Sketchy beginnings…
Our trip to Willow Springs got off to a bit of a shaky start as we made our way to lovely Tehachapi, CA, where we were going to spend the night after a five-hour drive down the spine of California. As we got closer to southern CA, the news reports of tidal erosion, fires, and intensifying Santa Ana winds began to make themselves apparent to us. As we drove into town, things were looking biblical…lots of swirling dust and debris, power company and railroad crews were responding to downed power lines and other messes all over the place. We walked into the lobby of our hotel only to find out that the area was subject to a Public Safety Power Shutoff and had been without power since the day before. So we crossed our fingers that the power would come back on soon and got back into the car to get gas and maybe check out the local scene. It was at that point that we realized that gas pumps are powered by electricity as are things like stores and restaurants. We were starting to think we may have stepped into something bad.
But as it turns out, the car gods were watching over us. We found gas (and electricity) on the outskirts of town and the power came back on in the rest of town a couple of hours later. When we woke up the next morning, the winds had died down, the dust had settled, the power was still on, and we were ready for a day of awesome at the second incarnation of Willow Springs Reimagined (WSR) at the fabled Willow Springs International Raceway!
Now, on to the show…
For decades, Willow Springs International Raceway has occupied a unique place in American motorsports. The Rosamond, California facility's high-speed desert circuits have challenged everyone from club racers to F1 champions, yet in recent years the legendary venue seemed increasingly frozen in time. Though you may never have been there, you’ve almost undoubtedly seen it as it’s been used in countless Youtube videos, movies, TV shows and commercials. Most prominently, the venue was used for the opening race scenes in the movis Ford vs Ferrari in 2019. The 2025 and now 2026 WSR events are the new owner’s opportunity to show that the track's next chapter may be every bit as compelling as its past.
Held October 17, WSR transformed the sprawling facility into a celebration of Southern California car culture, combining competitive on-track action, enthusiast displays, drifting exhibitions, karting, hospitality experiences, and a curated gathering of automotive personalities and machinery. The event was designed not merely as a car show, but as a statement about where the raceway is headed under its new stewardship. We attended the first WSR event last year, our first visit to the raceway, and this year offered even more access to the sprawling campus including an amazing Rivian R1S test drive from the northernmost part of the raceway, up and into the Tehachapi mountains. This unexpected adventure took us to a high vantage point from which we finally got to take in the breadth of the evolving desert facility.
From the moment attendees entered the property, it was clear that the focus extended beyond nostalgia. While Willow's rich history remained front and center, the event highlighted the substantial investments being made throughout the facility. Recent improvements to multiple circuits, refreshed branding, repaved surfaces, and upgraded infrastructure created a noticeably more polished experience while preserving the character that has defined Willow Springs since 1953.
The track activity itself provided something for virtually every enthusiast. Vintage motorcycle racing shared the spotlight with historic sedan competition, Porsche-focused exhibitions (Including an amazing and colorful group of Porsche IROC cars), karting action, drifting demonstrations, rally displays, and the Petersen Time Attack competition, where spectacular, if somewhat mismatched cars run solo, flat-out laps against the clock. And if you missed the cars on the track, you could get up close and personal with them in their gobsmacking display area. Rather than concentrating on a single aspect of cars or racing, organizers embraced the diverse motorsports culture that has always been part of Willow Springs' identity.
One of the event's greatest strengths was the accessibility it offered fans of all stripes. Unlike some contemporary automotive festivals where spectators are separated from the action, WSR encouraged interaction with the cars, drivers, teams, and paddock environment. Visitors could move between different areas of the facility, watch competitors prepare vehicles, and experience multiple forms of motorsport throughout the day. The result was an event that felt interactive rather than overly curated.
Along with the Rivian test drive, there were also opportunities to ride along with professional drivers in full blown drift cars on a hillside drift course and you could also do a ride drift along in a DirtFish rally car or new Rivian R2s driven by professional drivers on a sweeping dusty offroad course. For those craving the most interactive experience, a $40 ticket got them an 8 minute session on the new .625 mile, 9 turn, Jenson Button Karting Circuit in a race-prepared go-kart. And speaking of interactive, the folks at Cars and Bids hosted a tasty collection of cars for sale in auctions that concluded at the event, including Doug DeMuro’s personal Ford GT and show favorites, a 2001 Renault Clio V6 and a one-of-one Acura NSX Roadster used in Marvel’s “The Avengers” movie in 2012.
The atmosphere at WSR reflected the breadth of Southern California's automotive community. Vintage racers, track-day enthusiasts, collectors, photographers, industry professionals, media types, and families all found reasons to spend the day exploring the grounds. Food vendors, manufacturer activations, specialty displays, and hospitality areas helped create a festival environment without detracting from the racing-first focus of the event. Perhaps more importantly, WSR again succeeded in generating optimism. Motorsports facilities across the country frequently speak about honoring history while modernizing for the future. Few have the challenge of doing so at a venue as historically significant as Willow Springs. This event suggested that the raceway's leadership understands both responsibilities.
As we gaze into the future…
There is still work ahead, and no single event can fully redefine a facility with more than seven decades of history. Yet WSR offered a convincing glimpse of what the future could look like: a destination that continues to serve racers while becoming a premier gathering place for enthusiasts throughout the West. If the goal was to show that Willow Springs is once again moving forward with purpose, the event delivered the goods. WSR continues to be one of California's most distinctive automotive events, and if its trajectory continues, it will hopefully become one of the state's signature motorsports venues and evolve into more of a spectator track than in years past. We also hope they build on the success of their first two WSR events and see fit to put on another show in 2027 so that more people venture out of their comfort zones to visit this gem way out in the Mojave desert.
And speaking of new events at the track, this summer it was announced that the Willow Springs will be partnering with the new Goodwood Road Racing Club of America to host a Goodwood inspired event in 2028! Its relationship with Goodwood marks an important step forward by connecting a growing global audience with one of motorsport’s most respected communities and creating new opportunities to share compelling stories from the world of cars and racing. If they can bring a fraction of the magic of Goodwood’s premiere events across the pond to Willow Springs, we’ll really be in for a show…and for that, we wish them all the future success.
As WSR is our last major event for 2026 it leaves us with a great sense of optimism for car culture in California into the forseeable future. The track’s owners, CrossHarbor Capital Partners and Singer Vehicle Design have given us a lot to look forward to and provided some compelling reasons for more like us to travel well out of our comfort zone and zip code to try something new and exciting on the Fastest Road in the West.
As usual, to make up for anything we forgot to mention, we’ve added a mega gallery below for you. TLP also gives a special shoutout to our cub photographer, Vincent Langley, for his images (below) and being my wingman for this adventure (which also doubled as a 20th birthday present).
