“I have to do this.”
That was Austin Varco’s reaction when he found out that NASCAR was coming to San Diego in June.
The top stock car series will descend on Naval Base Coronado, just minutes away from where Varco went to school at Coronado High.
Austin is 25, he is a San Diego kid, and he grew up in a racing family. Over the last few years he’s made a career of it, at various lower divisions – including the NASCAR weekly series, with the hope that he’d soon be able to make the jump.
“I’ve been planning on a move to this (Cup Series) for a while. This just felt like the perfect opportunity. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
Fortunately, Austin’s success landed him on the radar of NASCAR owners. He is hopeful that will land him a spot in San Diego’s truck series race – just so long as they can drum up the necessary financial support.
“The minute I heard about it I fired off some texts,” Austin said. “There’s not any other race on the calendar I’m excited about except this one.”
A successful hometown debut could be a springboard to more opportunities. It would not be something he’d take lightly, especially given the challenging road he’s traveled to reach this point in his career.
“I think there were signs growing up that something about me was different.”
Austin started batting depression as a teenager. He had trouble focusing and struggled in social settings. When those issues followed him to college at USC, Austin decided to get to the root of them. At 20 years old he was diagnosed with autism and ADHD.
“It made a lot of sense,” Austin explained.
“I think for a while it was a negative thing and then it became incredibly positive,” he added. “I was granted all these tools that helped me be successful when I needed it.”
And the crucial realization that he is not alone. Austin wanted to help others who might not feel comfortable in the noisy, chaotic environment of an auto race, much less ever be able to get behind the wheel.
In 2022 he started Race4Autism and began holding events throughout California.
Austin brings racecars and simulators – including the one he trains on – to those events so fans and others interested in the sport can get a hands on experience.
“We just talk racing and we talk motorsports in an environment that people are comfortable with,” Austin said. “And hopefully get them excited about racing.”
You may have noticed signatures on one of Austin’s trucks – many of those are from people took part in race4autism events.
Austin’s success on the track had led to more opportunities for him, and in turn – some cool experiences for folks that are close to his heart.
“The thing I’m really passionate about is racing and making a difference, so that’s my way to do both.”