Scott Bloomquist wasn’t invincible after all.
The dirt late model legend died unexpectedly Friday morning when he crashed while flying his vintage airplane on his family farm.
He was loved, he was hated, he was misunderstood, but Scott Bloomquist always persevered. He seemed invincible to many — not only those who battled him on the track, but those of us who watched him from pits or the grandstands.
After a stint in prison during the mid-1990s, Bloomquist donned the No. 0 on his black late models and embraced the role of a rebellious outlaw, which along with his aggressive driving style and the fact that he won — a lot — earned him legions of fans.
But that also produced a fair share of Bloomquist haters. He was controversial and bold, and he sold tickets. Having Bloomquist in the field was always a bonus for a racing promoter.
During a career in which he won more than 600 features, including 43 that paid more than $30,000, he was often slowed. Slowed by penalties, rules makers and injuries.
But he always bounced back, and he’d been doing that while racing a limited schedule this year, starting to show his winning form again after having recovered from injuries suffered in a 2019 motorcycle crash.
Inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in 2002, he raced 22 years as a Hall of Famer.
He’ll be remembered as the greatest dirt late model racer of all time, and a true motorsports legend.
Good, bad and indifferent, when Scott Bloomquist showed up at the race track, he was worth the price of admission and for a 20-year period beginning in the late 1990s, he was the show.
This morning, the show stopped at age 60, and we mourn the loss of another motorsports legend.
It was a thrill ride for sure. Rest in peace, Bloomer.
The Friday Morning Heat Race will return in its traditional format next Friday.