Remembering Willow Springs As It Used To Be

Huzzah! Willow Springs hasn’t gone the way of other historic race tracks, biting the dust to make room for more cookie-cutter housing developments and crappy strip malls.

And with its modernization well underway and already looking spectacular, ‘The Fastest Road in the West’ is shaping up to give SoCal many more decades of track days. But, alas, it won’t be the same. Never again.

Willow Springs is evolving past the anachronistic relic it once was, leaving behind fond memories of its aging tarmac and faded buildings. I realized just how much is about to change after finding old photos on my laptop – photos which you’re viewing here, not long after the first renovations were unveiled.

Rewind not that long ago to May 2024. I shot a small but lively GRIDLIFE Time Attack event at ‘Big Willow’ for a story that was never published on a now-defunct site. While the original story is lost, these photos, once buried deep in a forgotten folder, are my way of immortalizing a recently-closed chapter in this racing venue’s book.

It wasn’t the grandest motorsports event I’ve photographed, but the spirit was there. Crazy, race-ready Ford Mustangs and a vivid palette of Hondas raced for lap times in the shadow of Rosamond’s hills. The rickety bleachers and flag stand offered superb views of the scenery and the battles taking place on Big Willow’s straightaways and sweeping corners.

The sounds of snarling V8s, rip-snorting four-bangers, and feral rotary engines echoed across the desert. A Shelby GT350 from a vintage race next door at Streets of Willow even stopped by the diner to say hello.

That diner is super neat, by the way. That’s all there is to say.

Yes, I know. This place isn’t an objectively great venue. Cars became too fast for a track with prominent cracks every seven inches, and veering into the nonexistent run-off meant your car almost certainly getting trailered away as a paperweight. From an objective perspective, old Willow Springs was a deathtrap.

But come on. Wasn’t it cool?

Its longtime resistance to substantial change scores cool points like few other tracks. Beyond that, the quaint, simple aesthetic and comparatively low cost of events accentuated the complex’s vibe as a truly grassroots home for blue collar racers. Whether it remains that way or anywhere close to it has yet to be determined. Fingers crossed.

I, sadly, never got the chance to hoon at Willow Springs, pretending I’m Ken Miles barreling down that weary, tattered asphalt as the old-timey font on its walls blur by. But hey, I’m glad that others did.

May the reborn iteration continue to provide track rats with a sanctuary to get their kicks, and may  the echoes of its past continue to inspire.