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Monday, July 11, 2011 at 06:58PM

July 13, 2011

Introducing the Autoextremist Manufacturer Challenge: A proposal for a new American high-performance standard.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

Detroit. I think by now that every enthusiast worth his or her stripes is very familiar with the world famous Nurburgring Nordschleife, the majestic 12.9-mile cathedral of speed in the Eifel mountains in Germany, the track that defines the toughest challenge in all of motorsport. As much as I've tried to put the track into words over the years the Nordschleife is simply indescribable. Yes, you can watch laps being run on YouTube or play video games based on the actual circuit itself, but nothing prepares you for seeing it and experiencing it in person for the first time. It is spectacular, jaw-dropping, exhilarating, flat-out scary in parts (okay, in a lot of parts) and if you're properly prepared, the most fun you could ever possibly imagine behind the wheel.

And it is no wonder that most of the world's auto manufacturers now accept it as the ultimate unofficial measure of a car's high-performance capabilities. As a matter of fact a period of days is set aside every year so that the various manufacturers can put their latest high-performance machines on display and to the test in front of their peers, sort of a high-dollar bragging rights contest that can be talked about for the next twelve months in various marketing and promotional campaigns. In fact, General Motors' Cadillac division devoted an entire commercial to the record lap turned in by its CTS-V at the Nordshcleife, and it can still be viewed on YouTube.

And all of this is great and everything, but I, along with a few like-minded individuals have been wondering why we can't come up with an American high-performance industry standard, one that can be conducted and evaluated every year and promoted as the particpating manufacturers see fit.

So, let me go into how this Autoextremist Manufacturer Challenge might work...

First of all, there's no doubt whatsoever where this evaluation will take place and that's at Road America (aka "America's National Park of Speed") in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Commonly reffered to as "America's Nurburgring," Mario Andretti has gone on record many times saying that the blistering fast 4.048-mile track set in the bucolic Kettle Moraine country in northern Wisconsin is one of the greatest tracks in the world.

With the venue set in stone then, what will this high-performance evaluation consist of?

I'm proposing that the new American high-performance standard consist of the time it takes to do three laps around Road America, or 12.144-miles. No excuses, no stories, just the approved safety requirements and tires, and then go for it. And I'm proposing a week-long manufacturer test day "meeting" that would occur sometime in mid-summer where the movers and shakers of this business could strut their stuff. This event would be open to any auto manufacturer from around the world that would want to show up, and it would be officially timed and scored by an independent third party. I'd even consider designating one of the test days to be an official spectator day, so that enthusiasts could witness some of the manufacturer runs themselves.

I see no reason why America can't have a new high-performance standard of its own. And that's why I'm going to be floating the idea of the Autoextremist Manufacturer Challenge around to the various manufacturers in the coming months.

Stay tuned.

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Daytona Beach, Florida, February 24,1963. Tiny Lund (center), Glen Wood (left), and Leonard Wood (right) celebrate in victory lane after winning the 1963 Daytona 500. Lund averaged 151.556 mph in his No. 21 Wood Brothers English Motors Ford. Fred Lorenzen (No. 28 Holman-Moody Lafayette Ford) finished second followed by Ned Jarrett (No. 11 Burton-Robinson Ford), Nelson Stacy (No. 29 Holman-Moody Ron's Ford Sales Ford) and Dan Gurney (No. 0 Holman-Moody Lafayette Ford) as Ford swept the top five places. It would be Lund's first and only Daytona 500 win, one of five wins total during his career at the top level of NASCAR.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" with hosts John McElroy, from Autoline Detroit, and Peter De Lorenzo, The Autoextremist, and guests this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.