Cal Club Autocross Forums

Recently included with Sports Car magazine, the SCCA published and included a 70th Anniversary calender celebrating "Heros of the SCCA 2014". For the month of September in that calendar, there is short bio on Bob & Patty Tunnell along with a photo of their solo "AS" (at the time) BMW. It would seem like the photo was taken somewhere around Irwindale. It looks like an airfield.

For those old farts who may have been around when the Tunnells were active, I'm curious to know more about them. From the short bio, their BMW was "transformed" from Stock to Street Prepared to Street Modified, Prepared and Modified.

So who knew them and ran with them? What years were they involved? The article decribes "decades".And where are they now? When did they leave the sport? And what happened to their car? It kind of resembles Simanyi's.

Bob & Patty are still around, they haven't left. They seem to have cut back the chase for championships, not traveling the Solo circuit as much. Missionary work in Afghanistan takes some of their time.

They still have the white M3, it was on display at the Smith Collection for a while.
http://www.bimmerhaus.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They were down for the pro last year.

They got famous in a stock VW Jetta GLI MK2 (2 dr) that bunny hopped through the slaloms. That car was stolen after or even during an event in San Diego. Was later found near the border I believe and was still campaigned. That car won numerous national titles. Then came the BMW E36. From stock to modified. Bob
started a shop specializing in them. They had a LTW model which they did not butcher when they went to higher classes (thank goodness). They were successful
in the BMW too. Great couple!!

When I started this thread, for some reason I thought they were from Cal-Club. But it looks like they are out of Colorado. At least they are these days. I've read over their Bimmerhaus website and Bob's blog pertaining to Afghanistan. I don't know how they have managed to accomplish so much. They DO sound like great people. Can't believe the number of combined championships they have collected. Pretty impressive.

Amazingly friendly and humble and very successful. I should find the video I did of Patty, who didn't know me from Adam at one of my early San Diego National events. She should have headed up Disney Customer Relations!

They were Cal Club members when they lived in So Cal, Redondo Beach I think. Great couple, always friendly, helpful, and funny, too.

Here's some more info on them at the Bimmerhaus web site:
http://www.bimmerhaus.com/bios.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Without a doubt, Bob and Patty are two of the best people in Solo racing! I have had the honor of getting to know these two pretty well. Raced against Bob in his white M3 at least one year.... and played racquetball with Patty several times in Topeka as a distraction at national. If you get a chance to know either one of them.... take it!

Not only Cal Club, but Bob was a GRA member also.

Bob and Patty were big shot back in the late 90s / early-mid 2000s. They are top-notch people. Bob personally taught me a few things about car setup back when I was struggling with my '00 M Coupe. He's a great guy to be around, not to mention extremely serviceable. Patty and Bob always used to have that big smile on their face all the time (that's until I left the country in '05). Big thumbs up to both of them !

Karl Asseily wrote:...always used to have that big smile on their face all the time (that's until I left the country in '05)

Used to???? What did you do, take their smile with you when you left? }:)

Craig Naylor wrote:

Karl Asseily wrote:...always used to have that big smile on their face all the time (that's until I left the country in '05)

Used to???? What did you do, take their smile with you when you left? }:)

Whoops. reading back what I wrote, that wasn't what I intended to say. I hope you knew that however