RaceToWinCorvette.com

Just a head's up to our friends. Chevrolet is giving away a 2011 Corvette and a trip to LeMans. Sign up at racetowincorvette.com.

Sebring 12 Hours Looks Like a NASCAR Race

Ferrari 458 crash at 2011 12 Hours of Sebring
Photo by Rick Dole for Michelin North America

Race winning Peugeot 908 at 2011 12 Hours of Sebring

Almost Everything Autobody watched the 59th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring on ESPN.  We thought we were watching a NASCAR event instead of American Le Mans. Endurance racing used to be tough enough without worring about other racers hitting you on purpose. No longer. Drivers bumped & grinded all 12 hours. Cars were destroyed, carried back to the pits, rebuilt and went back out on the track. Favorites from Audi & Ferrari were totaled allowing Peugeot to win overall for the 2nd year in a row and BMW to win the GT2 class.

Here's footage from one of the big crashes that took out the Ferrari 458:

Not Always Obvious. . .

The accident didn't seem that bad. . . the plastic bumper bounced back into place and it didn't look like there was much damage.

Sometimes the damage isn't obvious. Be wary when accepting settlement payments from a driver that hits you or their insurance company. Significant damage to the car below was not visible from the outside. The damage to the bumper reinforcement and rear body is a safety concern if the car is hit again from the rear. And the trunk is going to leak in the rain or a car wash.

Bob, our Master Technician, works on
a car with rear end damage

The bumper cover is removed and things still don't look too bad

But when we take off a plastic cover
you can see the big wrinkle in the metal
on the driver's side of the trunk opening

There is a wrinkle at the weather seal on the passenger side too.

The weld on the bumper reinforcement is broken

The bumper reinforcement is crushed and twisted

Almost Everything Autobody repaired all of the damage on this car, replaced the crushed bumper reinforcement and energy absorber and repainted the damage area with factory paint.