Ask those who know Chris, and they will all give you pretty much the same measure of the man: “soft-spoken,” “quiet,” “unassuming,” “an incredibly talented engineer.” All, of course, are descriptions you’d normally put nowhere near the name of a highly skilled racer — but that’s the paradox that is Chris Winkler.

Although a bit of a racer in his spare time and someone his boss at Chrysler’s SRT group once described as “the best driver in the company,” Winkler is still best known for his day job: engineer.

And that suits this Royal Oak, Michigan boy his friends call “the Wolf” just fine. When the new 2010 Viper ACR gets put through its paces on the track later today, the man pushing the car to its limits will simply be one of the guys who built it in the first place.