Willow Springs International Motorsports Park (commonly referred to as Willow Springs) is located in Willow Springs near

Rosamond Rosamond is a feminine given name, which may refer to: People *Rosamond Carr (1912–2006), American humanitarian and author *Rosamund Clifford (before 1150 – c. 1176), English mistress of King Henry II * Rosamond Langbridge (1880–1964), Irish ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, about north of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. It is the oldest permanent

road course Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

in the United States. Construction began in 1952, with the inaugural race held on November 23, 1953. The main track is a long road course that is unchanged from its original 1953 configuration. The elevation changes and high average speeds make it a favorite of many road racing drivers. Willow Springs hosted two

NASCAR Grand National The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: ** NASCAR Cup Series (known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 to 1970, then the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand Natio ...

races in 1956 and 1957 on the original road course (then known simply as Willow Springs Speedway), won by

Chuck Stevenson Charles Stevenson (October 15, 1919 – August 21, 1995) was an American racecar driver. AAA and USAC Championship Car series Stevenson drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1949–1954, 1960–1961, and 1963–1965 ...

and

Marvin Panch Marvin Panch (May 28, 1926December 31, 2015) was an American stock car racing driver. Winner of the 1961 Daytona 500 and 1966 World 600, he won seventeen NASCAR Grand National Series events during a 17-year career. Early career Born in Menomon ...

respectively. The track also hosted five

NASCAR Winston West Series The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

events, the first two in 1955 and 1956 and the other three between 1984 and 1986. Willow Springs also hosted one

NASCAR Southwest Series The NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series (originally NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour) was a late model stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR that was held in the Southwestern United States. The original NASCAR Southwest Tour beg ...

race in 1986. There are a total of seven tracks at Willow Springs. The largest and most well known track is Willow Springs International Raceway (commonly referred to as Big Willow). There are other racing facilities such as The Streets of Willow (1.800 mile road course), The Horse Thief Mile (road course), The Speedway at Willow Springs (1/4 mile paved oval), Willow Springs Kart Track (a .625-mile, nine-turn paved sprint track), The Playpen (a 1/4-mile paved training track), and the Walt James Stadium (Clay Oval and Paved Oval). Efforts by fans resulted in the State of California declaring Willow Springs International Raceway as a California Point of Historical Interest in 1996.

Tracks

Willow Springs Raceway

Willow Springs Raceway (commonly called Big Willow or sometimes The Big Track) is a paved road course consisting of 9 turns. *Turn 1: "Castrol corner" is a 90-degree high-speed left-handed turn. *Turn 2: "The Rabbits Ear" is a double apex sweeping turn *Turn 3/4: "The Omega" is an uphill and downhill section with a camber change. *Turn 5: A quick left-handed turn that sets up for the fastest sections of the track. *Turn 6: Monroe Ridge *Turn 7: Repass Pass *Turn 8: Sometimes called, "The Sweeper," turn 8 is a high speed right hand corner. The lead-in to this turn is the fastest section of the racetrack. *Turn 9: A right-handed turn with a big dip before the apex. This is the final turn before the front straightway to the finish line.

The Streets of Willow Springs

The Streets of Willow Springs (commonly called The Streets of Willow or sometimes Streets) is a paved roadcourse. The track was repaved in late 2021 after numerous complaints of the deteriorating quality of the track.

Horse Thief Mile

Opened in 2003, the Horse Thief Mile (sometimes called The Mile) is a paved roadcourse featuring 11 turns as well as numerous elevation changes. It was designed to simulate a winding mountain road.

Willow Springs Kart Track

Speedway Willow Springs

Walt James Stadium

Media

Willow Springs has been featured in numerous forms of media including movies, television, music videos and video games. Willow Springs has been used for filming for numerous motion pictures including 1:42:08 A Man and His Car, he 1969

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

film

The Love Bug ''The Love Bug'' is a 1968 American comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and the first in a franchise by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution that starred an anthropomorphic pearl-white, fabric-sunroofed 1963 ...

and Ford v Ferrari (Le Mans '66). Willow Springs has been used for several TV shows including British BBC program

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

, several episodes of

Wheeler Dealers Wheeler Dealers is a British TV series originally produced by Attaboy TV for the Discovery Channel in the UK and for Motor Trend in the U.S. The programme is fronted by car enthusiast and former dealer Mike Brewer with mechanics Edd China (Seri ...

and

Jay Leno's Garage ''Jay Leno's Garage'' is an American web and television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars and motorbikes starring Jay Leno, the former host of ''The Tonight Show''. Originally a web series for NBC.com, a special aired on CNBC in August ...

and many more. The track was featured in the Japanese

Best Motoring International was Japan's preeminent automobile magazine, video, and DVD series. Alongside ''Best Motoring'' were ''Hot Version'' and ''Video Special.'' History With the first edition debuting in 1987 and the last in June 2011, the videos were marked by non ...

"American Touge" video special. The track is in the 1985 Christopher Cross music video "Every Turn of the World" as well as

It's the Things You Do "It's the Things You Do" is the fifth single from British boy band Five's debut studio album, '' 5ive'' (1998). Written by Max Martin, George Shahin, Herbie Crichlow and Five, the song was released as a single exclusively in the United States. ...

Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

Willow Springs International Motorsports Park was the venue of a photoshoot session by

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

for its

Playmate A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...

pictorial and centerfold featuring Alyssa Arcè as Miss July 2013. The photographs were featured in the magazine's July–August 2013 issue. Willow Springs tracks have been featured in video games including Need for Speed: ProStreet, Need for Speed: Shift,

Gran Turismo 6 ''Gran Turismo 6'' is a racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sixth major release and twelfth game overall in the '' Gran Turismo'' video game series. It w ...

Gran Turismo Sport ''Gran Turismo Sport'' is a 2017 racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. It is the 13th game in the '' Gran Turismo'' series, the seventh game in the main series. On ...

Gran Turismo 7 ''Gran Turismo 7'' is a racing simulation video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game is the eighth mainline installment in the '' Gran Turismo'' series. The game was announced on June 11, ...

and

Project CARS ''Project CARS'' is a racing video game series developed by Slightly Mad Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The franchise was introduced in 2015 and received a sequel in 2017, followed by ''Project CARS 3'' in 2020. Games ' ...

Track records

The overall track record is held by

Michael Andretti Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART P ...

in a 1987

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

Indycar. Andretti completed a lap of the main track in 1 minute 6.050 seconds, for an average speed of .

Lap Records

The official race lap record at Willow Springs International Motorsports Park are listed as:

Other motorsport

Option hosted an early exhibition

drift Drift or Drifts may refer to: Geography * Drift or ford (crossing) of a river * Drift, Kentucky, unincorporated community in the United States * In Cornwall, England: ** Drift, Cornwall, village ** Drift Reservoir, associated with the village ...

event in 1996. During the early 1980s, the factory-backed

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

team often used Willow Springs to test their cars before the early season

United States Grand Prix West The United States Grand Prix West was a race held at Long Beach, California, as a Formula 5000 race in 1975 and a Formula One World Championship event from 1976 to 1983 held in the same location throughout those years. History There had been a ...

held at

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

ChampCar Endurance Series The ChampCar Endurance Series is a budget class endurance race held on paved road race courses across North America, formerly known as the ChumpCar World Series, run by ChumpCar International Inc. Founded in 2009, the range changed its name in ...

hosts a double-8+7-hour endurance race on Big Willow.

Photographs

References

External links

Willow Springs Raceway Track Map Workbook

Willow Springs International Raceway Official Site

The Speedway At Willow Springs Official Site

Willow Springs International Motorsports Park archive
at Racing-Reference
Google Images satellite view of racewayGuide to Willow Springs Raceway
{{MotoAmerica circuits Sports venues in Kern County, California Motorsport venues in California Rosamond, California NASCAR tracks 1953 establishments in California Sports venues completed in 1953 Road courses in the United States