Dirt track racing legend Scott Bloomquist is believed to be the sole victim in the crash of a single-engine vintage airplane that occurred on the Bloomquist family farm in Tennessee on Friday morning.
He was 60 years old.
NASCAR giant Kenny Wallace on Friday called Bloomquist “the greatest dirt racer of all time.”
The Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the body “is believed to be that of Scott Bloomquist,” but that a formal identification would be made at a later date by county forensics officials.
Reid Millard, owner of Moberly Motorsports Park, a popular dirt track in Moberly, Missouri, reported on Facebook that the accident happened on the Bloomquist family farm in Mooresburg, Tennessee, and quoted a member of the Bloomquist family.
The accident was reported to Hawkins County Rescue Squad at 7:47 a.m. on Brooks Road near the address of Scott Bloomquist Racing, the driver’s organization, team, shop and merchandise store.
The plane crashed into a barn and burst into flames, the force said in a statement. The bodies have been removed from the plane and sent to forensic investigators.
The pilot was the only person on board, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board, which is leading the investigation into the cause of the crash, said the plane was a Piper J3C-65 Cub.
According to the Seattle Museum of Flight, the model debuted in 1937 and was deployed by the U.S. military during World War II.
Dirt track racer and journalist Nick Graziano said in an obituary on the World of Outlaws Racing website that Bloomquist was 60 years old. He is also listed as 60 years old in the dirt track series’ announcement for his return to the tracks, scheduled for 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, and the winningest driver in the Hav-A-Tampa Series and Lucas Oil Series.
Dirt track racing, which has been around since the 1920s, features two main types of vehicles: tall, winged, open-wheel sprint cars and the more traditionally bodied stock cars or “late model” cars that Bloomquist drove.
Dirt tracks can attract some of the most skilled drivers in motorsports, especially stock car racing drivers looking for an edge, because they require constant attention to steering and acceleration. The cars spend most of their time racing in tail-out drifts on the short tracks, so they’re constantly looking for balance and traction.
According to his World of Outlaws obituary, Bloomquist began his racing career in California but eventually moved to Tennessee to continue racing while helping out on his family’s farm.
NASCAR legend Tony Stewart said on social media platform X that Bloomquist “made dirt racing better.”
“Scott Bloomquist is one of a kind and the smartest guy I know when it comes to dirt racing,” Stewart continued. “What he was able to do behind the wheel of a race car was matched only by the ingenuity he put into building those cars.”
Wallace agreed in X’s video. “Very sad morning for me. He was the smartest dirt racer of all time.”
According to the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series in March, Bloomquist was planning to return to dirt track racing on a more serious basis than the occasional races he participated in in his later years. It’s unclear if he actually returned.
“You all are in the hearts and prayers of the entire Millard family, along with Scott’s daughter Ariel, his parents, his sister and all of those who knew and loved Scott,” Millard, the truck’s owner, said in a statement.
He continued, “Good luck Scott. May you fly high on eagles’ wings forever.”
Tanni Noriega
Jay Blackman contributed.
