July 2025

Jul 03

2025 VSCDA Blackhawk Classic

By Jim Perry P&B Motorsports No Comments

We kicked off our 2025 race season on Father’s Day weekend at Blackhawk farms Raceway. What a weekend it was!

This was the first time out for our 1 Red Volvo since our trip to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park almost exactly a year ago. The MoSport event ended up in a rather spectacular fashion with a broken rear universal joint, buggered up pinion flange and bent drive shaft on the last race of the weekend, so that was pretty much the end of the season for our Volvo racing.

Over the course of the offseason I replaced the drive shaft, switched to the more modern version of the pinion flange, balanced the drive shaft and hoped for the best. My sole opportunity to test it was a 1/2-mile trip down North Loop Road, hoping that the authorities were not lurking. The vibration that had plagued the car before the U joint broke was gone, but the real test would be when I got on to the track.

All turned out well as we got up to speed at Blackhawk Farms during the practice session. The car ran exceptionally well throughout the course of the practices, qualifying sessions and the Sprint race.

My, uh, outstanding observational skills failed me at the end of the Sprint race when I saw a waving flag from the starter’s stand that I interpreted as the checkered but was in fact the white flag indicating the last lap of the race. As we came down the front straight I was concentrating on overtaking “Doctor Dreadful’s” (Rick Gurolnick) white 1960 Porsche 356. There was a slower car on his driver’s left, and just as I was at his bumper and moving right he moved right, forcing me to get hard on the brakes as we were approaching the start-finish line. But I thought “Oh well, that’s the end of the race anyway so no big deal.” I was in P2. As I proceeded to let the car slow through turn 1 Doug Bruce in his ’59 Bugeye Sprite and in P3 at the time came charging past me. My reaction was “What??!!” It took perhaps 2 seconds to realize that I was actually on the last lap and put the pedal to the metal, but it was too late by then, so I ended up P3. That put me starting 3^rd for the Heat Race on Saturday.

In that race, all was shaping up well through the first three laps. I had moved up to second. Coming around Turn 6, … well, watch the short video: https://youtu.be/9-FjlODd0LQ …

At the entrance to the crossover, there was a sudden bang, the left front dropped and off I went over the alligator strips, heading for the fence. At that moment I was a passenger with little control. Fortunately (if you can call it that) the left front wheel turned sideways and it slowed the car enough that I ended up short of any contact. But my Heat Race was over.

There is no longer race than the one that you watch from the sidelines in a broken car.

The usual gaggle clustered around the car as the wrecker dropped it off the asphalt behind our trailer in anticipation of learning what had happened. The cattywampus wheel came off to reveal a broken lower ball joint, but quite amazingly, no other damage. No bent tie rods, steering links, A arms – nothing! I am known as the go-to source for spares but ball joints were not in the mix of my trailer parts department. They will be from here on out.

The offender. How many rumble strip runs does it take to break a Volvo ball joint?

The offender. How many rumble strip runs does it take to break a Volvo ball joint?

Ramiro Malgioglio was the only other Volvo driver at the event. Bless his heart, when he learned that I was ball-jointless, he was on the phone with our Dekalb, IL 1800 owner friend Tim Detwiler asking for assistance. There are friends, and then there are friends who will go above and beyond. Tim did not have a loose ball joint but there was one on his race car. He not only took it off but then drove it to Blackhawk!

Ramiro and Antonio Malgioglio

Speaking of friends, my Spec Racer Ford racing buddy Bob Ablard was paddocked right across road from us, and, along with Ramiro and his dad, provided real assistance in getting the rotor and spindle off, the broken stud out and Tim’s ball joint back in.

Me and Bob Ablard

As the sun was setting we were done and ready to go racing on Sunday! A brief hardship session early indicated all was well again.

Sunday’s Group 2 Feature Race is dedicated to the memory of Ray Freiwald. Ray raced an 1800 for over 40 years. In 2023, one year after Ray’s passing, VSCDA had a beautiful hand blown glass sculpture created that is a traveling trophy for the race. I won it that year. Last year that honor went to Allan Thom.

Allan was on the pole in his Alfa, with Doug Bruce in a Bugeye Sprite right next to him. Because of my Heat Race DNF, I started 28^th of 32 cars. This was a 20-minute sprint race, so there was a lot of traffic to wind through, but I finished P5. All in all, a satisfying outcome. Congratulations to Doug Bruce, the 2025 winner of the Group 2 Ray Freiwald Memorial Race.

There is very nice coverage of the race in the most recent issue of Victory Lane: https://www.flipsnack.com/victorylane/victory-lane-vol-40-issue-7-july-2025/full-view.html