- Iconic California racetrack Willow Springs started its remake in 2025 when it came under new ownership.
- The project included a change to members only, but there have been several encouraging upgrades as well.
- The second annual Willow Springs Reimagined event, held on October 17, showcased an updated cafe and food stalls, efficient shuttles, and free ridealongs.
In 2025, the buzz about the historic Willow Springs Raceway was that the track had just been sold after 63 years of Huth family ownership. The new owners, a partnership between private equity firm CrossHarbor and Porsche reinventers, Singer Vehicle Design, announced big plans for the massive multi-track facility in the California desert. Car and motorcycle enthusiasts were excited (albeit hesitant) to hear about improvements at the racetrack they had come to know and love over the years, especially as it was one of only a few publicly accessible tracks left in Southern California. Last year’s inaugural Willow Springs Reimagined event reassured locals that the track was there to stay, although it was less encouraging about public access as the track moved to a members-only format.
Willow Reimagined, now in its second year, mixed car show elements with on-track experiences and a luxury lounge for those who purchased access. The 2025 intro year had a great energy but suffered from organizational bobbles. Lessons have clearly been learned from the first year’s missteps, so there were none of the long entry lines or parking confusion of last year’s event. Frequent shuttles ran transport to bring attendees around the large and hilly property. Food and beverages were readily available from the updated track café and, for those with a VIP ticket, from catered food stalls inside the hospitality area. Even the weather cooperated, with warm temperatures and a pleasant breeze—a rarity at a track known for sudden sandstorms and extreme temperatures.
As at any self-respecting motorsports event, we got a military fly-over from Edwards Air Force Base.
Activities were generous, with free ridealongs for an off-road demo with Rivian, and a rally car run with the pro instructors and drivers of DirtFish Rally School. For those wishing to drive themselves, go-karting was just $40. Races on the Big Willow racetrack included an IROC Porsche tribute, a vintage B-sedan race that pitted buzzy Alfas against snorty BMWs, a classic motorcycle class (the prettiest of the events), a Porsche Cup race, and a hill-climb.
The races were somehow the least exciting part of the day, as security kept spectators far from the track wall, and the majority of race entrants being identical Porsches limited the visual appeal. It would be nice to see more varied classes for future events and a better scoreboard for tracking the competition.
The Winners
At the end of the day, trophies went to Ed Jones for the Huth Invitational Cup, for which he beat out pros like Jensen Button, Patrick Long, and Emelia Hartford. Craig Coker Unplugged Performance whooshed to the win in the Petersen Hill Climb. Coker beat out an Aston, a Senna, and a T.50 to take the win in his modified Tesla. Robert Darylmple won the Clubwheels race, Edwin Haazer rode to a motorcycle victory, and Brent Smith claimed the IROC win.
Surrounding the races was a curated car show, taking some inspiration from trending experiential shows like Luftgekühlt, where cars sit in photogenic tableaux rather than parked in a line. It’s a great scene for exploring, although we were surprised by the small car count and limited display. There were some rarities, like a Bugatti EB110, a lowrider-styled kei truck, and a Darrell Waltrip NASCAR Monte Carlo, as well as an appealing lineup of retro rally cars from DirtFish, but for a track that boasts decades of racing history, we felt the car show could have been a stronger draw with more participants. Including more local car clubs or collectors would also have made the scene feel more inclusive.
The car show wasn’t as weak as the burnout contest, though, which was donuts, not burnouts, and shall not be discussed further. A better place to see smoke was up in the balcony, where Formula Drift drivers Matt Field and Odi Bakchis joined local drift event organizer Charlie Ongsingco in giving rides. We thought the $75 buy-in for a ride was rather steep on top of a $50 entry fee, but the line was long and the riders were smiling, so it was clearly a popular attraction.
