California’s Willow Springs International Raceway is up for sale, putting the future of the historic track in doubt.
First spotted by The Drive, the listing is located on LoopNet, and there is also a dedicated website that provides a bit more detail on the track and offers a brilliant sales pitch for potential future owners. The price is not listed.
Willow Springs has been owned by the Huth family for the past 62 years. They maintained the facility in more or less the same condition over the decades, keeping Willow Springs accessible and unpretentious while other tracks have modernized to attract rich clientele—or simply disappeared into housing tracts.
Located about 80 miles north of Los Angeles, Willow Springs is actually a complex of seven tracks, including the 2.5-mile Big Willow road course, Streets of Willow, and Horse Thief Mile, along with a skidpad, autocross patch, and dirt oval. Aside from a few early experiments with NASCAR, it’s primarily been a facility for enthusiasts rather than professional racers.
Opened in 1953, Willow Springs was designed with help from Ken Miles, the driver and car tinkerer profiled in “Ford v. Ferrari” (which was also filmed at Willow Springs).
It was purchased by Bill Huth in 1962 with the intention of turning Big Willow’s front straight into a drag strip, his son told Motor Trend in 2015. It proved too short, though, so the road course stayed. Huth died in 2015 at the age of 91, with his family continuing to operate the track until now.
As The Drive notes, the sale doesn’t mean Willow Springs will go away. It’s in an out-of-the-way location that isn’t conducive to development. But the listing encourages potential investors to pursue “high-end clientele” and to look to “increased gate fees and concession sales, additional lodging options, and long-term garage rentals.” So new owners could change the character of the track and make it less accessible.
HIGH-RES GALLERY: Willow Springs International Raceway (image via LoopNet)
This article was originally published by Motor Authority, an editorial partner of ClassicCars.com
