Scott Bloomquist uses his four wheeler as a tool for gauging track conditions.
If you’ve ever attended a race in which Scott Bloomquist was competing, you have probably seen him prior to the event checking out the racing surface. The National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame member frequently rides a four wheeler between his hauler and the track, but he isn’t just riding for the sake of riding. The Mooresburg, Tenn. driver is acquiring information that will help him make setup decisions he hopes will lead to the addition of another trophy to his already large collection.
“A lot of times I like to ride the four wheeler out on the race track and just see how it feels because the four-wheeler has pleats on the tires and you can tell when you throttle up if your pleats are digging into the race track or if the track’s greasy,” Bloomquist explained. “And if the track’s got some banking and you just slide all the way off the race track, that tells you it’s pretty slick. You can learn a lot just getting out there on the four-wheeler.”
The veteran driver and chassis builder says that some racers use the wrong instruments to gauge how much moisture is in a track on a given night and how deep that moisture goes down into the dirt. His years of experience from racing all over the country have taught Bloomquist some tricks of the trade that have led to over 700 Late Model victories and multiple series championships.
“I know a lot of guys may use a sharp knife or a screwdriver to stick in the racetrack, but I’ve always got a Sharpie in my pocket because I’ve gotten used to using something with a blunt edge,” Bloomquist said. “I feel like you can learn a little bit more with that because you can stick a knife in a lot of things, but you can use something that’s got a blunt end on it and tell more about the race track that way.”
Besides using his Sharpie to measure the depth of the moisture in the track, the driver often referred to as ‘Black Sunshine’ says it is also important to understand the human factor involved in the preparation of the racing surface.
“It’s just about studying how they prepare the race track and everything,” he pointed out in a recent telephone interview. “It’s good to talk to the person who prepares the track and find out whether they put soap in the water or whether they put chemicals in the water to make it not dry out. Soap will make a track get really slippery. You just try to find out everything you can find out and make the best guess you can.”
Because of these techniques, Bloomquist has compiled an astounding record on tracks he has never seen before.
“We’re over 70%, and it goes all the way back over my entire career,” Bloomquist said of his winning percentage on first time visits to speedways. “Even at the World 100 when we went there for the first time and won that race. I guess I just love a challenge.”
According to the 50-year-old driver, the key to that success on initial visits to tracks is not only using his experience and unique track gauging techniques but also not getting stuck in a routine.
“You roll into a new place and you absorb a lot and you just approach it with an open mind and roll with everything you feel,” he declared. “Sometimes what will happen to you is you’ll go somewhere and have success the first time so you keep good notes. Then you go back the next time and you just try to do the same thing instead of going in there with an open mind and rolling with what you see in front of you at the moment.
“I think I’ve hurt myself doing that in the past and I try to not do that when I go back to a track multiple times.,” Bloomquist continued. “I go in and I really try to study what I see before me on that day. I think that’s just a lot of it. You don’t have any preconceived thoughts or assumptions about any of it. You just have to pay attention. You talk to some local drivers and some other people who have raced there and take in all you can. You know, we only get two hot laps so you go out there in those two laps and you’ve got to figure out what you’re going to do pretty quick.”
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