Climbing out of his car in the Michigan victory lane on Monday, Tyler Reddick dedicated his second victory of the season to Scott Bloomquist, the 60-year-old dirt racing star who tragically passed away in a plane crash last week. Bloomquist was one of Reddick’s earliest mentors in racing and played a significant role in his late-model dirt racing career.
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Since his debut in 1980, Bloomquist won nine national championships and over 600 races in various series. The Reddick family’s introduction to him came from their need for a shop to build dirt-late model cars. They utilized one of his and also begot him as a teacher for Tyler, who was just 15 then. Various controversies surrounded Bloomquist’s name at the time but his knowledge was far too valuable to ignore.
Reddick said to ESPN in 2018, “We heard a lot of that. But the stuff that Scott was teaching me and my dad about race cars was invaluable. He was great.” Over time, the icon developed a strong affinity for young Reddick. “He did things for me that he didn’t do for anybody,” he added. Looking back at those simple days causes a strong sense of melancholy for the now No. 45 driver.
He used to sit around with Bloomquist and his team all night listening to the stories they had to say over a can of beer. Although he wasn’t allowed to touch the drink, he remained seated for the lessons that he learned. The biggest piece of wisdom that was hammered into him was that the tightest race car that still turns wins the race every time. He remembers it to this day.
The journey from being Bloomquist’s protege to NASCAR’s best
Following a successful dirt-late model career through his mid-teens, Reddick joined the ARCA Menards Series and eventually the Craftsman Truck Series. The sudden shift from the chaotic world of dirt racing to the professional grounds of NASCAR took him a fair bit of getting used to.
“Being up until 5 in the morning with Scott for almost 2, 3 years really messes your body up and your mind, just your mental clock,” he reminisces. “So just getting up at 6 in the morning when I ran ARCA was, like, impossible. I couldn’t wake up.”
He did eventually adjust to the new stage and began climbing the ropes. He won Xfinity championships in 2018 and 2019 before joining the Cup Series in 2020. Currently in his second year with 23XI Racing, he is one of the top favorites for the championship. Bloomquist would be beaming with pride watching his protege turn tight cars to win races.
