Cobras, GT40s and Mustangs at Cobra Club Track Day

May 2020 • By Tony Thacker

TorqTalk.com was back on track for the first time recently with an invitation from 'Mr. Cobra' Lynn Park to attend the annual Cobra Owners Club of America track day at Willow Springs, CA. Jokingly referred to as "Taking a Bite out of the Coronavirus," the private event attracted about 100 Cobras, GT40s and Mustangs for a great day at the track.

Willow Springs International Raceway is an historic road track located 100 miles north of Los Angeles. Construction started in 1952 and the first race was held on November 23, 1953. The main track is 2.5-mile (4.0 km) 9-turn course with plenty of elevation change that is quite challenging. Besides the main road course there is the Streets of Willow, a 1.8-mile road course; the Walt James Stadium, a 2/3-mile clay oval; Willow Springs Speedway, a ¼-miler paved oval; a .625-mile kart track; The Balcony, a ¼-mile paved autocross and drifting track; Horse Thief Mile, a 1-mile canyon road course and approximately 160 acres of off-road, mountainous terrain. It’s a fantastic facility that for now remains beyond the reach of the Los Angeles sprawl, in fact, efforts by fans have resulted in the track being declared a place of historical interest.

The Cobra Club is a laid back group and their event is equally casual although this year they did observe pandemic requirements with a virtual driver’s meeting and a great deal of distancing.  The racing, of course, is not hard, this is more of a test session when owners can stretch their legs, improve their driving technique and exercise their ponies without pressure. It’s not exactly exciting racing but it is a very pleasant day.

For a bit more excitement, Nestor and I gravitated up to The Balcony to check out the drifters there for a pre-season test.  Chris Forsberg was there in his NOS Energy Drink Nissan 370Z and Ryan Tuerck in his rad Ferrari 458-powered Toyota GT4586. Unfortunately, Ryan over cooked it and got into the dirt causing Nestor to run for the hills. Nevertheless, we got some great shots that will appear on TorqTalk.com soon.