DTM at Oschesleben, 2007

DTM at Oschesleben, 2007

Until recently I simply didn't get the fascination with going fast in endless ovals and circles. Then I drove a school bus at Dodge City Raceway, and my perspective changed. Now the same may happen for millions of NASCAR fans, as the German DTM series is planning to race alongside NASCAR and Grand-Am series events in the U.S. starting in 2013.

For those unfamiliar with the series, the German DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) fields some of Germany's highest-performance four-doors in incredibly intense road racing. The cars are highly modified, the drivers are all out for blood, and the spectacle is like few others in the world of turning both left and right.

The only problem with the plan? It's not yet 100 percent confirmed. Reports out of Germany late last week quote the DTM's chief Hans Werner Aufrecht as the source of the rumors--including no fewer than 12 races in the U.S., complete with its own champion ship--but with timing still about two years out and the vagaries of plans in the world of motorsports, we're only buying our ice skates on the chance that hell really will freeze over. But do we ever want to skate that lake of fire.

If DTM does come to the U.S., there's a very good chance it could take root, as it shares some commonalities with NASCAR: building real racing cars out of familiar production cars, while at the same time preserving little resemblance to the cars themselves in the interests of speed and parity.

[Autosport via Inside Line]