Leilani Munter

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Leilani Münter (born on February 18, 1976) is an American race car driver competing in the NASCAR Elite division. She was born and raised in Minnesota and currently lives in Mooresville, North Carolina. On June 10, 2006 Leilani set a new record at Texas Motor Speedway when she finished 4th in the Konica Minolta 100, the highest finish for a female driver in the history of the 1.5 mile speedway. Leilani is also a special correspondent for NASCAR.com and a driving instructor for Fast Track High Performance Driving School.

1 Racing career
2 Media
3 Trivia
4 News links
5 External links

[edit] Racing career

Leilani began racing in California in 2001 in the Allison Legacy Series. She debuted with a seventh place finish. In 2002 Leilani made the move to Mooresville, North Carolina, widely regarded as the center for NASCAR racing. In 2003 she had her first start in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series at South Boston Speedway, she finished ninth. She made her first speedway start in 2004 at Texas Motor Speedway and set a new record when she qualified fourth, the highest qualifying effort for a female driver at the track. It was also her first super late model race, she finished seventh. In 2006 she had her first full time season in a race car. In just her fith race of the season, she had one of the biggest races of her career when she finished fourth, setting a new record at Texas Motor Speedway for the highest finish for a female driver in the history of the 1.5 mile speedway.

[edit] Media

Leilani is a special correspondent for NASCAR.com, her Leilani Reports videos air weekly. Leilani appears as one of three "Hostess Race Divas" alongside IRL's Danica Patrick and NHRA's Melanie Troxel on boxes of Hostess Twinkies and Cupcakes. The 2006 ad campaign for Hostess was significant because it was the first time the bakery has featured athletes on their products since professional baseball players were featured in the 1980s. The primary sponsor on her No. 57 Chevrolet is Konica Minolta. Leilani has appeared in several magazines including ESPN, Men's Journal, and Esquire. She hosted the television show Auto Primer on DIY and has been featured on National Geographic and Spike TV.

[edit] Trivia

Leilani holds a bachelor degree in biology from the University of California. She once worked as a photo double for Catherine Zeta-Jones. In 1999 her sister Natascha married Bob Weir, singer and guitarist of the rock band The Grateful Dead. The couple have two daughters, Shala Monet and Chloe Keilia.