looking forward to it! Anyone have a good set of track notes, map and photos
they can share, and also a good driving video? Looking to improve my game so I
can be a little more competitive when I show up . . .
On May 24, 2017, at 2:45 PM, Bill Dentinger via Fot <fot at autox.team.net>
wrote:
Amici...
For FOT racers and members headed to Blackhawk Farms Raceway for the first time
for the Kastner Cup this year, you are in for a treat. Blackhawk does not have
the icon status of Road America, Watkins Glen, and other Top Shelf road racing
tracks, but it is the consummate 'club road racing circuit' that has been so
dear to our blue collar marque. Warm, cozy, friendly, it is perfect for
Triumph vintage racers.
Built in the mid-1960s by a contractor/racer named Tito Nappi, it quickly
became a favorite Midwest venue. Tito and his wife Marcia ran it as a Ma & Pa
venue until the Irwin brothers Mike and Ray bought it in the mid-1980s. Ray, a
racer, was the operator and businessman in those days, while Mike, who lived in
the farmhouse on the track property, was pretty much only known only for
cutting the lawn and smoking his ever-present pipe. I always got a nod and a
smile from Mike on race weekends, but I don't remember him speaking more than a
dozen words to me all the years I knew him. I knew Ray quite well, and as an
Officer of the Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association (VSCDA) at the time, I
actually worked closely with him setting up the very first Blackhawk Vintage
Classic event. It was a very big deal. Stirling Moss was the Honorary Grand
Marshall. The Irwins took a financial bath on that first event, which was
turned over to the VSCDA thereafter. Racer, businessman, Paul Musschoot,
bought the track from the Irwins in 2007. He is the guy who spent big bucks
and actually made Blackhawk Farms Raceway fancy. These days...what a concept
for a club track...clean, modern bathrooms and hot showers! A concession stand
with good food. A social gathering area (with a fire place no less). A tower
type observation area. All the bells and whistles of the major circuits...all
while maintaining the warm and cozy club atmosphere.
Down through the years the track has been described as being 2.1, miles, 2.0
miles, and 1.95 miles in length. Such confusion was always interesting to me.
After a tragic racing death at Blackhawk in the late 1980s, adding a chicane
coming out of the carousel was mandated by the insurance carrier. Now called
Turn 3a, adding track some how lengthened the circuit, now described as 1.95
miles. What probably happened is they stopped guessing, and actually measured
the darn thing. Original owner/builder Tito Nappi was a Corvette racer, and
the track was designed by a local legend racer named Jerry Dunbar. He also
raced stuff with big Detroit engines. Subsequent owner Ray Irwin also favored
hairy chested race cars. Big iron cars like that are a handful at Blackhawk.
Ask our host, Brian Garcia, known as 'Cuda Pilot' because he is usually racing
a beautiful but somewhat barbaric looking Plymouth Baracuda at Blackhawk.
Actually the track is PERFECT for race cars like ours. Keep in mind that if
you are looking for elevation changes, you will be let down. Blackhawk has all
of the elevation changes of a frozen lake. That means none! It is nearly dead
level. But in two miles (+/-) you'll find a collection of seven different
style turns that will hold your attention and challenge your driving skills.
Go ahead and count the turns yourself. They say there are seven, but I say
there are nine. Regardless, the circuit is easily learned, and it lends itself
to rhythm racing. The two long straights between six and seven and then
immediately between seven and one are long enough that you can get your car
above 90 mph twice on a tight two mile circuit.
While sort of a well-kept secret to folks outside of the Midwest, Blackhawk is
very, very popular for use with national race teams, manufacturers, state
patrol classes, and a variety of other clients in addition to sports car clubs.
It is usually rented to someone every single day during the season. It is
rented the day we arrive on June 15th. If they have a major client, it is the
Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs (AKA "Council"), who books events there
all season long. Their traditional sports car race groups includes a healthy,
very enthusiastic Vintage/Historic racing group. Be further aware that Council
is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary this year. Is SCCA sixty years old? I
am not sure. But here in the Midwest, Council is known (respectfully) as "SCCA
Open Shop". This because they are so much more laid back by comparison. The
racing is just as good, perhaps a little less competitive, but missing all the
stringent SCCA "politics". Those comments are meant to be descriptive and not
derogatory. I am a long time member of both groups. Anyway, know that while
the Kastner Cup and FOT are there this year, Midwestern Council will be running
the track for VSCDA. Their efforts always help make the Blackhawk Vintage
Classic a huge success. You'll like that. Their staff and workers are warm,
friendly, and easy to get along with. They may be laid back, but make no
mistake. They are experienced and professional. Blackhawk is their home. If
you get a chance during the weekend, be sure to thank them for their efforts.
Sorry my verbose nature gets out of hand, but I thought I would try and provide
a little background for first timers.
Clearly I have way too much time on my hands since retiring.
Bill Dentinger
_______________________________________________
fot at autox.team.net
http://www.fot-racing.com
Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
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