The Willow Springs Raceway, one of the oldest permanent road courses in the United States, was born in 1953 with the same configuration currently used in the main course, on the outskirts of Rosamond, an hour and a half drive north from Los Angeles. A full-fledged Motorsports Park grew around the old track, also known as Big Willow, including additional race tracks, oval circuits, and driver training facilities. Willow Springs stands in the westernmost part of the Mojave Desert, 2,523 feet (769 m) above sea level. The climate is arid, with intense sunshine, oppressive hot summers, mild winters, and almost non-existent rain.
The Big Willow is the main 2.5-mile (4.02-km) road course in Willow Springs and hosted several NASCAR Series races in the past. It is the fastest layout at the park, with a whopping 97 mph average speed (156 km/h). The Big Willow has tight corners, dramatic elevation changes, fast-paced sweepers, and a long straightaway for speeding up to the finish line. The other Raceway worth mentioning in the motorsports park is "The Streets of Willow Springs." It is located north of Big Willows, with a total length of 1.8-miles (2.89-km) and a little more intricate layout containing 14 turns. The average velocity for racing in The Streets is about 75 mph (120 km/h) for both clockwise and counterclockwise orientations.