Legendary Driver Scott Bloomquist Feared Dead in Plane Crash
Dirt track racing legend Scott Bloomquist is the lone fatality in a single-engine vintage plane crash on the Bloomquist family farm in Tennessee early Friday morning.
He was 60 years old.
NASCAR titan Kenny Wallace on Friday called Bloomquist “the greatest dirt racer to ever live.”
The Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the remains are “believed to be Scott Bloomquist,” but an official identification will come later from county forensic officials.
Reid Millard, owner of Moberly Motorsports Park, a popular dirt track in Moberly, Missouri, cited a member of the Bloomquist family when he reported on Facebook that the accident occurred on the Bloomquist family farm in Mooresburg, Tennessee.
The accident was reported to the Hawkins County Rescue Squad at 7:47 a.m. on Brooks Road, near the address of Scott Bloom Quest Racing, the driver’s organization, team, shop, and merchandise store.
The squad also indicated in its statement that the plane crashed into a warehouse and set it on fire. A body was removed from the plane and sent to forensic investigators, he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said only the pilot was on board. The plane was a Piper J3C-65 Cub, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation into the cause of the crash.
The model debuted in 1937 and was deployed by the U.S. Army in World War II, according to the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
Dirt track racer and journalist Nick Graziano said in an obituary for the World of Outlaws Racing website that Bloomquist was 60 years old. He is also listed as 60 in the Dirt Racing Series announcement for his planned return to the track from March.
Bloomquist was inducted into the Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in 2002. His accomplishments include: Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Champion in 2009, 2010 and 2016; World of Outlaws Champion in 2004; DIRTcar Summer Nationals Champion in 1990, 1991 and 2002; The winningest driver in the Hav-A-Tampa Series and the Lucas Oil Series.
Dirt track racing since the 1920s has featured two main types of vehicles, the long, winged, open-wheel sprint cars, and the more traditionally bodied stock cars or “late model” cars, driven by Blomqvist.
Dirt tracks can attract the most skilled motorsports drivers, especially those looking for the edge of stock car racing, because it involves constant attention to steering and acceleration. Cars are constantly searching for balance and traction as they race in tail-out drifts on their short tracks most of the time.
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According to the World of Outlaws obituary, Bloomquist began his career in California, but eventually moved to Tennessee to help out on the family farm and continue racing.
NASCAR legend Tony Stewart, speaking on social media platform X, said that Blomquist has “improved dirt racing.”
“Scott Bloomquist was one of a kind, and he’s probably the smartest guy I’ve ever met when it comes to dirt racing,” Steward continued. “What he could do behind the wheel of a race car was matched by the ingenuity he put into building his race cars.”
According to the World of Outlaws obituary, Bloomquist began his career in California, but eventually moved to Tennessee to help out on the family farm and continue racing.
NASCAR legend Tony Stewart, speaking on social media platform X, said Blomquist has “improved dirt racing.”
“Scott Bloomquist was one of a kind, and he’s probably the smartest guy I’ve ever met when it comes to dirt racing,” Steward continued. “What he could do behind the wheel of a race car was matched by the ingenuity he put into building his race cars.”
In his statement, track owner Millard said, “Scott’s daughter Arielle along with her parents her sister and all of you who knew and loved Scott – you are in the hearts and prayers of all of our Millard family. “