Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Does anyone know if Scott has ever tried racing a sprintcar?

sprint cars...idk?  He ran the chili bowl in 2002 though, didn't do well

do it in the dirt

car didnt "Hike up" enuff for him?

In all seriousness tho, in my parts, most of the LM guys are bigger dudes, like shootn 250 or better, friendly giants that love fenders n doors, personally, im a winged fan. I dont mind the LM more and more tho, the local levels of competitors have excellent shows, many coming down to the last lap passes, and not alot of beetn and banging, like the mortifieds here locally, bumpertag or driving thro anothers cockpit seems like part of the game, those guys arnt happy unless they bend the LR quarterpanel about roof hieght and bend at least three wheels..  Laughingly,  the LM guys here, think the sprintdrivers are talentless jockies aboart a fast horse .. ya kinda cute.. but, secretly they love them. im not sure its a attraction to LM drivers?   how a guy with a 40"waist fits in a 12" window opening? "like, do these pants make my butt look big" love em or hate them LM are then next best thing here. i wish i had some time to be around the North Eastern mods, seems a little mixture of everything in thos cars, and pretty cool in my eyes, just wish they were mech fuel injected.. little less stockcar and a little more sprintcar.

He would probably do ok in a305 since they are about as fast as a late model!

I talked to him one night about ten years ago while he was standing by the trailer scuffing some tires.  He was wearing a Stevie Smith shirt.  I think he likes other classes besides the Late Models, he's just locked into what he's doing with his chassis business and all.  He's a tall dude as was mentioned in this thread and he's getting to an age where I wouldn't expect any career shifts.  Also, as much as I enjoy Sprints I'd probably think twice about getting into something that can beat up the body in a flip like a Sprint does.  That might get it in the 20's and 30's but it hurts a little more every decade beyond.  At a couple years older I can't even imagine what 60 y/o Steve Kinser would feel like the day after tumbling on a big half mile.  We don't see NFL running backs taking a beating at 50 or 60 for a reason. 

Stan Meissner

Scott Bloomquist like most good drivers could drive about anything and is a mechanical wizard.Love them or not the Late Models run for large purses and have a lot of fans.I think all racers respect others regardless of the type of cars.Dave Despain just did an interview on Scott and it was interesting as He is legend in late models and an innovator of some of the designs used today.

Agree--and i will add that late model racing can be some of the most exciting there is to watch.  I watch all forms of racing.  It's funny though how die hard "sprint car or nothing" fans will dislike something merely because it has fenders or might require a fuel stop.  Silly.  Expand your horizons a bit!

Super Chuck will never forget being down at the Chili Bowl talking to the Krazy Korean over in the pit area, long before any racing action was set to take place.  Chatting away when this tall, long-haired dude comes strolling up to us in his rockstar looking black leather jacket.  Been a few years and beers ago, but conversation when something like this:

Super Chuck:  Hey Bloomer, how's it going?  You look lost. 

Scott Bloomquist:  Hey man.  You know where my car is?  Never been here before.

SC:  Yeah, you're driving for Donnie Lehman right?

SB:  Yeah, I think so.  You know where it's at?

SC:  Yep, let's go.

So we take him over to the Lehman stall and there were four or five identical midgets, and one with a green number zero on it.  Bloomer is looking over the cars, with a look of concern on his face.  Ask him if he's ever driven one...nope.  We could tell he was not comfortable with the situation right away.  He walks up to the car, looks in it and just shakes his head.

SB:  Man, these things are tiny.  How in the f*** am I going to fit in that thing?!?

Super Chuck and Krazy Korean bust out laughing.  Told him he'd have to figure that one out and wished him good luck.

Stan likes Super Chucks Bloomer Quip... :/

Opinions may vary...

Around 1990 he had a couple of starts in the old NASCAR All Pro asphalt Late Model series.

He got a 2nd and a 4th.

Bloomer is one of the best we'll ever see in a racecar.  But I was very surprised by how uncompetitive he was at the Mudsummer Classic last year.  Anyone know if he's getting a shot with KBM again this year?

I remember the pit reporter talking about how that truck had left the sway bar off the front suspension because they thought it would handle better without it.  I think they were the only team to do that, and since it didn't work that was most of the reason they were out to lunch.

Signature here.

That was Bloomquists own idea to do that with the sway bar. It didnt work obviously. He was literally the slowest truck on the track. 

On another note I figured Bloomquist would be in jail by now for the threats on that ex employee of his. He put a gun to the guys head and threatened to kill him. 

I've never been a fan of Bloomquist myself, he always came across as way too arrogant and full of himself. Now a guy like Billy Moyer is a class act and worthy of adulation.

Cheers!

I'm an equal opportunity picture taker. 

Stan Meissner

Bloomer is good in a late model, but out to lunch everywhere else.  He always is pushing the rules and enjoys a significant mechanical advantage in DLM's, but take that away and he is lapped traffic.    

He was lapped traffic in his heat last year....before he took off the sway bar.  

Sometimes he hits the setup and sometimes he doesn't.  Just like any other driver in any other class, sometimes the best Sprint drivers look like they're out to lunch when the guess wrong.  Remember the Sammy posts from earlier this season when they had a few bad nights?  No way I'd ever count Sammy out at any Sprint Car race and likewise Bloomquist at any Late Model race.  

A lot of Sprint drivers would be out to lunch if they hopped into a Late Model.  Schatz grew up in the middle of WISSOTA country and was exposed to them through osmosis so he has done some Late Model racing in his spare time the past couple seasons.  He has won a few and been fast in them but living up in this part of the country he has been around them.  I've seen a couple drivers over the years that were pretty decent in both, Rick Aukland and Jim Bruggeman come to mind.  It's tough for a driver to jump into another type of race car and run near the front the first time out with a few rare exceptions like Kyle Larson. 

Bottom line is that Bloomer has been out on the road doing this for years and has had a lot of success.  He's a unique character who marches to the beat of his own drum and people either like him or they don't.  Sounds like you're one of the donts and I can understand that but you can't deny his success.  A mid pack driver can luck out once or twice in their career and win a big race but when someone wins as many as Bloomquist has it's more than one lucky night.

Stan Meissner

You are right Stan,  I don't like him.   I believe that Scott Bloomquist has done more damage to the health of dirt track racing than anyone since Bill France.   

I'm pretty sure there's not a halo big enough in a sprint car to fit Scotty's helmet...   :/

Opinions may vary...

There is one sprint car driver that done very well in a late model that you forgot.......

A guy from Ohio by the name of Jack Hewitt.  

And there was a late model guy from Kentucky that if you look has some All Star and non-sanctioned sprint car wins named Charlie Swartz  

Please expound on your claim a little more...........

I have been following dirt late model racing for close to 50 years and I in no way see how Bloomquist "damaged" dirt track racing in any way. In fact I see just opposite. And just for the record I'm not a big Bloomquist fan.

Is Bloomquist an angel... No way!! But there are plenty of former and current sprint car drivers that have done more and worse.

The fact is between Bloomquist and a few other well know drivers they have made the Lucas Oil, WoO, and UMP series and tracks step up their game to provide the drivers with some excellent money to race for and point funds.

The top dirt late model drivers are making a whole lot more money through the year and not putting on near the miles and travel days that your top WoO and All Star sprint drivers are.

And if memory serves me correctly back in the early 2000's when Bloomquist was ripping up the dirt late model world the figure of $1 million in winnings and point money in one season sticks in my head.