BMW DNA

NOTE: This article was written for the Fall/Winter issue of BimmerLife with a theme of Generations. Since there was not enough space to publish it with another article, we are sharing it here.

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by Dan Tackett

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Racing is an entire family sport for the Varcos

“The acorn never falls far from the tree.” Sometimes that’s true for nuts of the BMW type too. Parents are always happy when their children take after their best traits. But it’s especially gratifying to see a new generation of BMW CCA members following their parents and becoming active members themselves.

In 1982, a young Dave Varco learned that his dad was planning to sell their beloved Sahara Beige 2002, and he couldn’t bear to see it go. So he bought it, and within two years joined BMW CCA after seeing a Roundel magazine on a shop table. Of course, he had to make it his own, starting with a 5-speed conversion and larger wheels and tires. Before long, he was autocrossing his 2002 and taking it to the track. At Oktoberfest ’88, he and Suzanne Varco shared it at the Watkins Glen driving school. Suzanne was terrified at first and felt like she was “done” with this track stuff after one session. But she decided to try again with a second Instructor, saying, “Tell me exactly what to do; when to brake, hit the gas, and start steering.” Ultimately she loved it, and yet another BMW enthusiast was created. They also admired an instructor’s new E30 M3 at the Glen, vowing that “someday, we’ll own one!”

This E30 M3 has been in the family for 30 years.

As the Varcos began their careers, they moved to San Diego and became active in the Chapter. From 1991-94, they jointly edited the newsletter, and in 1993-95, Suzanne was elected Chapter President and Dave was the Treasurer. Suzanne bought an E21 320iS, and with both cars, they were regulars at autocross, driving school, and car show events with the Chapter. As newsletter editors, they placed a “Wanted to Buy” classified ad to find an E30 M3, and received a call from a local seller who hoped to find the right steward for his ‘88 M3. Deal struck, now they were the proud owners of three BMWs.

Austin Varco wins in his Spec Miata

Dave had the itch to go racing, so he added a bolt-in roll cage and other safety equipment to his 2002 and joined BMW CCA Club Racing. The racing bug was strong, so for Christmas one year, Suzanne secretly bought him a Spec RX-7 race car so he could measure his talents against drivers in identical cars. Before long, Suzanne went from cheering at the track to sharing the race car on alternating weekends. Inevitably, they bought a second Spec RX-7 so they could compete with each other. A family that races together…

Two generations of Varco racers

After they started a family and were building up their careers, Club involvement and racing subsided for a while. But, true to their family’s motorsport blood, both of their kids got their first track time while Suzanne was pregnant with them! Vroom vroom in the womb! Since it was hard to fit child seats in the back of an E30 M3, they bought an E34 M5 (so the kids would never be late to school!). As their son Austin and daughter Emma grew older, for several years their summer camp choice was to attend a go kart racing camp. Of course it was! Austin began autocrossing with the San Diego Chapter as a teenager, and did his first HPDE in an E39 530i. Later, after buying his own Z3 M Coupe, he considered racing in Spec Miata (SM) where his dad had been racing since 2012. While pursuing his real estate and business degree, Austin began competing against his father in SM. It took a while, but Austin’s skills were honed to the point that he’s now faster than Dave. And Dave couldn’t be more proud of his son, who earned the 2022 Rookie of the Year title for SCCA Spec Miata.

Autocrossing with the San Diego Chapter: a gateway for many members!

Following his parents’ history of service to the San Diego Chapter, Austin stepped up when the Board of Directors needed a new Autocross Director. After conducting hundreds of parking lot events for 35 years, our “home” venue was torn down, a sad ending to our program in 2019. A new locale had to be found and a new volunteer team assembled to return to our glory days of regularly hosting autocrosses. Austin stepped up, remembering his formative driving years among the cones, and brought his youthful energy and new ideas to the effort. Though he was in his final college year, coaching drivers in Formula SAE, instructing at the Porsche Experience Center, and keeping a busy SM racing schedule, Austin was the catalyst that led to a successful result.

This 2002 has spanned THREE generations of the Varco family!

With his racing success in SM, Austin earned a drive in one BRSCC MX-5 race at Silverstone in England, driving on the wrong side of the car and shifting with his left hand! He also branched out with Spec E46 races and is pursuing other opportunities to become a pro racer. To stay focused on racing and cultivating sponsorship, he moved on from being Autocross Director at the end of 2022. But there is a clear lineage from Austin’s parents passing their racing DNA along to their talented son. The Varcos still own the E30 M3, E34 M5, and E39 530i that entered their lives at important times. And how about that 2002 that Dave bought from his dad? It now has an S14 conversion, a complete nut-and-bolt restoration, and is still in the Varco garage with 308,000 miles on the chassis. First owned by Dave’s dad, and now documented in a video story produced by Austin, the Varco 2002 has spanned three generations. There’s no evidence that it’s ever going to leave the family.

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Austin Varco was also featured in the Union Tribune as a “San Diegan You Should Know.” He has combined his love and talent for racing cars with bringing awareness and understanding of autism. Austin's intensity of focus on racing is explained by a diagnosis of being on the autism spectrum. Click here to read the article.

BMW CCA members get 10% off details at Genesis Detailing!

Show your BMW CCA membership card for a 10% discount!

Visit: genesisdetailingsd.com

Located at: 7875 Convoy Ct STE 4, San Diego, CA 92111

Who are they?

Genesis Detailing is a team of highly skilled professional detailers.

The founder Nicholas Bagdasar created Genesis Detailing with one goal in mind. To provide the highest quality detailing services, paired with the highest quality customer service.

Treating each customer’s vehicle as if it were one of our own, delivering beyond showroom results. Raising the bar in the industry as a young entrepreneur, inspiring others to follow their passion and turn their dreams into a reality.

What Do They Do?

Genesis Detailing specializes in paint correcting and ceramic coating. Preserving the life of your vehicle by applying industry leading ceramic coatings. Genesis Detailing is committed to revolutionizing the automotive industry by staying up to date on the latest technology for your vehicle. Offering mobile detailing services to keep your vehicle in pristine condition, servicing all throughout San Diego.

Our chapter featured in a video for BMW NA's Hofmeister Kink website!

by Matt Gage

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Scroll down to watch the video!

Since I took the reigns from Jim Lloyd in late 2018, I’ve been the main driver (heh) of our chapter’s Tours. You know, those spirited drives along the back-country roads of San Diego. These half-day drives focus on the unique roads that San Diego county has to offer and is one of our chapter’s more popular events.

In the sixteen tours I’ve done since then, one uniquely stands out. Dan Tackett, who I collaborate with and is the architect of many of our tours, messaged me in August of 2022 about a unique website just released from BMW North America and created by IPG advertising agency called Drive the Hofmeister Kink.

If you don’t know, I know I didn’t at the time, a Hofmeister Kink is “an automotive design feature consisting of a rearward/forward angle near the base of the rearmost pillar”, named after Wilhelm Hofmeister, who was BMW's design chief from 1955 to 1970 (wikipedia). The website BMW built uses AI to scan the roads in the United States looking for turns in the shape of the Hofmeister Kink. Dan suggested that we do a “themed” tour using the app to help select the route for the next tour. So we did just that. We used the website to find some Hofmeister Kinks in the San Diego area and designed a tour around them taking us from Valley Center to Borrego Springs. We called it our Hofmeister Kink Tour and we were set to run it in November 2022.

Just a few days before the tour, the craziness started.

The ad agency that came up with the awesome idea for the Hofmeister Kink site for BMW of North America, Performance Art, stumbled upon our Tour promotion on social media. Closely coordinating with them and BMW NA, the agency flew a producer/director and a creative director out on short notice and assembled a cinematography team from Flyby Photography who met us on the day of the tour near Harrah's Resort, the starting location of our Tour. Armed with drones and mounted cameras, the team followed us through the backroads filming everything as all of us chapter members in the group did our best to accommodate them.

What was the goal? To exemplify how fun and cool the Drive the Hofmeister Kink website is. Since that day, we’ve been anxiously awaiting to see the cut of the footage. I’m happy to announce, we finally have the video below!

Fun Times at Independent Motorcars!

by Paul Silver

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A sunny Saturday in June saw more than forty chapter members convene at Independent Motorcars’ new digs in the Miramar area for an Open House Meet & Greet. Club members got a chance to socialize and to snack on the marvelous bites and drinks provided by Independent Motorcars, while Kim Schwarz gave us a rundown of everything that went into renovating the facility and getting it ready for move-in. Chris Keefer gave us a tour of the facility and explained the layout of lifts in the work area and how it assists in efficient workflow. And then there were the contests, including “Name That Track,” in which contestants had to identify several race tracks just from some 3-D maps hanging on the wall, and a Sim Racing contest featuring the Buttonwillow track where we just had our recent HPDE. Congratulations to Name That Track winner, Dan Tackett, and to the Buttonwillow Sim Race winners, Grayson Marble (1st place), Estefan Morton (2nd place), and Spencer Capozello (3rd place). Special thanks to Chris Keefer and the Independent Motorcars team for hosting such an enjoyable event!

Point Loma Cars & Coffee

By Rudy Bañuelos

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The third Cars and Coffee event of the year was a great success thanks to Point Loma Cars and Coffee and all in attendance. We want to thank all who stopped by the SD BMW CCA banner to share a moment and say “Hello”. This time around we gathered at Shelter Island with coffee and donuts with ample space to chat, share, and enjoy the morning and view of the bay. A beautiful overcast day offered a variety of makes and models stretching from a modified 1960 Jaguar E type, plenty of M-power on four wheels, clean muscle cars, VW Campervan, a few convertibles, and a BMW 2002 Tii. Even a cruise ship briefly joined the event!

Stay on the look out for future Cars and Coffee events, and don’t forget to look for the BMW CCA banner.

See more photos here!

Keep on driving!