Jessi Combs and Rutledge Wood 3M Wrap Battle Judges
Who was the advertising genius that came up with this name? 3M Wrap2Wrap Battle. Like, you know? Rap battle? Eminem 8-Mile Rabbit? Sounds just like rap, but it’s a wrap. A car wrap. Epic wrap battles of history. Enough puns?
Actually I might know some of the folks behind the clever contest name. But, enough about the contest name. The wonderful Jessi Combs, real-deal badass from Overhaulin’, Mythbusters and All Girls Garage was one of the judges of the contest, alongside Top Gear USA host, the funny and bearded Rutledge Wood.
The 3M Wrap Battle final consists of two teams using 3M Wrap Film Series 1080 vinyl wrap to decorate each of two Chevy Camaros. Basically, the best wrap wins. They don’t have to rap, they just wrap. All white boys wrap too.
Turns out these two contestants are two finalists from an ongoing competition that has been underway for a few months now. The two finalists competing in today’s 3M Wrap2Wrap final were Tidalwave Graphics and Florida Car Wrap.
Jessi Combs and Rutledge Wood deliberated for quite a while along with the other judges to decide which of the two participants would win the prize. At first the announcer told the judges “take your time.” However, the deliberation was such that the announcer finally said, “Well, we have like 5 minutes left.” As in, make up your minds already.
You could tell they really wanted to get it right and give the prize to the best team. That said, it was fiercely close competition.
In the end, Florida Car Wrap took the prize with the orange-themed Camaro.
They won quite a couple of cool prizes including $1,000 in cash. Don’t ask me exactly what all the prizes were, I was too busy trying to get a money shot of Jessi and Rutledge amongst the swarm of people surrounding the 3M booth. Luckily, I had my tripod with me and a remote shutter. Lifting the tripod high over the crowd and using the remote shutter did the trick. That’s what you’re seeing in the wide shot of Jessi and Rutledge inspecting the Camaro. In the shot above they’re probably looking at a selfie. I just managed a gap in the crowd to get this shot paparazzi-style.
Here’s a tweet by @3Mgraphics when the award was being presented to Florida Car Wrap.
And the #Wrap2Wrap winner is Florida Car Wrap! #livefromSEMA pic.twitter.com/XPatj7iKNI
— 3M Graphics (@3MGraphics) November 6, 2014
The decision must’ve been tough. Both cars really looked awesome. I would’ve not wanted to be in the judges’ shoes, that’s for sure.
Note: I just HAD to look up what the 3M Wrap2Wrap Battle Grand Prize was. Turns out, it’s way more awesome than just $1,000. 3M has a website dedicated to the contest: 3M Wrap2Wrap Battle. The grand prize awarded to Florida Car Wrap was:
- Trip to SEMA in Las Vegas, NV (At SEMA already. Expenses paid maybe?)
- Set of four(4) 20” Vossen flow forming technology wheels (VFS-1 or VFS-2)
- Set of four(4) 20″ Pirelli® Tires (max value $1,800)
- $1,000 paid in check or pre-paid card form
Oh dang. That’s a pretty sweet grand prize pack right there if I say so myself.
