“Still don’t have it straight”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. expresses thoughts on Scott Bloomquist’s death

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has expressed his thoughts on Dirt Late Model racing legend, Scott Bloomquist's recent death. The 60-year-old speedster was traveling in an airplane when it crashed on Friday morning near Mooresburg, Tennessee, where he lived.

Reports say that Bloomquist was piloting his vintage 1938 Piper Cub J3C-65 at the time of the crash. The local police has said that it has identified him from the remains inside the cockpit. The forensic department is working to confirm identification. The Federal Aviation Administration will review the crash as well.

The motorsport community, including Earnhardt Jr., is saddened by the news. Recalling the time he interviewed Bloomquist on his podcast, "Dale Junior Download" last year, he posted a message remembering the driver on X.

"Thought about Bloomquist all day," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. "Still don’t have it straight. I do know he lived life his own way. It was great to interview him. Regret I didn’t get to do that decades ago. What a run."

Bloomquist was an eight-time Late Model Dirt champion across three different series and an eight-time Dirt Model Dream race winner. He claimed his last championship in 2016, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.

Bloomquist also won the World 100 and the Blue-Gray 100 races four times, apart from 33 wins in the Outlaws Late Model Series. He was inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in 2002.

Additionally, Bloomquist made a start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2013 and three in the ARCA Menards Series in 1991. He is survived by his parents, sister, and daughter.

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Scott Bloomquist revealed a 'controversial' secret on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s podcast

Scott Bloomquist was not allowed to drive in the Xfinity Series during his career. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was surprised when he came to know that it was Mike Helton, the current Chairperson of NASCAR, who had forbidden Bloomquist from racing.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. at NASCAR: Xfinity Series Contender Boats 300 - Source: Imagn

It started with Bloomquist's intention of buying a certain race-winning car that was previously driven by Bill Elliott, the father of current Hendrick Motorsports driver and 2020 Cup Series champion, Chase Elliott. Reflecting on the same, he told Earnhardt Jr. on the aforementioned podcast:

"I was just gonna try it. He (Bill Elliott) had won a race and it was complete and it was sitting exactly the way it was when he won the race. It was a Busch (Xfinity) car. I drove over to look at the car." [at 00:26]

All Bloomquist had wanted was technical support and a team that would represent the car as is in the Xfinity Series (then known as the Busch Series). However, that did not happen.

"It was illegal," Bloomquist continued. "(They) started telling me all the things I was going to need to be able to race it. Then I also got a call from Mike Helton... afterwards, I figured out who he was, he asked me to not race. Too much controversy."

When asked by Dale Earnhardt Jr. why he would not be allowed to race Elliott's car, Bloomquist revealed Helton's reply:

"'I'm just gonna be straight up here... just because you're not Bill Elliott.'"

Soon after, Bloomquist gave up his hope of driving in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.