Scott Bloomquist’s future as a race car driver is once again in limbo as he battles continued numbness in his right foot and leg that forced him to withdraw from Sunshine Nationals competition two weeks ago at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.

The Hall of Famer, who has never returned to consistent form since a March 2019 motorcycle accident that left him with a broken hip, kneecap and ankle, is planning for back surgery in coming weeks with hopes of improving his lingering ailments.

The best-case scenario would be a speedy recovery that puts the 59-year-old from Mooresburg, Tenn., back on the racetrack by spring. The worst-case scenario, however, could force Bloomquist to consider retirement from driving altogether.

“It’s supposed to be a pretty quick recovery time. I don’t really know,” Bloomquist said Sunday during Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series action at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. “That might be the end (to racing). You never know when you get surgery. I mean, I have high hopes, but I also know anything is possible. We’re going to get (surgery) hopefully by the end of February, if not then March.

“Any time you get surgery on your back, you don’t know. Anything is possible. Hopefully the possibilities are good and turn out well. If not, then we’ll hang it up racing, do some other things.”

VIDEO: Scott Bloomquist discussed his past and future during "One Lap, One Crown" with Derek Kessinger. 

Make no mistake, Bloomquist isn’t calling it quits just yet, nor is he favoring retirement over the willingness to go through the healing process to find success in the twilight of his long career. The founder of Team Zero Race Cars would love to continue racing, and his near-victory last May at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C., where he diced with Chris Madden and Jonathan Davenport, serves as proof the battle versus his ailing body isn’t for naught.

“I still have some people behind me waiting and hoping that we can fix this, that we can continue on,” Bloomquist said. “I still have the passion to drive and the love for this sport. I know I have the ability to drive these cars as hard as I ever could … once I get this problem fixed.”

But when Bloomquist says “that might be the end,” he’s facing reality in a sport where even healthy drivers typically tail off in their late 40s and early 50s. He doesn’t know the severity of this latest bout with numbness in his right leg because his last MRI was more than a year ago and his next MRI isn’t until Feb. 20 — the Monday following the Georgia-Florida Speedweeks conclusion of World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series action at Volusia.

Along with the MRI, which was scheduled Wednesday following an appointment with his physician at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Bloomquist is scheduled for “a full body trace” with results examined by a neurologist to determine how intricate the surgery needs to be.

“This is what I want people to understand: I’m not in any pain. It’s numbness and extreme tingling in my feet,” said Bloomquist, who has four victories since his motorcycle accident nearly three years ago but none since September 2020. “I thought we were getting on the upswing. I’ve tried the chiropractor and even acupuncture, and four epidural shots. But, in reality, I understand why that didn’t work. That is because my back — my L5 disk — is decompressed, and that’s where the nerves come out of your back to your feet. It’s just pinching my nerves enough to cause this problem.”

VIDEO: FloRacing visited the Scott Bloomquist Racing shop during 2021's Road to Eldora.

Bloomquist doesn’t regret his Jan. 19 special appearance in Augie Burttram’s No. 58 Big Frog Motorsports entry — “I went to Volusia and felt pretty good,” he said — despite finishing one spot short of a feature start in the first consolation race.

But because his foot slipped off the brake pedal while he ripped around the high-speed oval, he decided to give up the seat. Coping with his ailments on the racetrack isn’t “fair to my competitors, nor myself, or my fans or anybody” because of the obvious danger it presents, he said.

“I thought I was on the pedal in a certain spot and obviously it wasn’t, and slipped off,” Bloomquist said. “As soon as you have that kind of thing happen, you get insecure about being able to know you’re making a good decision on the racetrack.”

In the meantime, Bloomquist has returned to help 19-year-old Garrett Smith’s short-handed team as a volunteer consultant during the early stretch of Speedweeks. Some of Bloomquist's responsibilities include buffing tires and coaching Smith the same way he helped guide the teenager to October's memorable Dirt Track World Championship victory at Portsmouth (Ohio) Raceway Park.

“I’m just helping right now. (Crew chief) Cody (Mallory) is still the one doing all the setup stuff,” Bloomquist said. “I still try to stay out of that stuff. I’m just trying to fill in the blanks where they need to be filled in right now. … (Smith has) got a lot of respect. He has a lot of talent, and is very young showing a lot of promise. Obviously his age to win a Dirt Track World Championship shows his posture of course, and maturity to a level where he’s only going to get better.”

When asked if coaching Smith to victory last fall at Portsmouth provided a glimpse into his future place in the sport after his driving days are over, Bloomquist responded diplomatically.

“I’ve always said I’ve always been a good teacher, whatever it is,” Bloomquist said. “If that’s teaching someone how to waterski or anything … snow ski, whatever. I never questioned my ability to have a role like that with any race team. Also, I’ve been grooving and buffing his tires and there’s not one thing I can’t do on a race car either.

“And I've always been my own crew chief pretty much my whole life. I’m not concerned with having the ability to continue being involved in racing. But, down in my heart, I still want to drive. I still want to drive.”

Beyond his physical ailments, Bloomquist said that life is difficult, especially financially as time grows more distant from his last victory 17 months ago at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Knox Dale, Pa.

Financial struggles are “inevitable, how long I’ve been without a job, per se,” Bloomquist said. “Racing has always been my income. With the lack of income … yeah … things are tough. We’ll just have to, again, wait to see the results. And then make a decision on which direction to go.

“That could be the car-building world or helping, you know, a couple other racers with their cars, or our cars that we build or something. I hate to speculate. I know I have plenty of options and will know when I finally know what my abilities are going to be.”