LATEST
Leilani Munter is getting in gear to take on
Daytona 
Bio
Quick
Facts
Racing
History
Snippets
Leilani Munter
is getting in gear to take on
Daytona
Leilani
Münter 7th quick at Daytona Arca testing on
Sunday
Munter Receives Visit
From Special Visitor at Daytona; Test Results
Successful for
MGR
Münter
Impressive in Open Wheel Test - Licensed for Indy
Pro -
5/16/07
Münter
Changing Gears: Headed for Indianapolis in Indy
Pro - 4/30/07
Schedule
Related Issue:
Women
Racers
Directory,
Women
in Racing,
Women
Racers,
More
Women in
Racing,
Race
Schedules,
Notable
Women
Contact: www.leilanimunter.com/
or E-Mail
Snippets
Tough Day at Kansas for Leilani Münter 10/1/10
* * *
Leilani started the ARCA Daytona 200 around
25th and got caught up in a big crash on lap 6 that
took out 8 other cars including Milka Duno. Leilani
finshed 39th.
* * *
Leilani's 2-lap Qualifying for the 2010
ARCA Racing
Series at Daytona February 6th, placed her 25th
out of 47 and 3rd out of 6 women..
* * *
Leilani tested for the 2010 ARCA
Racing Series at Daytona. She was the 4th
fastest woman and 20th out of 60 drivers
* * *
Leilani Münter and Sam Schmidt
Motorsports announced today that Münter will
make her greatly anticipated Indy Pro Series debut
at the Kentucky Speedway on August 11th.
Münter will race at Kentucky and in the season
finale at the Chicagoland Speedway on September
9th.
* * *
Next race May 25, 2007 - Indy Pro Series
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Quick Facts
Part time model - gave up everything to pursue
racing - races in NASCAR Weekly racing series
Full Name: Leilani Maaja Münter
Height: 5'4"
Weight 105 lbs.
Birthplace: Rochester, Minnesota
Residence Cornelius, North Carolina
Marital Status Yes
Parents Parents Manfred (Germany) and Doris
(Hawaii)
Three sisters- Svenja, Nicolette and
Natascha
Three nieces- Monet, Chloe, and Heather
Ethnicity Half German, Half Japanese
Education Bachelor of Science in Biology,
University of California San Diego
Presidential Academic Fitness Award
Teacher Assistant Cellular and Developmental
Biology
Current Occupatoin: Race driver in NASCAR
Elite Division
Race Instructor at Fast Track High Performance
Driving School, Special Correspondent for
NASCAR.com
Hobbies: Scuba Diving, snowboarding, Texas
Hold'em, travel.
Trivia Leilani once worked as a photo double
for actress Catherine Zeta- Jones.
Her sister Natascha is married to Grateful Dead
guitarist and lead singer Bob Weir.
She was a stunt double for Kelly Hu in "Scorpion
King" and has also worked as a stand in for Salma
Hayek.
Leilani volunteered for 3 years at a wildlife
rehabilitation center in San Diego, California.
Best Part About Working in the Movies: did a
rehearsal with one of my favorite actors,
Christopher Walken.
Favorite Movies you Worked On: Ocean Eleven,
and Almost Famous.
Words to Live By: Life is short. Race hard.
Play hard. Nap hard.
Favorite Quote: Well behaved women seldom
make history, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich.
Last Book You Read The Da Vinci
Code
Favorite Movies: Napoleon Dynamite and
Officespace
Favorite TV Shows: Sex and the City,
Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Leilani Munter is
getting in gear to take on Daytona
Daytona Beach, Florida (Jan 3, 2012) Leilani
Münter, race car driver and passionate
environmentalist, is bearing down on her goal of
driving a “The Cove” themed race car at
Daytona International Speedway, arguably one of the
most famous race car tracks in the world. The ARCA
race at Daytona is February 18 and will air live on
SPEED television, which is available in 79 million
homes. This will be the first ever ocean awareness
themed race car to race the high banks of Daytona.
Münter is seeking corporate and philanthropic
donations for the remaining funds required, which
is $30,000. Leilani has already raised $15,000 in
donations prior to this story. To make a tax
deductible donation, please visit
opsociety.org/securedonation.htm and be sure to
write “For Daytona” in the notes.
The Academy-Award winning documentary “The
Cove” exposes the annual slaughter of
thousands of dolphins in a small cove in Taiji,
Japan. It also exposed the undeniable connection
between dolphin parks and dolphin captivity, and
the largest slaughter of dolphins in the world.
”The Cove forever changed me. I know race fans
will respond to it, they just need to know about
it,” said Münter. “The race falls on
my birthday, and my greatest wish is to end the
slaughter and the ongoing abuse of these beautiful
ocean creatures.”
This campaign in designed to educate and engage
75 million race fans in the United States. Director
of “The Cove” Louie Psihoyos has
committed to giving away 1000 DVDs of “The
Cove” at the race, and in addition, will be in
attendance for the race alongside dolphin activist
Ric O’Barry autographing DVDs of the film.
People donating $50 or more will be entered into a
raffle to win two pit passes for the Daytona race
and two other lucky fans will win two garage passes
each. Münter will be wearing a helmet painted
for “The Cove” during the race, which
will then be auctioned off with all the proceeds
going to Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project to
continue the fight on the ground in Taiji. To
donate to “The Cove’s” awareness
campaign at Daytona,click here and be sure to write
“For Daytona” in the notes. (...)
----------------------------
Leilani Münter, race car driver and
passionate environmentalist, is bearing down on her
goal of driving a “The Cove” themed race
car at Daytona International Speedway, arguably one
of the most famous race car tracks in the world.
The ARCA race at Daytona is February 18 and will
air live on SPEED television, which is available in
79 million homes. This will be the first ever ocean
awareness themed race car to race the high banks of
Daytona. Münter is seeking corporate and
philanthropic donations for the remaining funds
required, which is $30,000. Leilani has already
raised $15,000 in donations prior to this story. To
make a tax deductible donation, please visit
opsociety.org/securedonation.htm and be sure to
write “For Daytona” in the notes.
The Academy-Award winning documentary “The
Cove” exposes the annual slaughter of
thousands of dolphins in a small cove in Taiji,
Japan. It also exposed the undeniable connection
between dolphin parks and dolphin captivity, and
the largest slaughter of dolphins in the world.
”The Cove forever changed me. I know race fans
will respond to it, they just need to know about
it,” said Münter. “The race falls on
my birthday, and my greatest wish is to end the
slaughter and the ongoing abuse of these beautiful
ocean creatures.”
This campaign in designed to educate and engage
75 million race fans in the United States. Director
of “The Cove” Louie Psihoyos has
committed to giving away 1000 DVDs of “The
Cove” at the race, and in addition, will be in
attendance for the race alongside dolphin activist
Ric O’Barry autographing DVDs of the film.
People donating $50 or more will be entered into a
raffle to win two pit passes for the Daytona race
and two other lucky fans will win two garage passes
each. Münter will be wearing a helmet painted
for “The Cove” during the race, which
will then be auctioned off with all the proceeds
going to Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project to
continue the fight on the ground in Taiji. To
donate to “The Cove’s” awareness
campaign at Daytona,click here and be sure to write
“For Daytona” in the notes.
Münter is a biology graduate turned race
car driver and environmental activist who adopts an
acre of rainforest for every race she runs and
promotes only environmentally conscious companies
on her race car. Since seeing the film, she has
traveled three times to Taiji, Japan to document
the slaughter first hand and has organized several
screenings of the film. Most recently, she
spearheaded a campaign to turn the lights of the
Empire State Building red to raise awareness.
At Münter’s last race at Daytona, she
was driving the first ever 100% eco sponsored race
car, with six environmental companies coming
together to get her car on the track. The race was
watched by 2.4 million people live on SPEED
television and 100,000 people were watching the
race trackside. The media exposure she received
included the front page of the sports section of
the New York Times.
Source: http://femaleracingnews.com/circle_track/leilani-munter-is-getting-in-gear-to-take-on-daytona/
Tough Day at Kansas for
Leilani Münter - 10/1/10
Leilani Münter and the #59 Operation Free Mark
Gibson racing team unloaded the car Thursday
morning with high hopes for the Kansas Lottery 150
at Kansas Speedway after a successful test session
here a week before. They were joined by a number of
the Operation Free veterans who came to help spread
the message of the need for Energy Independence as
a matter of national security to a new
audience.
Münter was sitting 21st on the practice
board when with 5 minutes left in the practice the
team went out for a mock qualifying run and the car
got loose coming out of turn 1 and backed into the
wall. “We had been loosening the car up all
practice” Münter said “then we taped
up the nose and put stickers on to take a mock
qualifying run to see how it would handle, the car
felt great through 3 and 4 as I was getting up to
speed but as I went through turn 1 it got loose and
backed into the fence. Finding the edge is part of
the game, and I certainly found it yesterday.
It’s obviously not what I wanted for my first
ARCA race back since Daytona, but in racing we all
have our bad days and today it was my
turn.”
The MGR crew worked to get the back-up car ready
and the team used the qualifying run to shake down
the car since Leilani hadn’t had any laps in
it. The car was way too loose and Münter spun
coming out of turn four but did a great job keeping
the car off the wall and went through the
grass.
The team made changes to tighten up the car
after qualifying. Starting at the back, Leilani
took a cautious approach, hanging back and feeling
the car out when 5 laps in tragedy struck again
with the engine overheating.
“We only had one lap on the back-up car
before taking the green and it overheated just a
few laps in. I can’t thank Operation Free and
Sturman Industries enough for this opportunity
today, as well as Mark Gibson Racing for all their
hard work. I am heartbroken that it ended the way
it did.”
“Some of the drivers in the garage were
kind enough to tell me stories of similar moments
in their racing career to cheer me up,” said
Leilani, “and even though I know that all race
drivers have stories of going into a corner and
never coming out the other side – it still
doesn’t make it any easier when it happens to
you. I just have look forward and focus on putting
something together for next year now that
we’ve got all our bad luck out of the
way.”
“With our partnership with Leilani, we set
out to reach an entirely new audience with our
message that America needs to take control of its
energy future with clean, American power,”
said Jonathan Murray, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and
Operation Free Campaign Director. “Leilani has
been a great partner in delivering the message that
our dependence on oil is a threat to our national
security. By making small but significant changes
like raising fuel efficiency standards to 60 mpg by
2025, we will become far less dependent on oil and
therefore less vulnerable to the whims of our
enemies. And someday, we can look forward to race
cars doing 200 miles per hour at 40, 50, even 60
miles per gallon. The “Race to Energy
Independence” effort drives that point
home.”
Leilani will be along side top retired military
leaders and veterans at the Operation Free tent
located in the fan area right outside Kansas
Speedway Saturday and Sunday to meet with race
fans, sign autographs and spread the message about
the importance of energy independence and the
threats posed to our nation by our current energy
policy.
Leilani Münter 7th
quick at Daytona Arca testing on Sunday
Leilani Münter was 7th quick in her #59
NextEra Energy Resources Dodge on Sunday afternoon
testing at Daytona International Speedway with a
speed of 181.77 mph. Mark Gibson Racing gained
valuable information that they hope to bring with
them back to Daytona for the race on February 6.
The team tried out several different suspension
packages throughout Saturday and Sunday and finally
found a set up they liked on Sunday afternoon.
"I was happy with the test overall. We were able
to make a lot of changes to the car, some worked
others did not. But that is why we go to the test,"
said team owner Mark Gibson, "We still have a lot
of work to do before the race to close the gap on
the Toyotas. I feel the engine program is our
strong point. Now we just have to get the areo
package worked out on our Dodges. After seeing the
bodies on some of the top ten cars I realized we
have some work to do. As a team I thought we worked
very well together. We had some new crew members
along with people who have worked for MGR for
years. Everyone fit together as if they had worked
with each other all along."
"Leilani did a great job. She gave great
feedback and could feel the changes we made to the
car. Her enthusiasm was great and she kept the team
pumped up all weekend. Parker (Kligerman) was the
same way - he was just glad to have the opportunity
to drive the car and that outlook carries over to
the team," added Mark, "Having NextEra Energy on
board for the test was great. We learned so much
about what their company is doing and also the
things that we all need to do to not only save
energy but to help our environment. Leilani is a
great ambassador for Nextera and the green
movement. Hopefully we can help educate the race
fans about what we need to do to help save our
environment."
"Throughout the weekend we tried a lot of
different set ups for the car and by Sunday
afternoon, Mark Gibson and the team had really
figured out what package we needed under the car,"
said Leilani, "They are great guys and they gave me
a great car to drive. It's so much fun being out
there in quality equipment. I had a lot of fun
drafting with Danica Patrick and Bobby Gerhart, and
that's a pretty good crowd to be hanging with out
there. We are really happy with our test and very
hopeful we can come back for the race in February,"
said Leilani, "I can't thank NextEra Energy
Resources enough for giving us the opportunity to
test Daytona, it was incredibly valuable to us as a
team to kick off the 2010 racing season with a
successful test."
Source: www.girlracer.co.uk
Munter Receives Visit From
Special Visitor at Daytona; Test Results Successful
for MGR (12-28-09)
The recent open test at Daytona Int'l Speedway
created a great deal of interest in the ARCA Racing
Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards.
Not only was the national and international
media there to cover Danica Patrick's much
anticipated stock car debut, NASCAR President Mike
Helton also stopped by to check things out.
Münter
Impressive in Open Wheel Test- Licensed for Indy
Pro - 5/16/07
Leilani Münter earned
her Indy Pro Series license on Monday when she
tested an open wheel car for the first time.
Münter quickly adjusted to her new race car
and got up to speed turning consistent lap times in
the 28 second range
Münter
Changing Gears: Headed for Indianapolis in Indy
Pro - 4/30/07
Up and coming stock car
driver Leilani Münter has decided to kick off
her fenders to try out some open wheel racing.
After attending the Indy Pro Series open test at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway on April 27 as a guest,
Münter will be testing an Indy Pro Series car
in preparation to enter the Indianapolis Freedom
100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Racing History
(NASCAR Elite series signed with Hostess
Twinkies)
2004
Debuted in the ROMCO Super Late Model Series
with an impressive run. In her first super late
model race and her first race at Texas Motor
Speedway, Leilani was 6th fastest of 26 race cars
in practice. She started 4th and finished 7th on
the lead lap and closing. Signed as special
correspondent with NASCAR.com.
2003
Signed a multi-year driver development contract
with Team Bristol Motorsports, home of the 54 Busch
Series race team. After an impressive test where
Leilani turned lap times just 2/10 of a second off
the pole position in her first test with Team
Bristol, Leilani debuted in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly
Series with a 9th place finish in the Coor's Light
150 at South Boston Speedway. In the final laps of
this 150 lap race, Leilani was turning the same lap
times as the leader. Two weeks later, Team Bristol
Motorsports encountered financial difficulties that
forced the team to retire from competition.
2002
Relocated to North Carolina, worked at a racing
school, tested late models. Studied race car set
up, geometry, and aerodynamics with Larry
McReynolds.
2001
Started racing stock cars in the Allison Legacy
Series where she fought for the lead for several
laps in her first heat race. She spun attempting to
make a pass for the lead and finished fourth.
Qualified and finished seventh in main event.
2000
Attended various racing schools.
* * *
WomenInRacing.org
| Contact
Us
©1996-2023 by Gordon
Clay
|
