. "He would go win a race." "He would take that money and reinvest it in the team," she said. Rest, as they say, is history.
Newton stated that in addition to winning, Bloomquist became recognised for both his cockiness and his reputation as a kind of bad boy. To a certain extent, his persona was constructed around the skull that was painted within the zero on his race car.
According to an article published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in the year 2000, Bloomquist "looks like Tom Cruise, drives like Dale Earnhardt, and speaks out like Darrell Waltrip."
During his time as a NASCAR driver, Waltrip was known for his ability to annoy his rivals by first outperforming them on the track and then letting his jaw hang out of the car.
"He always told me that it's not boasting or bragging if it's fact and you can back it up," Newton said of Bloomquist. "He was always on the same page." It is true that he did.
Newtown stated that the accolades that Bloomquist has received "will never be exceeded."
Newton expressed his sorrow by saying, "The world has lost a great racer, a great friend, and a great father." "An angel of great magnitude has been added to heaven."
Over the course of his career, Bloomquist, like many other drivers in the sport, has been injured in a variety of ways. But he continued to race and intended to take part in the World 100 race that will take place at Eldora Speedway the following month.
He continued to have the belief that he could win a race, according to Newton.
In a statement made on Friday, Jerry Caldwell, the president and manager of Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, referred to Bloomquist as "arguably the greatest dirt late model racer in the history of the sport."
An additional homage was paid to Bloomquist by fellow racer Tony Stewart, who stated that he 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 said on social media. "He showed no limit to what he could accomplish." With a personality that was just as impressive as his record of accomplishments, he was a formidable opponent both on and off the track.
The Hawkins County Sheriff's Office issued a statement in which they stated that the remains of the lone occupant of the plane that Bloomquist was flying are likely to be that of Bloomquist. The plane that Bloomquist was flying crashed into a barn. According to a statement released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the organisation is working in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct an investigation into the crash of the Piper J3C-65.
