FAMILY LEGACY

Take a love of the outdoors and a need for speed, tie them together with the thread of entrepreneurial spirit, add the Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared” and P.T. Barnum’s “There’s a sucker born every minute”, stir in a generous helping of compassion, humor, and zest for living, and you might begin to understand what motivates the late owner of Willow Springs International Raceway, Bill Huth

Ask anyone who lived during the Great Depression, and they’ll tell you about work ethic – you worked, or you starved. Bill was not yet in his teens when he figured out how to do something that most people only dream of accomplishing; Bill Huth learned how to take things he enjoyed doing and make money doing them. With a love for fixing cars and motorcycles, he found money to support his passion as a Grifter. But soon, with a brood of 4 children, he found the need to go legitimate, landed in the quiet town of Lancaster and opened up Billy Huth’s Automotive Corner which included a muffler shop, a speed shop, and a sports car dealership/garage.

His natural talent and ability with cars and business again made Bill successful. So successful, in fact, that in about 5 years he was able to purchase another dream. He used his shop as collateral to make the biggest purchase of his life – Willow Springs International Raceway, a 200-acre piece of the Mojave Desert with a rundown racetrack in the middle of it.  Everyone thought he was nuts to plunk down $160,000 on such a risky venture, but he loved racing and figured this was his best shot at making money doing it. So, it was one more move for the Huth family, this time to the community of Rosamond about 15 miles north of Lancaster.

That was back in 1962. Today, thanks to Bill Huth’s planning, preparedness, hard work and his “grifter’s sense”, that dusty piece of asphalt and dirt has become Willow Springs International Motorsports Park, a square mile of racing activity that generates millions of dollars annually. With its reputation as “the Fastest Road in the West”, Willow Springs is an historic mainstay in American Road racing. (insert photos)The history of Willow Springs Raceway is actually very shallow when compared to its future. With the growth surrounding the automobile and motorcycle industries, along with the special interest focused on racing, Willow Springs International Raceway promises to play a major part in the future of speed and safety.  Michael Andretti still holds the track record set in March 1987 at 1:06:01. Everyone’s waiting for the mighty 1 Minute Flat. A record ready to hold by the next generation of Racetrack owners.