Varco Sweeps Buttonwillow Season Finale Rounds 13 & 14
20 November, 2022
(Bakersfield, CA) The scene was set with the field showing out this weekend at the CalClub SCCA Season Finale at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. It was the largest turnout since the Hoosier Super Tour, boasting 19 equally prepared Spec Miatas fighting for double points. With the championship locked up by Evan Jacobs, there was still a tight championship battle to be determined between Austin Varco, Clement Lee, and David Varco for 2nd place.
Lee, in a freshly prepared car, put the car on pole Saturday morning by over half a second and was surely looking to be the dominant car. With a hefty lead, Lee was struggling with a mechanical issue in the late stages of the race. Varco, in third, worked together with Jacobs to reel Lee in. It was a three car battle for the lead in the final laps, when a three-wide pass landed Austin Varco in the lead. He walked off to finish first by 0.49s when the checkered flag flew, followed by Jacobs, Lee, and David Varco in 4th.
Results for the 2022 season can be found at www.calclub.com. Watch and listen to the races live on TheRacingNetwork.
The win’s awarded confidence propelled Austin to qualify 2nd, only behind Lee on Sunday. With Lee out in the early stages of the race, it became a chess match at 100 mph to contain a hungry Jacobs, looking to finish his championship tear with a win. Around the midway point of the race, a slip-up cost Varco the lead. Jacobs was able to regain the lead and about a 0.5s margin. With David Varco quickly gaining on the fighting championship rivals, it wasn’t looking up for Austin when the white flag flew. An error from Jacobs on the last lap allowed Austin to close in dramatically, where he pulled up a dive into the last turn, on the last lap. The result was a photo-finish at the line, Varco leading by 0.09s and a clean sweep for Austin. While Jacobs won the championship, Austin cleared 2nd place, and his father David Varco in 3rd.