Willow Springs International Motorsports Park (commonly referred to as Willow Springs) is located in
Willow Springs near
Rosamond,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, 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 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 Nation ...
races in 1956 and 1957 on the original road course (then known simply as Willow Springs Speedway), won by
Chuck Stevenson and
Marvin Panch respectively. The track also hosted five
NASCAR Winston West Series events, the first two in 1955 and 1956 and the other three between 1984 and 1986. Willow Springs also hosted one
NASCAR Southwest Series 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 19 ...
and
Ford v Ferrari (Le Mans '66).
Willow Springs has been used for several TV shows including British BBC program
Top Gear, several episodes of
Wheeler Dealers and
Jay Leno's Garage and many more.
The track was featured in the Japanese
Best Motoring International "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 by
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 magazine, 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 H ...
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 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.
O ...
,
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
Track records
The overall track record is held by
Michael Andretti 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 ...
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 ...
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.
Incorporat ...
in
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 ...
.
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
See also
*
Buttonwillow Raceway Park
References
External links
Willow Springs Raceway Track Map WorkbookWillow Springs International Raceway Official SiteThe Speedway At Willow Springs Official SiteWillow Springs International Motorsports Park archiveat 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