My friends, we are experiencing the dawn of a new era. It used to be that you'd "win on Sunday, sell on Monday." It used to be that a tractor builder would build a sports car just because a sports car builder ignored him. The legendary GT 40 came about purely out of spite. Racing teams in all genres would lie, cheat and steal for a little more speed. Factories backed insane street-legal autos with dangerously insane power. You could buy 500 HP with drum brakes and no driving aides. What's more is that most racing sanctioning bodies required manufacturers to have street-legal version of their race cars available to the public.

Why?

To pee the farthest. That's it. And, that era gave us cars and races and drivers that we still idolize today.

But now? It's all in the 'ring. Sure, it's been there for decades. It was there in the early '90s and for 15 DM (about $10 US at the time) you could take a lap. The only thing it was widely known for then is the number of ambulance calls. Now, every car enthusiast and many non-enthusiasts know what it is. We'll get back to the ring in a moment.

Now, with today's racing sanctioning bodies, the balls-out quest for speed has been bridled. Much of that is for good. Safety improvements have been made; and, must continue to be made. But the way we have been doing that and mixing it with business has been killing the racing spirit.

I don't dislike NASCAR because they only turn left. I dislike it because they diluted it with restrictor plates and steered it with greed. It's now just 3 hours of marketing in a circle.

Have you ever seen the restrictions for aerodynamics in F1? You have this little cube for a rear wing, no body piece can be here, wings can only be this high in front, no inlets here, etc. etc. Like them or hate them, but that is why new cars look the way they look. They restrict the true ability of teams for marketing purposes. They want competitive teams; arguably with good reason. But that holds back the best and fastest.

The Pike's Peak run is paved through much of the course. Marketability rears it's ugly head again. They needed to break records again so people would care.

Now, we’re back to the 'ring. We're seeing a rejuvenation of the good ole fashioned peeing contest. Sure, there's still some marketing caché to be gained, but it is the kind we used to have. Plain and simple. This car you can buy went faster here than other cars in its class. Anyone who wants to go there and run there, can. No real limitations. Bring it and 'ring it. This is where our motoring potential is being determined for the next decade. Not manufacturer test tracks; like where the Veyron set it's record. How fair is it that no other manufacturer could even attempt to match the record on the same track? Not Talladega. Not Le Mans. Not even the Texas Mile. 250 MPH! On a road racing circuit! Think about that. Then think about this: Someone will go faster. And soon, I bet.

What’s the next step for the 'ring? I think it's this: Change nothing. Ever. But, do put it on TV. Or, live streaming on the web. Ring videos are increasingly popular so there has got to be a market there. There could even be special programming for manufacturer record attempts and face-offs. 2013 ZL-1 versus 2013 GT 500, anyone? Seriously, media execs, get busy. We need 'ring-Span, STAT.