Scott Bloomquist
Had Scott Bloomquist decided to retire from racing and become a tournament bass fisherman at the end of the 2017 season he would have left behind a virtually unmatched legacy in the sport of Dirt Late Model racing. The number of feature wins, the number of crown jewel wins, and the number of championships are astounding. The Mooresburg, Tenn. driver is a National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame member for a reason.
But as we all know, the story did not end in 2017. And not only is the Team Zero car still racing, but the stories that have been added to the legend of Bloomquist have been some of his most remarkable to date. As a matter of fact, if someone were to write out a script that detailed the legendary driver’s current season and handed it off to a Hollywood movie producer it would be flat out rejected for being too unbelievable.
So far in 2018, the 54-year-old Bloomquist has amassed seven feature wins which has him closing in on his 600th(currently at 598) career feature victory. And consider the range of races he has won this season. The No. 0 machine placed first in a $3,000-to-win Spring Nationals event held at Georgia’s Senoia Raceway and also in the Dirt Late Model Dream at Eldora Speedway in Ohio this past Saturday night. which netted him $100,000.
Immediately following the Georgia-Florida SpeedWeeks portion of the racing schedule there were some who questioned whether or not Bloomquist would even remain on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series due to the fact that he had gotten off to a relatively slow start on that tour. And more, he had had a much more promising go of it in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series races he ran in the Sunshine State which caused more than a few to wonder if he would indeed swap series.
That conjecture has gone away now as Bloomquist currently resides in second place of the LOLMDS standings behind leader Jonathan Davenport.
Further, the driver known as ‘Black Sunshine’ is currently two-for-two in the sport’s crown jewel races held so far this season. Not only did he win the aforementioned Dream but he also captured the $30,000-to-win Show-me 100 at Lucas Oil Speedway in Missouri last month.
But just saying Bloomquist won those two races doesn’t even come close to telling the full story. The way he won each of them will make for some legendary tales for many years to come.
Recall that on the second of three nights spent at Lucas Oil Speedway during the Show-me 100 weekend a Bloomquist crew member was caught attempting play a little sleight of hand with the pill draw in order to secure a better qualifying draw for his driver. As a result, Bloomquist was not allowed to participate in time-trials and was relegated to the tail of his heat race.
After not transferring to the Friday night feature through his heat, Bloomquist had to race his way in through a B-main. Following contact with driver Jimmy Mars, the left front wheel of his car was broken off yet he still went on to win the preliminary on what basically amounted to three wheels over a field that included top stars Josh Richards and Shannon Babb among others.
The next night saw the Zero pulled into victory lane and claimed his sixth Show-me 100 and the first of his career at Lucas Oil Speedway. But the B-main win on Friday will be the thing most remember from that entire weekend.
This past Saturday, Bloomquist recorded his historic eighth win in the Dirt Late Model Dream in Rossburg, Ohio. But again, this wasn’t just a simple story of a top driver winning a race.
Scott Bloomquist’s No. 0 Sweet-Bloomquist Race Car.
After a fall in the pit area prior to Friday’s racing action, Bloomquist had to go to a local emergency room for a shoulder injury. That, in turn, caused him to miss all of that night’s competition. As a result, he had to start well back in a Saturday preliminary in hopes of just making it into the feature field. He was able to do that but would still have to start the $100,000 main event from mid-pack.
Undeterred, Bloomquist charged forward and eventually took the lead from Davenport on lap 40 on his way to a commanding triumph.
As stated earlier, the 2018 season sounds almost like a bad movie script. But to try and make up stories such as these would seem too unrealistic. However, in the world of Scott Bloomquist, it almost seems like these types of tales are commonplace.
