We reimagine Willow Springs
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Concept
Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma Raceway is a racetrack in California where cars race. It's famous for hosting big racing events and has been updated recently.
Concept
Willow Springs
Willow Springs is a well-known racetrack in California where many car races take place. It's famous for being featured in movies and has been around for a long time, but it has faced some challenges recently.
Concept
Ford V Ferrari
'Ford V Ferrari' is a movie based on a real story about how Ford tried to beat Ferrari in a famous car race. It shows the challenges and teamwork involved in building fast race cars.
Concept
Ford versus Ferrari
'Ford versus Ferrari' is a movie about the competition between the Ford and Ferrari car companies during a famous car race called Le Mans. It shows how they tried to outdo each other in building fast cars.
Concept
Herbie the Love Bug
'Herbie the Love Bug' is a fun movie about a Volkswagen Beetle that can drive by itself and has a personality. It’s a family-friendly film that includes racing adventures.
Concept
Top Gear
'Top Gear' is a TV show from Britain that talks about cars. It features reviews, fun challenges, and famous people driving cars, making it very popular among car fans.
Concept
road course
A road course is a racetrack that has turns and curves, unlike a simple circle track. Cars race on these tracks, and they need to handle turns well to be fast.
Car
Myers-Manx LFG
The Myers-Manx LFG is a type of dune buggy that's great for driving on beaches and off-road. It's light and fun to drive, often built on a Volkswagen base.
Term
Porsche engine
A Porsche engine is a powerful engine made by the car company Porsche. These engines are known for being very good at making cars go fast and handling well.
Car
Myers-Manx
The Myers-Manx is a type of small, lightweight car designed for driving on sand and rough terrain. It became popular in the 1960s and is often associated with beach and off-road driving.
Brand
Ken Block
Ken Block is a famous driver and car enthusiast known for his exciting driving videos. He has special cars that are designed for racing and stunts.
Brand
McLaren
McLaren is a car company from Britain that makes very fast and high-quality sports cars. They are also involved in racing, especially in Formula 1.
Company
Dirtfish
Dirtfish is a company that teaches people how to drive rally cars, which are specially made for racing on rough roads. They also bring these cars to events.
Company
Galpin
Galpin is a car dealership that sells many different types of cars, including fancy and rare ones. They often show off special cars at events.
Term
custom color
A custom color is a special paint job on a car that is made just for that car, instead of using the usual colors that are offered.
Car
Ford GT
The Ford GT is a fast sports car made by Ford. It's designed for racing and has a unique shape that helps it go really fast.
Car
Porsche 911 GT3 R
The Porsche 911 GT3 R is a special version of the Porsche 911 made for racing. It's designed to be very fast and handle well on the track.
Company
Drake Motor Cars
Drake Motor Cars is a car dealership in Denver that sells special and luxury cars. They focus on vehicles that car lovers would be interested in.
Car
Audi Rs6S
The Audi RS6 is a fast and powerful version of the regular Audi A6. It has a lot of luxury features and is designed for people who enjoy driving quickly and comfortably.
Term
Velocity Broncos
Velocity Broncos are special versions of the Ford Bronco that have been upgraded to be better for driving off-road and for performance. They are popular with people who like adventure and custom cars.
Car
Acura Nsxs
The Acura NSX is a fast sports car that combines power and technology. It's known for being fun to drive and has a unique design that stands out.
Car
Shelby Gt350 Shelby
The Shelby GT350 is a special version of the Ford Mustang that was made to be faster and better for racing. It's famous for its strong engine and sporty design, and many people love it because of its history in car racing.
Car
Shelby GT350
The Shelby GT350 is a special version of the Ford Mustang that is designed for better performance and racing. It's known for being faster and more powerful than regular Mustangs.
Car
Ford GT40
The Ford GT40 is a famous race car that was built to win races, especially the Le Mans. It's known for its unique shape and speed, making it a classic in automotive history.
Car
Ford Mustang GTD
The Ford Mustang GT is a powerful version of the Mustang, a popular American sports car. It has a strong engine and a sporty look, making it fun to drive.
Part
aftermarket exhaust
An aftermarket exhaust is a part you can buy to replace the original exhaust system on a car. It can make the car louder or help it perform better.
Term
horsepower
Horsepower is a way to measure how powerful an engine is. The more horsepower a car has, the faster it can go.
Term
gearbox
The gearbox is a part of the car that helps it change speeds. It connects the engine to the wheels and lets you drive faster or slower depending on the gear you choose.
Term
manual transmission
A manual transmission is a type of car gearbox where you have to change gears yourself using a stick and a pedal. It gives you more control over how the car drives.
Car
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS
The Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS is a fast sports car designed for racing. It has a powerful engine and special features that help it perform well on the track.
Car
Hudson Hornet
The Hudson Hornet is an old car that was made in the 1950s and is known for being very fast and stylish. It became famous because it won a lot of races and was featured in a popular movie about cars, making it a favorite among classic car fans.
Brand
Singer
Singer is a company that takes old Porsche cars and makes them look and drive better. They focus on classic models, especially the Porsche 911, and are famous for their high-quality work.
LIVE
Ford versus Ferrari, Kirby the Lovebug, Top Gear filmed there,
Jay Leno's Garage has filmed there.
This week on That Car Show,
it's a That Car Show Willow Springs bonus episode.
The Ann and Lindsay were both fortunate
to be a part of the recent Willow Springs
reimagined launch event,
and wanted to get their experiences to you
before too much time had passed.
If you haven't already, make sure you check out
this week's regularly scheduled That Car Show episode
with the LA Auto Show's Andy Steinhauser.
And be sure to stick around to the end of this episode,
where we announce the winner
of our most recent Sheffield Watch giveaway.
The Ann, Lindsay and I will be back again on Friday
with another crew show.
Make sure you follow, subscribe, and tell your friends.
It's That Car Show.
That Car Show is brought to you by Sheffield Watches.
The Sheffield Watch brand has a long and storied history,
but it was revived a couple years back
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Jay was gifted a Sheffield Watch by his parents
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Jay wanted to make the same experience available
to all of us, a reasonably priced, high quality watch
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From Diver's Watches to Watches designed for travel
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Hey, it's That Car Show, and we're back.
Lindsay, good seeing you at the Western Wear outlet
earlier today.
Right?
And is it Jay that's at the Drinking Day?
Tip of the cowboy cap to you, yeah.
The gray beer just goes so well with denim, but...
And welcome back to you, sir.
Hey, how are you?
I haven't seen you in a couple weeks.
You've been busy.
I have. How have you guys been?
Good. It's really good to see you.
Wonderful to have you bash.
It's good to see you virtually, Lindsay.
I know.
I know. I think there's got to be some award
for somehow missing each other in person
at the Willow Springs event
when we managed to see everyone else we wanted to see.
All right. So for us losers who were not
at this magical thing that happened at Willow Springs,
can you just, I don't bring us up to speed?
Just dive right in.
Well, I mean, I would say, you know,
there were only like give or take officially
4,500 people at the event
and then whoever had media passes, you know.
So the numbers are, it was a relatively small crowd,
give or take, considering the general population.
But yeah, it was a sunny, very windy day.
And yeah, Dan, I would love to hear your experience.
What was this event though?
Like, what actually, like, what is this thing?
What was this thing called?
It was billed as the reintroduction of Willow Springs
following its purchase by Cross Harbor Capital,
which is a private equity firm,
and they've partnered with Singer
and they've partnered with Sonoma.
I am hoping Dan maybe knows a little bit more
about that Sonoma Raceway.
I just learned about that.
So this was billed as their sort of reintroduction
of the track following the change of ownership.
It was a big, big, big day for that race track,
which if you've been there,
it is a two-lane road in and out.
I went with my dad,
who he and I have driven there for a long time,
and he looked at me at one point and he said,
this is more people than have been at this track
in the last 10 years combined,
and they're all here at the same time.
All right, just to establish,
Willow Springs is this legacy track.
They filmed Ford V Ferrari there, right?
I mean, it was kind of like this,
like in Amber, right?
Like this kind of moment in time,
this great track that's following on hard times.
Well, I don't know that it had,
but I may be in the minority.
Having driven there for a long time,
I don't know if it's one of those things
where you stop sort of like seeing it for what it was.
It's always been this bare bones track
in the middle of the desert inland from LA
in a little tiny town called Rosamond.
The bigger towns, which are near it,
our Lancaster and Palmdale,
those may be more familiar to people,
but it's technically in Rosamond,
which is a tiny town outside of those two towns.
And like you said, it was used
for filming Ford versus Ferrari.
Some of the scenes from Herbie the Love Bug were filmed there,
Top Gear filmed there at one point,
Jay Leno's Garage has filmed there.
It is the oldest permanent road course
in continuous use in the U.S.
It was started construction in 1952,
and I just learned they had input from Ken Miles
on the layout of Big Willow,
and then the first race was in 1953,
it has been used continuously since then.
So it is iconic in Southern California,
but there's not much there.
It's really in the middle of the desert.
It's probably two and a half hours from Orange County.
Traffic wise, I know people like to say
it's an hour from LA,
but I would love to know what time
they're driving from LA to get there in an hour.
Maybe Dan has better info.
Dan's done it in 45 minutes.
What are you talking about?
7.30 that morning.
So I had to go there for work.
Right.
And so it was there super early.
I was also lucky enough to do some testing there
on the Wednesday beforehand.
So without going into too much detail,
we had some classic cars on the track
and we did some testing
to actually make sure that the cars
all passed and made their way.
But I heard stories of traffic lines
around the corner type thing.
Did you experience, what time did you arrive, Lindsay?
So I was in the thick of it.
And in the heat of the moment, I had this,
I went, are we doing the Fire Festival
Willow Springs edition?
Because we left, right?
I know, I was in my head,
I went, we're gonna sit in this traffic
and we're gonna get inside
and it's gonna be the Fire Festival Cheese Salad just
because we'll be so delayed that this is,
all the food will be picked over.
So we left Orange County a few minutes after 8 a.m.
We arrived within a mile and a half
of the entrance to Willow Springs,
which we know very well, at 10 o'clock.
And we turned the corner
onto the entrance road at noon.
So it was two hours to go a mile and a half,
which is really something, even in LA.
You could have walked a quicker.
Yeah.
Right.
And there, I mean, it was pretty bad
and then it was compounded by,
there were a couple of people in four by fours
that decided to go in the dirt
and like very visibly cut the line.
And then, so it's a one lane each way.
It's a two lane road, which was part of the issue.
And those of us familiar with the track sort of went,
well, but I'm sure they'll have traffic control
or some sort of management.
And at one point, after we'd been sitting
for probably an hour and a half,
there was a McLaren that was in the lane I was in,
which was the right lane,
went into the oncoming lane
and just drove the rest of the way.
Luckily, nothing happened.
But, you know, moments after that,
we had traffic come in the other way.
So he got very lucky, but yeah, it didn't make any friends.
We need to call, we need to shame these people,
this McLaren driver, these off-road guys.
That's not cool.
Come on, we're all going to the same place.
I mean, it was like, we're all in it together.
We're all stuck in it.
It stinks, but you know, like,
It's always got to be that guy.
In theory, we're all here
because we're excited about the track
and we love driving.
So like, let's all, you know, suck it up.
I think the interesting thing was
that there were lots of events going on
that weekend in LA.
There was a Japanese, big Japanese car event.
And up until about two weeks
before it hadn't sold out.
But as soon as the event sold out,
it became like car week levels of black market tickets.
My phone on the Friday blew up
with lots of people texting me.
Do I know anyone who's got spare tickets?
Anyone, can you get me in?
So, you know, I guess cue us to them
in terms of they staged their marketing correctly
and, you know, it sold out just before the event opened.
So, you know, it was a hot ticket.
It really was.
Yeah. And I think part of the reason it was a hot ticket
is who's who was there?
You know, you turn a corner, apart from Lindsay,
who I'm not even sure was definitely there
because I didn't see her and I was there.
But who's who was there?
You know, you were there.
I know I was there.
Right.
The smart people came in by helicopter though.
Like every five to 10 minutes
there was a helicopter landing.
I know I was texting the spike screw
because we had plenty of time
to just watch the helicopters.
And I'm like, did you guys just land?
Because at this point
I'm playing guess the helicopter.
That's the way to do it.
But you made it.
We did.
It was spectacular.
It added to the story and Dan's right.
I think what's so unique about that venue
is there were probably over the course of the day
there were 6,000 people there, I would guess.
But the way the track is set up
because, you know, most of the attendees
were in the spectator area.
It's kind of a narrow corridor.
And so it's sort of like it.
I don't know about you, Dan.
It never felt crowded.
I never had trouble.
There was no trouble moving around the venue
being where you want to be or moving through the crowd.
But it was kind of nice
because everybody was contained in the same area.
And so you kept running across your friends
or people that you'd hope to meet.
And so it was like a big, you know,
it was like the world's biggest barbecue.
Yeah, no, I would totally agree.
There was some interesting different setups.
So the fat, ice racing folks
had like a little corral area
and they were going off different vehicles,
including the Myers-Manx LFG.
Yeah, that thing is pretty badass.
Yeah, it's a Porsche engine.
Like what a Myers-Manx would be today
created by Richard Tuttle in the UK.
Yeah.
And near the end of the day,
I don't know if you were around
near the end of the day, Lindsay,
but Buddy and mine and Richard got in the car.
They then proceeded to go up the mountain
behind Willow Springs.
So they...
In that car?
You could see this orange car
making its way up the mountain to the top.
Apparently they got to a one point where it was so dusty,
they couldn't see where they were going
and literally had to just stop.
But yeah, that was one of the corrals,
the fat, ice racing.
There was obviously a VIP area.
Right.
And then beyond that, there was a car show.
And it was great to see the Ken Block cars were all there.
Right.
It was great to see McLaren had quite a few cars.
I did.
Good folks at Dirtfish brought some rally cars.
Yes.
Triple zero were there with some cars.
Who else was there?
Galpin was there.
They had the Boeberry GT and GTD,
which are unsurprisingly personal favorites of mine
because I just cannot get over that color.
It's the best.
Yeah.
To see the two of them together,
that was the first time I'd seen them in person together.
If you don't know, they are,
they actually match my lipstick, which is unplanned.
But there's this brilliant magenta custom color
that Ford created with Boe Bachman
and he's got a GT and a GTD in the same color.
The Huna Pegasus was there,
which is always fun to see.
It's the pink Porsche that BBI built for Ken
that he actually didn't have the chance
to drive up Pike's Peak.
But Leah, his daughter drove it in an exhibition lap
the next year.
And actually, Dan, I don't know if you got to see,
she took the Huna truck out on the front straight at Willow
and did some donuts and that was really fun to see.
The Zinger was there.
They had a display on the West Paddock area.
And Shelby American had a display
and they had the GT3R Wren Sport.
One of those was there, which is really cool to see.
It was the same one.
It's a white with different blues, livery,
and I actually saw it at Airwater,
but it's such a cool story with those.
And so it was fun to see that again too.
Yeah, I mean, it was...
And then the Peterson had quite a display.
Can you tell us which cars you brought?
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12 cars from the museum,
including the Steve McQueen jugular,
so that went on the track.
That's such a thing.
So that car's probably worth $30 million,
just to put into perspective.
And it was outside the Hartman garage
for people to look at and stuff.
Yeah, those are some great pictures.
Yeah, there are some really good pictures.
Yeah.
Herbie, Herbie was there.
Suki from Fast and Furious was there.
Just trying to think, what else?
There was a GT350, Shelby GT350.
Yeah, GT350 and a GT40, a Mark III GT40,
a modern GT, so 2005 GT,
a car called Old Yeller.
Yes.
David Brabham's first Brabham.
So it was literally a great historical selection
that it was either related to the movies,
related to cars that were actually either tested
or developed there,
or cars that would have run there in period.
So, yeah, lots of great cars.
I had a magenta car, actually.
I saw it.
Again, I saw your car and not you.
So we were close.
Yeah, that's right.
I should have just stayed by my car the whole day, right?
Right.
Yeah, so Ford were gracious enough
to lend me a magenta Mustang GT with a...
Not just magenta, but matte, right?
Yeah, like a matte.
Really pretty.
It was interesting as well,
because it had an aftermarket exhaust,
or not an aftermarket,
it had a factory exhaust,
but it's an option
and it adds something like 20 horsepower to the car.
But the thing is, every traffic light,
you sound like a complete dick
because it's making so much noise.
It's just an embarrassment
when you're not like out on the open roads.
People are turning and I,
who is that dickhead?
And that was me for the weekend.
You just got to lean into it.
You just got to embrace the American car culture.
But it was a lovely car to drive.
I actually think I'd prefer it to the Dark Horse,
which is probably the most controversial thing
I've said this year.
But it's just more simple and basic
and the gearbox is great.
I'm sure the Dark Horse is a great car,
but I think the sweet spot's the V8.
So was this one a manual?
This was, yeah.
And the Dark Horse was as well.
Yeah.
But a different gearbox, was it, Hank?
I think the Dark Horse has a different gearbox
to the standard V8.
I would imagine.
But yeah, I mean, it's a real comparison
in the sense you had manuals in both, so.
Yeah.
Do you drive that thing differently
than you do, you say, your own Porsche?
Like, does it bring something different out of you?
It does.
It was easier to drive than my Porsche,
believe it or not.
Yeah.
The clutch was easier.
Just, it was an easier, simpler car, I think.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Much bigger vehicle.
Yes.
Yeah.
But you don't appreciate until you get
from one to the other.
Yeah, but I really, I enjoyed it.
It was a fun time.
Excellent.
But yeah, so there were lots of different races
going on and exhibition laps and stuff.
But I think for me the top one was
the trackers bought some cars
to run as like, you know, school cars.
So they bought GT4 RSs.
I don't know whether you'd spoken
to the consultant Ryan or what,
but they bought these GT4 RSs
and what they decided to do is do a celebrity race.
Okay.
So they had Jimmy Johnson,
Dario Franchitti, they had the other Franchitti
that I forget his first name.
Marina.
Thank you.
Jensen Button and then Mass from Singer.
And they lined up on the grid
and put on great entertainment.
It was a really fun race.
It really, it was legitimate.
And they had the doc,
they had a doc Hudson, Hudson Hornet there
who was the pace car for that race initially.
So that was like the contrast of that
was just so cool to see.
And the pace car belongs to the new owner.
So the pace car belongs to Sam.
So he was.
Oh, that's amazing.
Yeah, so he was the pace car.
Well, he has amazing taste.
Yeah, it's beautiful, isn't it?
So who did you bump into,
Lindsay, I'm keen to understand
whether we both had our dance card
marked by the same people.
I mean, probably like the way this is working out.
I mean, we both got to see Jay Ryan.
I got to see him at the end of the day.
And he and I both were like, Dan was just here.
Who's now on his road trip.
So we wish him a safe, un-road trip right now.
I know.
Yeah, it commenced what, Monday?
Yes.
Grand Tour number three.
Where's he headed this time?
He said he was heading south to go east.
OK.
And then wherever the wind may take him.
And we, you know, we're all tuning in to see.
But yeah, it was fun to see him in person before he took off.
I got to see friend of the show, Dan McInnis,
which was wonderful.
I saw Dan McInnis.
Of course he did.
He takes.
He said he had seen you.
That's that was the best part.
Everybody that knows both of us.
They're like, yeah, yeah, I saw him this morning.
So it was like we had a weird
where's Waldo and nobody was winning.
Right.
But but it was so funny because I had seen a shark blue GT4
on the way out there.
And I texted a picture to Derek Powell
and he wrote me back and said, Dan McInnis is on his way.
And I thought he was kidding.
And then it turns out, no.
And I sent the picture to Dan and he said,
oh, it looks like I'm on the road just ahead of you.
So it was like, you know, the car community,
small world in action in the best way.
So I got to hang out with Dan for a bit.
I got to see the SCR crew, Spike and Zuckerman and Johnny
and Matt Farah, obviously was there.
We were apparently on the road outside the track
when Matt was doing his podcast.
So I'm sorry that we missed that, but we got to see him.
You know, I got to say hi to him later.
And then probably I would say the highlight
of my trip out there was that Dan McInnis
and I were talking and all of a sudden he said,
I think that's Neil Clifford over there.
And for those of you that don't recognize his name,
Neil is one of the four people
that Chris Harris does his current podcast
with Chris Harris and friends, Neil Clifford,
Manish Pandy and Chris Cooper.
And Dan, I knew you had met Neil earlier in the week.
So I knew he was in town.
And I looked at Dan and I said, you're right.
Do you want to go over there?
And he said, I do.
So we went over and introduced ourselves.
And Dan, I think you've said the same thing too.
He was just the most lovely approachable car guy.
I mean, he was just one of us.
And we all kept saying to each other,
Dan and I went up and said, we love your podcast.
We really enjoy listening.
Thank you so much for putting it together.
And it really is about the people.
And he kept echoing that back to us too.
And just sort of like we've all said to each other
a million times over at Nausium,
the cars are what opened the door
for these conversations.
But he could not have been a more lovely person.
And as we were chatting about the podcast,
he said, I love our podcast and we really enjoy doing it.
And he kind of talked me through their process
and the way they pick the topics they're gonna talk about.
And like one of my favorite things about their show
is they do the quote, emergency podcast,
which always makes me laugh.
And anytime you see that on the heading,
you go, okay, this is, you know, it's gonna be good
that they're like alert, emergency podcast.
But he said, I do listen to Spikes Car Radio.
I really love them.
And I said, well, you know, they're all here, right?
And he said, no.
And I said, have you met them?
He said, no.
And I said, well, would you like to?
And he said, I'd love to.
So I said, well, we haven't seen the helicopter
go over in a minute.
The chances are they're still here.
I called Johnny and he said, we're just about to leave,
but we're in the VIP area, bring him over.
So, and Neil had been heading that way anyway.
So Dan and Neil and I walked over,
Johnny came out and got him.
He got to meet everybody on the Spikes crew.
And the funniest part was he said, I love the show.
I really do identify with Zuckerman.
And I try to sort of, you know, emulate Zuckerman.
And I'm like, well, yeah, we can all understand
that he's hilarious.
But it was just the most delightful.
I kept sort of virtually pinching myself going like,
I love this show.
Dan, you're the one that, you know,
turned us onto it here.
And it was just like one of those car world magic moments
of like, are you kidding?
I'm talking to Neil Clifford.
I got to meet Chris Harris at Lamar.
And it was like, this is just wild.
You know, you can't make this stuff up.
And you can't, you can't manufacture this.
Yeah.
And it was just the most wonderful-
Helicopters coming and going.
I mean-
Helicopters, you know, I know.
I looked at my dad at one point
because Johnny came out and we were chatting.
And then he's like, okay, we got to go.
The helicopter, you know.
And I looked at my dad and it said,
the number of events we've been at
where our friends go like, well,
my helicopter's about to leave.
So it's like-
Next year.
I guess you know you're in the right place, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
But Dan, you got to meet Neil earlier in the week, right?
Yeah, I met him.
So Singer had a private party on Friday night.
And I had to sign an NDA.
So that's all I can tell you about that private party.
But I did meet-
It happened.
I did meet him there very briefly,
just as I was leaving.
He told me he was a big fan of the museum.
And he told me he owns
a Steve McQueen Mercedes Benz.
And that Steve McQueen Mercedes Benz
is in our good friend's Mercedes Classic in Long Beach.
So it's-
It's at the Classic Center?
It's at the Classic Center.
My coons and Nate in Korea.
But the best part of the story for me was
it was probably about 3.30 on the Saturday.
The event closed at four.
And I ended up in the car park
where the car show was
leaning up against a car,
talking to three of my friends from Dirtfish.
And we were just shooting the shit about cars.
And then he wanders by.
So I just said, hey, Neil, come meet my friend.
So I pulled him over.
We were talking about cars, leaning against cars.
We could have been at any car show.
He has a Peugeot T16 Group B Rally car, road car.
And he's like, you know what?
Really?
We had to get this serviced in the UK.
And we were like, we know someone.
So I texted him the details of someone
that could service his car for him.
And isn't that just car culture?
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, and I think that sort of sums it up.
It's like for all of the like sort of logistical hiccups
which really just add to the story.
The day sort of kept unfolding that way of
it was all these people that just love cars,
love car culture, wanted to be there.
And I think with the added mix of people
that had traveled a long way for this event.
It was not just Southern California.
Obviously, Neil's from the UK.
I had somebody from Seattle message me
and say, hey, are you gonna be there?
Like people came a long way and it was just like again,
it was just about the people.
And we have this huge common interest.
Some people call it a sickness, but you know.
Yeah.
We just had the chance to connect and you know,
meet people that we hadn't necessarily met before
but realize like we all share this big, big, big thing
and we're all just car people at the end of the day.
Yeah, yeah.
So what did you do last weekend, Ryan?
That sounds awesome.
I'm really sorry I missed it.
Well, we were sorry that you weren't there.
Well, I will say one other funny thing.
Again, which was where you just go like,
you could never have like,
if you had told me this was gonna happen,
I would not have believed you.
When we were talking to Neil,
Dario Franchitti walked up after he had changed from the race
because he and Neil know each other
and I had gotten to see him race at Goodwood
at the revival a couple of years ago.
And again, like Neil was the most generous.
He introduced all of us to Dario.
And he said, you know, and Lindsay does a podcast.
And so I said to Dario, like it's so nice to meet you.
I got to see you race at Goodwood and he went,
oh boy, like, oh, nope.
But in a very good natured, again,
it was just a bunch of car people.
But you have names that I know.
Dan McInnis sent a picture of that scene.
He's kind of in the corner, like,
do you guys remember the meme on the internet?
Like, I don't know, in the early days of the internet
with like the fire starter girl,
where she just has like this look in her eyes,
like the house burns behind her.
That's like, they go like, like this is happening, you know?
But I think that picture is Dario shaking my dad's hand.
And I told Dan, I'm like, how did you get a picture?
Like, you just happened to take a picture of my dad
getting to meet Dario, which is, you know,
I didn't have that on my bingo card.
If you don't know Dario,
he's the chief test driver for the Gordon Murray cars.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think Dan ran into him on Angeles Crest one time, right?
And like, when he had the Gordon Murray car,
when he had it up there ahead of car week last year,
and that was Dan said.
And again, it was like, we're all just car people
because Dan said, yeah, we actually met
and I have the green spider with the miles on it.
And Dario went, oh my God, yeah, it's so good to see you.
Cause they ran into each other at Goodfide.
Yeah, that's awesome.
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
And while you were there,
you put that car show stickers
and all the cars in the parking lot as planned.
I was handing them out.
People are like, what is this currency?
I'm like, yes, it is.
Go get yourself a burger on that car show.
In the VIP table.
Sounds like a hell of a good time.
And I know we're really scratching the surface of stories
and all that.
I think more stories will come out over time, right?
As NDAs expire and this kind of thing.
Right, well, I think, so I have a question for Dan,
actually, I'm curious about this
because I didn't anticipate this until we were there.
And I realized I kind of had one foot in each world
in the sense of I've been driving there for a long time
and so has my family.
But we've known it as this sort of remote track
in the desert with, I will say, amazing restrooms,
but one little cafe.
Why?
Why are they amazing?
I want to know.
They're clean and functional and they're not portability.
Oh, I can hint sometimes that's all you need, yeah.
Listen, the bar is low, but they've always been high on the list.
Acceptable, yeah.
Right, very passable.
And they have a cafe there, obviously,
but there's the cafe, that's it.
There's no services.
But I just have sort of,
I was going to the event to see, like,
hey, what's the future for this area
that I have known as a racetrack
and I've driven on for a long time.
And it was interesting to look at the crowd
and my sense was not a lot of the people in the crowd
either have driven at the track
or have driven at this track
and sort of listening to the people
that have driven there for a long time
and their understanding or lack of,
like what Singer is and that brand
and the kind of cars that Singer makes,
which is something that's very familiar
to the three of us, too.
And so, Dan, I was curious what your sense was
as far as, like, the attendees
and people's perception of the event.
Did you think it was a lot of track enthusiasts,
car enthusiasts, people that were just curious
and wanted something to do on a Saturday?
Yeah, I think I would break it down into the two areas
because there was a VIP area
and I think the folks in the VIP area
were either celebrities
or folks interested in investing in the track.
So there's a couple of membership options
that can be taken.
And then the impression I got is
that the general other folks were car lovers.
Maybe they hadn't driven at the track,
but they were lovers of both historic cars
and modern cars.
So I think it was a combination of investors
and folks that just had a passion for the track
and but maybe not driven there.
Interesting, yeah.
How was the food?
So they did have a lovely spread in the media area,
but I kind of buzzed in and buzzed back out.
Dan, you got to go into the VIP area.
The otherwise the lines,
they did have several food stations,
but the lines were really long.
So I had some first snacks in the car on the way home,
but Dan got to go in the VIP area
so he can report back.
Yeah, it was lovely.
It was like roast pork or roast beef.
Oh God, all right.
The stations and all the trimmings and everything else.
And to be honest with you,
I didn't eat till really late
because I should have been working away.
Well, you were working.
Yeah.
So I managed to get some food over the last minute.
Yeah.
Sounds like a great event.
Like I said, I'm super jealous.
So glad that you guys were there
representing that car show.
And yeah, it was definitely where all the cool kids were.
And also interesting that there was a limit of 5,000 people
and exactly 4,999 showed up.
So just got in.
Isn't that wild?
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, it really speaks to like
sort of the diligence of the event planner.
The other interesting things there.
So the Fadais Racing have partnered
with a go-karting group
under somebody called Rob Smedley.
Rob Smedley is, if you ever heard any of the Formula One
radio messages between the engineer and the driver,
Felipe Massa from Ferrari had Rob Smedley as his engineer.
So I think when he won races,
Rob was very famous for saying,
Philippa, baby, you've done it.
So, but Rob is like a technical genius
and he's developed a go-kart and electric go-kart
to democratize and try and make go-karting more accessible.
It started eight months ago in the UK,
but they're gonna have their World Finals at Willow
in December, on the 14th of December,
Ferdy Porsche is gonna be there
because he's invested in the program as well.
So yeah, those carts were running.
If you listen to Ferdy's smoking tire, Ferdy was on that
and he was talking a little bit more about that program.
And then the other thing is that there's two tracks there.
In essence, there's more than two tracks,
but there's two nominal tracks, right?
And when the big one closes down, which will be now,
and it'll get slightly redesigned,
so there'll be further options on the track,
you won't have one specific set course.
So they'll, near the final turns,
there'll be options to cut in as well.
But is it Button Willow or Little Willow, the other?
Yeah.
Oh, Streets of Willow.
Streets of Willow, thank you.
That is now open and we'll be fully operational as well.
So yeah, so it's a great event.
Next year, we need to be there.
Yeah, that's right.
Yeah, I was surprised.
I like maybe naively didn't realize
that this was the first of many reimagined events.
I was surprised afterwards when people were saying,
thanks for coming to the first.
And I was like, wait a minute.
But yeah, one, so they've done a lot of improvements
to Streets with the runoff.
One thing I did hear is that they've added Armco railing,
which is a concern to motorcyclists.
Like if you have a wipe out, it can be a serious issue.
So people are concerned about that.
But yeah, I'm interested to see what they do
with Big Willow.
Yeah, I think Big Willow in the future
could be used for bikes.
Which is, that'd be great.
Yeah.
Alexander Wirtz, I think it is,
has been the chief architect of designing the track.
And he's X-Form into one.
He's an X-Form into one driver.
So.
I read something where it was an enthusiast
had spoken with Rob Dickinson at Car Week, I think.
And he said they were keeping turn nine,
which has been like, if you wipe out at turn nine,
it's been very unforgiving.
And there's been a big hole near the apex.
So apparently there were some people
that wanted them to do something, eliminate turn nine.
I don't know.
How many turns are there on the track?
Nine.
Nine, okay.
You come out of nine onto the front straight.
Got you, okay.
Yeah, so that's staying.
So I guess before turn eight,
there'll be an option to come inside the track
instead of taking turn eight.
Oh, like cut it off.
Yeah.
I could see that.
Yeah, there's a back straight
before you go into eight,
and then you go into nine,
and then you're on the front straight.
It's a great little circuit.
Kind of a signature of Big Willow.
Yeah, great elevation.
It's a fun, fun circuit.
Yeah.
Yeah, I think it's a good mix
because it is, you can get going so fast,
but it's like, it's got plenty of opportunity
for technical driving.
Yeah.
So hopefully they preserve that.
What's a hell of a commercial for Willow Springs?
Before I forget,
we have a Sheffield Watch giveaway winner to announce.
That's right.
This was the contest that took a little thinking, right?
You had to be clever.
I know.
You had to work for the watch.
That's right, as it should be,
and we had a good number of responses.
So, you know, we had a very scientific way of,
I guess weighing the answers,
and we picked a winner.
That's right.
And that winner is?
That winner is
that car show fan seeking Kevin,
see Kevin go, Kevin Firstall,
and there was much text discussion,
which is obviously that was our scientific method,
and we really enjoyed Kevin's response.
So, if you didn't get a chance to read it,
check out our watch post,
and you can see his comment,
but Kevin, congratulations on winning a Sheffield Watch.
Please DM the show with your mailing address
and the watch that you'd like,
and we will get that processing,
but we are so excited for you.
Until next time,
wear that car show.
I know.
And remember, always be driving,
and we'll see you next week.
Thanks so much for joining us.
About this episode
The Willow Springs reimagined launch event brought together car enthusiasts, celebrities, and industry insiders to celebrate the iconic track's new chapter. Hosts Ann and Lindsay share their experiences, detailing the impressive turnout and the unique atmosphere that blended nostalgia with excitement for the future. They discuss notable attendees, including racing legends and car culture icons, and highlight various displays and activities, including celebrity races and classic car showcases. The episode captures the essence of community within the automotive world and the significance of Willow Springs in car history.
Original notes
It’s a That Car Show Willow Springs bonus episode! Dan and Lindsey were both fortunate to be a part of the recent Willow Springs Reimagined launch event in California and we wanted to get their experiences to you before too much time had passed. Be sure to stick around ’til the end of this episode where we announce the winner of our most recent Sheffield Watches giveaway. Make sure you follow, subscribe and tell your friends… It’s That Car Show.
Sheffield Watches: sheffieldwatches.com and @sheffield_allsport_watches
Drake Motorcars: drakemotorcars.com and @drakemotorcars
That Car Show
Ryan Bahrke, Dan Pilling, Lindsey Jesch
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35:45