Kevin O'Neill is an unlikely autocrosser! He was born in Albuquerque, N.M. in 1955, and the family moved to Raton, NM, Nogales, AZ, and eventually to Salinas, CA, where he grew up until joining the Navy. Kevin spent five years on a ship, either in San Diego or overseas – mostly in Asia. He met his wife Colleen in a San Diego nightclub, at a punk rock show. They married and bounced around Southern California, then moved to Buffalo, NY for grad school, and might have stayed if there had been good employment opportunities. Eventually, they chose Arizona because it was centrally located insofar as our families were concerned, and because there was plenty of work.
"Many who know [us] are often surprised by our interest in autocross. Neither Colleen nor I were really car people. In fact, we went seven years without a car in Buffalo, and we used bicycles instead (yes, we did ride in the dead of winter - it was fun). We used bikes for transportation and recreation. We went mountain biking a lot, and we raced mountain bikes for about five years. Colleen was easily one of the fastest women mountain biking in Western New York, and she won the state series for her class our first year in Arizona. The only reason we eventually bought a car was to go camping and mountain biking in the woods of Western New York and West Pennsylvania."
In Arizona, commuting by bike was much tougher (not because of the heat, but because distances between places). Eventually, Kevin came into some money, and because he always liked sport cars, bought the Audi TT. "Once I bought the Audi, I realized it was more car than I had ever driven, and so we took a Bondurant course, where I found autocross."
"Four months later, Colleen was out of town, I was bored, so I decided to check out the local autocross. It was stressful, intense, and so much fun. I won my novice season in Phoenix. But since then, I have struggled to do well in Phoenix. I have done better out of town. Last year, I placed third in Street Tire in Tucson. Then, I placed first in Street Tire in Flag for their summer series, and I placed first in Street Tire last fall in Tucson. I really want to go to attend bigger events."
"Outside of autocross, I do have a life. I like to spend time with Colleen, play guitar (mostly hacking around), read, watch TV, do yoga, and enjoy life. Professionally, I am adjunct English faculty at South Mountain Community College who teaches writing, research, and critical thinking. Eventually, I hope to land a full time position, but they are incredibly difficult to come by, so I will be patient and keep trying. I really like my job; I think teaching in college students is the coolest job in the world."
Kevin and Colleen's enthusiasm is contagious! Colleen seems to smile all the time, even when driving! Kevin did the Evolution School in Tucson this last November (2008) and is most likely still absorbing those learned skills. The "Evil Effin' Audi," as it has become known, is at most of our events, with both driving, and having a blast! Yeah, not very likely autocrossers, either one, from their history, but here they are! Funny how life turns out some days ...