Scott Bloomquist is expected to undergo shoulder surgery this week; Pulls himself from seat

Bloomquist claims he wasn’t at the race track when the officials were attempting to get him to participate in a drug test

Shoulder surgery expected for Wednesday; Fill-in driver to pilot the #0; Bloomquist is currently 2nd in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series standings

UPDATE: Bloomquist cleared to race

At Eldora Speedway, Scott Bloomquist slipped into the tongue of his trailer. That twisted his arm back and tore his rotator cuff. Bloomquist went to the emergency room and missed the second round of the Dirt Late Model Dream.

He also missed a drug test. Upon his return to Eldora, Drug Free Sport was no longer on the grounds. Bloomquist stated that he offered to make up for the missed test. Speedway officials stated that wouldn’t be necessary and that he only needed to provide medical records, proof of his hospital visit. Which he did provide.

Bloomquist was given drugs for shoulder pain that were cleared by World Racing Group officials. He then went on to win the Dirt Late Model Dream and take home a check for $100,000.

“Drug Free has said that, obviously, the next opportunity we have to test Scott, we will. He’ll fall right back into the system. This doesn’t give him a get out of jail card. He’s back into the system now,” World Racing Group president, Tom Deery told SPEED SPORT.

Fast forward 2 weeks…

On Thursday night, Bloomquist returned to a World Racing Group event. The Firecraker 100 pays $30,000 to the winner. On Thursday night, Bloomquist finished 4th in the main event.

On Friday night, Scott Bloomquist spun out in the second heat race at Lernerville Speedway. He was credited with the completion of 1 lap and was credited with a DNF.

After that, Bloomquist stated that he told the crew to load up and head home. He planned to put a temporary pause on his racing season and supposedly left the speedway and went to a hotel in Pittsburg.

After the heat race, Bloomquist stated to DirtonDirt.com, “I said, ‘Load it. That is it.’ ”

Meanwhile, World of Outlaws Series Director Matt Curl was attempting to get Scott Bloomquist to take a drug test. Curl stated that he made multiple attempts to escort the #0 driver to the testing area.

Eventually, Curl gave Bloomquist an official deadline of 11PM. That deadline came and went. Bloomquist missed another drug test, this time at Lernerville Speedway.

16 drivers were selected for the random drug test. 15 of the those drivers completed the test. Three of those drivers required two attempts to provide an adequate sample.

Drug Free Sport classified hBloomquist’s absence as a “test refusal.”

Bloomquist ‘unaware’ they still wanted to test him: Bloomquist stated that he was unaware the series still wanted him to provide urinalysis as he was supposedly no longer at the race track. He didn’t think that would be the case as he expected to sit out for several months. He was unaware that officials wanted him to return to the track.

Regardless, Bloomquist has been suspended from DIRTcar events for at least 90 days and fined $1,000. The minimum number of days for the suspension is 60. A refusal to test is an automatic failure with the result being a fine and a driver suspension.

In order for Bloomquist to return to a World Racing Group sanctioned event he will need to pass two drug tests over the course of a 14-day period.

Scott Bloomquist leads at Eldora Speedway in the 2018 Dirt Late Model Dream
Scott Bloomquist leads at Eldora Speedway in the 2018 Dirt Late Model Dream (Photo: Mike Ruefer)

Shoulder surgery

Bloomquist is now expected to undergo a surgery on his left rotator cuff. The injury was sustained from an injury at Eldora Speedway. He has a Monday meeting scheduled with a doctor in Tennessee. From there, he expects to go into surgery.

Initially, he intended to push it off until the off-season. However, with the Gateway Dirt Nationals in the start of December and the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series starting in the middle of February, there’s hardly time for the healing process.

Last week, he expected it to hurt his championship hopes. He told RacingNews.co, “I can’t really run for the championship.”

Bloomquist is currently 2nd in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship standings.

Following the spin at Lernerville, Bloomquist has elected to bite the bullet and undergo shoulder surgery. This will pull him from all competition for at least 3 months.

The #0 car will still be present at the race track. Bloomquist is expected to put another driver in the #0 machine while he’s out due to the surgery. That driver is still TBA and it will be seen on a ‘select events’ basis.

More

Related: World of Outlaws announces the suspension of Scott Bloomquist

Related: Scott Bloomquist thinks his arm injury will keep him from running for the championship

Related: Scott Bloomquist comments from victory lane at Eldora Speedway

Related: 2018 Dirt Late Model Dream Results: Saturday

Related: Kyle Bronson discusses the new alliance with Team Zero

Related: Scott Bloomquist tells the fascinating story of the #0

Related: Driver fails drug test following the 2017 Dirt Late Model Dream

Related: Driver refuses WoO drug test, suspended

Related: World of Outlaws announce drug testing program

Related: Post lawsuit, Scott Bloomquist discusses driver suspensions

LINKS

Scott Bloomquist | Lernerville Speedway | DIRTcar | Drug Free Sport

Categories

Tags