It all started on a phone conference Bob Lutz had with some automotive journalists. A few of those car writers took up the challenge immediately to match up with the Cadillac CTS-V in a time trial competition. Then Bob extended the challenge for any and all competitive car owners to take on the Cadillac CTS-V at the Monticello Motor Club. And the entries came early and often, with about 120 challengers stepping  forward. Now we’re narrowing down to those best suited for battle.  We might still add 1-2 more competitors before it’s all said and done.

The group of challengers, as it stands now, includes a few auto journalists and several private car owners, reflecting a good range of different cars and experience levels. We think it’ll make for a well-rounded group.

Let’s meet the preliminary list of challengers. First up, the automotive writers:

Name: Wes Siler – Jalopnik.com
Wes is road test editor for Jalopnik, the first and to take us up on the Challenge. Wes is a skilled and experienced driver and evaluator of cars, especially the fast ones.

Name: Jack Baruth – TheTruthAboutCars.com
Jack will be representing TheTruthAboutCars.com in the Challenge. Jack’s an experienced racer, on two wheels and four. He hails from Columbus, Ohio.

Name: Lawrence Ulrich – freelance auto writer
Lawrence contributes to The New York Times and other publications. He drives all manner of cars regularly, and has some track driving experience though he’s careful to point out that his experience has been on a non-competitive basis.

Let’s meet the initial group private car owners:

Name: Michael M.
Hometown: Whitecoff, NJ
Michael is a graduate of the Porsche driving school and a contributor to carguydad.com.  He owns a BMW M5.

Name: Michael C.
Hometown: Long Island, NY
Our second Michael has trained at Skip Barber. At just 21 years old, Michael is the younger driver in the Challenge. He owns a BMW M3.

Name: Chris
Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI
Chris has recently bought a CTS-V, and wants to learn more about his car’s capabilities.

Name: Tom
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Tom drives an Audi RS4, has participated in the Audi driving school at Sonoma and has also done some autocross racing.

Plenty of other notable car enthusiasts will be there Oct 29 as well, either as participants or spectators. We’ll have more information about the competition and their cars in coming days so keep checking Cadillac Notes for all the latest news.