The design of the wrap paying tribute to Scott Bloomquist at Eldora Speedway harkens back to 1986. Back then, Bloomquist wasn’t a national force to be reckoned with, but a young, up-and-coming racer on the rise. His paint scheme, however, captivated a young Shannon Norwood. Fast forward nearly 40 years to today, and Norwood’s Fullmoon Graphics recreated it for 2024.
Norwood, then 10 years old or so, brought photos of his favorite cars to the now-defunct Atomic Speedway to get them autographed. Legendary Tennessee dirt late model driver Ronnie Johnson signed the first one. Johnson asked Norwood who else he had. Seeing Bloomquist’s ride in Norwood’s collection, Johnson walked Norwood over to Bloomquist, who then signed his photo. However, what perhaps made even more of an impact was the actual paint scheme Bloomquist ran, hand-lettered in paint by John Estes.
“After he signed that picture, I walked over to the side of the car,” Norwood, of Athens, Tennessee, said. “The details in the number just glowed — it didn’t look like paint. I remember checking out how they done it. Even at 10 years old, I was like, ‘Someday, I’ve got figure out how to do this.’”
Norwood would make a career of lettering and wrapping cars. Bloomquist obviously went on to become the GOAT of dirt late model racing. The two kept in touch over the years, but the opportunities to work together never materialized, until this year.
Norwood’s son, Tyler, brought up lettering Bloomquist’s car, and Norwood gave him one condition.
“I wanted to do something different,” said Norwood. “The yinyang/skull stuff has run its course, at least to me. It’s not different [enough,] where fans go, ‘Wow, who’s lettering his car now?’ I [told Tyler,] ‘Tell him my favorite car was the ’86 car. If he’s interested, I’ll do a throwback.’ About a day or two later, my son said, ‘Well, you’re in.’”
Bloomquist had approved the overall new design. After the World of Outlaw Late Models’ USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway, he was to set the final sponsors to debut the design at the World 100 at Eldora Speedway. Bloomquist unfortunately died in a plane crash before that happened on August 16.
Norwood approached the Bloomquist camp about wrapping the car still, as a tribute. They agreed and it debuted at Eldora Speedway prior to the Castrol FloRacing show, a precursor to the World 100.
“I wanted the fans to see it,” Norwood said. “It was a way to give back to the longtime fans. I hope fans will remember just how exciting it was to see a young Scott Bloomquist … a longhaired kid out of California, a whole different breed of racer.”
And for Shannon Norwood, this wrap for Scott Bloomquist represents a childhood dream come true.
“There are a lot of people lettering race cars, but how many can say they’re lettering their childhood heroes’ cars?” said Norwood. “To letter for R.J. [Ronnie Johnson] and Scott Bloomquist … it’s full circle. To see it roll around the track, I don’t even have words for it. It’s emotional. It’s exciting.”
Outside Groove Note of Transparency: Added the name of who lettered the original paint scheme in 1986 (2024-09-04).
The Outside Groove Executive Editor has covered motorsports since 2000. His many awards include the 2019 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Jim Hunter Writer of the Year and the 2013 Russ Catlin Award for Excellence in Motorsports Journalism.
