Scott Bloomquist
Encyclopedia
Dirt track racing
Dirt track racing is a type of auto racing performed on oval tracks. It began in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 30s. Two different types of racecars predominated—open wheel racers in the Northeast and West and stock cars in the South...
late model
Late model
A "late model car" is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. The term is broadly used in car racing, and often appears in common use, as in "The officer was driving an unmarked, late model sedan."There is no precise...
race car driver in the United States. Bloomquist was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa
Fort Dodge, Iowa
Fort Dodge is a city and county seat of Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 25,206 in the 2010 census, an increase from 25,136 in the 2000 census. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Central and Northwest Iowa. It is located on U.S...
. He was inducted in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame
National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame
The National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame is a non-profit hall of fame for American drivers of Dirt Late Model racecars. It is located on the grounds of Florence Speedway, in Walton, Kentucky.-History:...
in its second class in 2002.
Racing career
Bloomquist is the son of an airplane pilot for Air Cal. While stationed in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Bloomquist's father was invited to see his coworker race a stock car
Stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
. The elder Bloomquist thought he should give racing a try, so bought a race car, motor, and some old tires. He tried racing, and decided to give the race car to his son. Bloomquist's first race was at Corona Raceway in Corona, California
Corona, California
Corona is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 152,374, up from 124,966 at the 2000 census...
in August 1980. He won several races and the track championship in 1982.
In 1983 he heard about a $4,000-to-win race at Chula Vista Speedway . He saw a picture of a flat-wedge shaped race car that Charlie Swartz had used to win the Dirt Track World Championship in 1982, and he decided to build a race car like it for the Chula Vista race. Bloomquist won the race, lapping the field twice in the process.(there are numerous errors in the sourced material: the track was Speedway 117, near Chula Vista, California, the race on June 25, 1983 paid $3500 to win and Bloomquist did not lap the field. He did, however, lap all but second place finisher Jim Neal having earlier set a 1 lap track record in qualifying and won his heat race.)
After the race, his father wanted to sell the car since it was worth a lot of money. The two reached an agreement where the father would gradually be paid for the car if the newly-graduated Scott Bloomquist would work at his father's new farm far across the country in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. He traded his 1957 Chevy for a truck and race hauler. After arriving in Tennessee, he tore up the car in qualifying at Newport Speedway. He worked for his father until he had enough money to repair the car. He won some races, earning just enough money to continue racing.
Next year he decided to race with a new car at Kingston Speedway, which had begun hosting a $2,500-to-win event every Saturday night. "I come rolling into the race with my dad and there sits Larry Moore," Bloomquist said. "He was the fastest guy in dirt late model racing and there he sits. And my dad says, `Well, there goes that $2,500.'" Bloomquist qualified second fastest behind Moore and started out on Moore's outside in the first row. Bloomquist said, "Moore took the lead but was holding me up, so I knocked him out of the way and won. That's $2,500. Next week, I'm on the pole, Moore's outside and I won again. Now I'm sitting here with five grand and I'm thinking that things are starting to look up."
Bloomquist used the winnings to improve his race car. He continued working at his father's farm to pay off his original race car. He began going to races with $2,000 purses that were 100 miles (160.9 km) from his house.
In 1988 he raced at Eldora Speedway
Eldora Speedway
Eldora Speedway, also known as The Big E and Auto Racing's Showcase since 1954, is located near Rossburg, Ohio. Eldora is a half-mile clay oval with an estimated seating capacity of nearly 20,000...
's World 100 against three-time winner and favorite Jeff Purvis
Jeff Purvis
Jeff Purvis is a former race car driver in NASCAR's Nationwide Series. He is a 15-year veteran with four wins and 25 top-five finishes. Purvis is still recovering from a massive brain injury suffered in 2002. He races "Late Model Crates" at Golden Isles Speedway.- Winston Cup Series Career :Purvis...
. After qualifying for the feature, which is unusual for a rookie, he started seventh. Purvis took the lead early in the race. Bloomquist slowly caught Purvis and passed him for the win. Some people consider his win a fluke, until Bloomquist took the pole position
Pole position
The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...
the following year and won the race again in 1990.
He raced in the Hav-A-Tampa series from 1993 to 1996, winning the national touring series in 1994 and 1995. He led the 1996 points until he lost all of his points for bumping another car under caution. He had 60 wins in the series during that time, second place had 18 wins.
On October 5, 1993, Bloomquist was arrested and charged for possessing 2.7 grams of cocaine. "A girl I dated talked me into having someone get some cocaine for her," Bloomquist said. "She had gotten into trouble and the only way she could get out was by setting me up. And she talked me into doing something that no one else has ever been able to do." Bloomquist was found not guilty of felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
sale and distribution and guilty of misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
drug possession and possessing drug paraphernalia. "When they searched the house they found a short straw that had some residue of cocaine in it. The girl had left it there," Bloomquist said. He was sentenced in November 1994 to the maximum penalty, a $5,000 fine and one year in prison. It was his first misdemeanor conviction, and he filed an appeal. His sentence was cut in half to 6 months in jail. He served his time as a work release
Work release
In prison systems, work release programs allow a prisoner who is sufficiently trusted or can be sufficiently monitored to leave confinement to continue working at his or her current place of employment, returning to prison when his/her shift is complete...
beginning in 1997.
With problems both on and off-track, he left racing and started reading. He read about the human body and mind. After he returned to racing a changed person. He took all of his sponsors off the car and used only black and white paint. He changed from his familiar number 18 to number 0. He put the yin yang symbol in the middle of the "0" to represent the balance that he found in his life. He later raced the number "0" car with a skull and crossbones
Skull and crossbones (fraternities and sports)
The skull and crossbones was a common fraternal motiff as a symbol of mortality and warning in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries...
through the middle of the number.
In 2003 Scott competed full time on the Xtreme Dirt Car Series formerly Hav-A-Tampa Series and won his 5th championship for the organization. 2004 he raced in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is a racing championship series for dirt late model stock cars currently owned by World Racing Group. It competes on a national tour of the United States and Canada on dirt ovals...
and won the season championship.
He was named the 2006 RPM Racing News driver of the year. That year he won The Dream ($100,000), Topless 100 ($45,000), Scorcher 100 ($20,000), Racefest ($20,000), Dixie Shootout ($15,000), and the Cedar Lake Nationals ($50,000). He also had nine wins in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is a racing championship series for dirt late model stock cars, founded in 2005. It is one of two such touring series' on dirt ovals in the United States...
.
Bloomquist returned to series racing and won the 2009 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is a racing championship series for dirt late model stock cars, founded in 2005. It is one of two such touring series' on dirt ovals in the United States...
championship. He returned to the series in 2010 defending his points championship. Bloomquist would be the series runner up for 2011 scoring 15 victories. He also scored combined earnings north of $272,000 for the year.
Other notable race wins include the 1989, 1993, & 1995 Pittsburgher 100; 1988, 1990, & 2000 World 100
Eldora Speedway
Eldora Speedway, also known as The Big E and Auto Racing's Showcase since 1954, is located near Rossburg, Ohio. Eldora is a half-mile clay oval with an estimated seating capacity of nearly 20,000...
; 1999, 2001, 2006 & 2011 Topless 100; the $100,000 Dream at Eldora Speedway in 1995, 2002, 2004, 2006, & 2008; 2005 & 2009 Knoxville Late Model Nationals; 1995 2003, 2004, 2005, & 2008 Show- Me 100; an eight-time winner of the National 100 at East Alabama Motor Speedway - 90,93,94,97,99,01,02 & 03; the 2007 Firecracker 100; 4 time winner of the Jackson 100 in Brownstown, Indiana; the 2010 Hillbilly 100 at West Virginia Motor Speedway; the 2011 Clash at the Mag in Columbus, Mississippi and the 2011 USA 100 at Virginia Speedway. He scored his 500th career Late Model win at the Jackson 100 at Brownstown Speedway in Indiana on September 25th, 2010 and his 6th Dixie Shootout October 8, 2011 in Woodstock, Georgia.
Dirt late model chassis builder
He is known for working on his own racecars as the chief chassis builder. He used to race in chassis' built by major chassis manufacturers. He would then modify the chassis with tricks that he learned during his decades of racing. He decided it would be easier to build his own chassis than to modify someone else's design. He now sells "Bloomquist Chassis'" (aka. TEAM ZERO) to select racers. Bloomquist Chassis helps in their entire program. These racers include Chris Madden, Jimmy OwensJimmy Owens (racecar driver)
Jimmy Owens, also known as "The Newport Nightmare," and "The O Show" is a dirt late model driver from Newport, Tennessee. Owens won 4 UMP Modified National Championships before moving up to super late models where he has also had success...
, Brady Smith, Rick Eckert, Dan Schleiper, Justin Rattliff, John Mason, Jordan Bland, Kenny Compton Jr., Tyler Reddick, Kerry Jones, Dennis Erb Jr., and Scott Creel.
Personal life
He is married to Katrina Rouse Bloomquist and has a daughter Ariel Rouse Bloomquist. His hometown is Mooresburg in Hawkins County, TennesseeHawkins County, Tennessee
Hawkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 56,833. Its county seat is Rogersville, Tennessee's second-oldest town....
.