We must have missed the memo because we had no idea that Willow Springs, the famous road course in Rosamond, California, actually ran street legal drags on a 1,000-foot drag strip comprised of the front straight on the road course. It must have been a run for fun deal up until now because the track announced that it would be adding a timing system from RaceAmerica to provide competitors elapsed times for each lap. That’s a good thing in our book!

The track has apparently been running the program for a couple of years. In the news release announcing the addition of the timing system, track owner Chris Huth said that the track decided to get into the drag racing act when Los Angeles County Raceway (in Little Rock, California) closed and street racing started to become a public safety program in the area.

By all accounts, drag racing at Willow has been a success, and with the addition of the timing system, it should draw even more cars now that competitors can get some good info when they make a lap. The press release we saw stresses that the racing program is directed toward street legal cars, not full-on race machinery. That only makes sense as we’re guessing that the surface is not prepped as a normal drag strip is. We’re not complaining, it’s great that racers have a place to tear it up off of the city streets!

Source — RacingWest.com — Willow Springs adds RaceAmerica timing system to street legal strip