aside from the rules and what may be stronger structurally, i have the following observation/comments.

at the IT fest, i was hit what seemed to be quite hard at the top of thunder valley at the fast left hander and was sent into the sand-trap.

it was enough of a hit that i thought my weekend was done. when i got out and looked, i could find essentially no damage except for a tire rub. closer examination showed that i was hit in the driver door but right at the height of the top nascar bar. a 1" by 1.5" piece of the plastic door panel on my crx is now gone.

this last weekend, another honda was hit on the passenger door by a neon. this honda has door bars that could have been installed without gutting the door. the door is completely gutted (NASA Honda Challenge legal) but where it was hit, the door is completely caved and essentially a write-off.

i agree with everything that was said above, especially getting the annual done ahead if you can. good luck and keep us informed.