I hadn't read it, but thanks for the link.
I think it's important to consider the source. Jack Baruth also writes for Road and Track, and he is usually the reason I find myself questioning why they still get my subscription money.
They're snobs. What you are supposed to take away from this article is that if something as banal as a <pearl clutching here> CAMARO can go around the 'Ring faster than some of the vaunted German and Italian masterpieces, then:
The Camaro in question was a ringer
The track is an overrated barometer of performance
GM buys off the "other" magazines and only he can tell you the truth
You're a uninformed hayseed if you think the Nurburgring matters.
..and so on.
It's tiring.
Most of the columnists for R&T are preoccupied with writing about how wonderful and connected THEY are, and somewhere in there can be some really great photographs of awesome cars sitting still, or doing awesome things on a track somewhere (along with snobby specs on the photograph, including at which speed and f/stop the photo was snapped, in case a rube like you or I actually HAD access to such a track and car, and was inclined to try to match their photographic prowess)
Short version: Jack Baruth is a narcissistic asshole that looks like a Wookie, and Road and Track writers favorite sexual position is holding a story about the Mille Miglia in the OTHER hand.