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Willow Springs International Motorsports Park (commonly referred to as Willow Springs) is located in Willow Springs near Rosamond, California, about 80 mi (130 km) north of Los Angeles. It is the oldest permanent road course in the United States.[1] Construction began in 1952, with the inaugural race held on November 23, 1953.[2] The main track is a 2.500 mi (4.023 km) 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 International Motorsports Park

Willow Springs
Circuit map
Location	Kern County, near Rosamond, California, United States
Time zone	UTC-8 (UTC-7 DST)
Coordinates	34°52′30″N 118°15′52″W
Broke ground	1952
Opened	23 November 1953; 68 years ago (1953-11-23)
Big Willow (1953–present)
Surface	Paved
Length	2.500 miles (4.023 km)
Turns	9
Race lap record	1:15.900 (Al Lamb, Frissbee GR2, 1987, Can-Am)
Streets of Willow Extended Course (2003–present)
Length	1.800 miles (2.897 km)
Turns	16
Streets of Willow Long Course (2003–present)
Length	1.500 miles (2.414 km)
Turns	14
Streets of Willow Long Course (1988–present)
Length	1.300 miles (2.092 km)
Turns	9
Horse Thief Mile (2003–present)
Length	1.000 miles (1.609 km)
Turns	9

Willow Springs hosted two NASCAR Grand National 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.[3] The track also hosted 5 NASCAR Winston West Series events, the first two in 1955 and 1956 and the other three between 1984 and 1986. Willow Springs also hosted 1 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, 9-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.[4]

Tracks

Willow Springs Raceway

Willow Springs Raceway (commonly called Big Willow or sometimes The Big Track) is a 2.500 mi (4.023 km) paved road course consisting of 9 turns.[5]

• 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 1.800 mi (2.897 km) paved roadcourse.[6] The track was repaved in late 2021 after numerous complaints of the deteriorating quality of the track.[7]

Horse Thief Mile

Opened in 2003,[8] the Horse Thief Mile (sometimes called The Mile) is a 1.000 mi (1.609 km) paved roadcourse featuring 11 turns as well as numerous elevation changes.[9] 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 film The Love Bug 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[10] 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"[11] as well as It's the Things You Do by Five

Willow Springs International Motorsports Park was the venue of a photoshoot session by Playboy for its Playmate pictorial and centerfold featuring Alyssa Arcè as Miss July 2013. The photographs were featured in the magazine's July–August 2013 issue.[12]

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 7 and Project CARS

Track records

The overall track record is held by Michael Andretti in a 1987 CART Indycar. Andretti completed a lap of the 2.500 mi (4.023 km) main track in 1 minute 6.050 seconds, for an average speed of 136 miles per hour (219 km/h).[13]

Lap Records

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

Category	Time	Driver	Vehicle	Date
Permanent Road Course ("Big Willow"): 4.023 km (1953–present)[14]
Can-Am	1:15.900[15]	Al Lamb	Frissbee GR2	1987 Willow Springs Can-Am round
Group 4	1:37.100[16]	Frank Monise	Lotus 23	1966 SCCA Regional Willow Springs

Other motorsport

Option hosted an early exhibition drift event in 1996.

During the early 1980s, the factory-backed Renault Formula One team often used Willow Springs to test their cars before the early season United States Grand Prix West held at Long Beach in Los Angeles.

ChampCar Endurance Series hosts a double-8+7-hour endurance race on Big Willow.[17]

Photographs

See also

• Buttonwillow Raceway Park

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 raceway
• Guide to Willow Springs Raceway

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