MÜNTER GOES HEAD TO HEAD WITH NASCAR STARS TONY STEWART AND MATT KENSETH
Madison, WI (June 27, 2006) - Fifty late models showed up to challenge Nextel Cup Champions Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart in the First Supply All Star Challenge 100 on
Tuesday night. 21 cars did not make the field. The 29 car field was full the toughest short track racers in the country including three time track champion Bobby
Wilberg, Rich Bickle, Travis Sauter and many more. The first 18 positions were determined during qualifying and the rest were determined by heat races and provisionals.
Matt Kenseth qualified 9th at his hometown track while Tony Stewart, Leilani Münter, Rich Bickle and others took
provisionals. Leilani started 29th in the event, the only female driver in the field. The starter yelled, "Lady and gentlemen,
start your engines!"
Kelly Bires dominated the race, he won by an entire straightaway ahead of second place finisher Matt
Kenseth. Tony Stewart finished eighth and Leilani Münter finished 25th among the star studded field.
Crew Chief Deon Deneau was pleased with the performance of his young up-and-coming driver. “She ran a good smart race,” said Deneau.
“We finished and accomplished our goals tonight. I’m happy considering what we were up against with this strong field of veteran drivers.”
"I am really happy with my run, it was an honor to be on that racetrack with those guys... I was running with the best of the best, and I'm not just referring to Tony and Matt-- these local guys are incredible drivers and
know this track like the back of their hand," said Münter, "I learned a lot during the race and my lap times were only three to four tenths off the leader who
was running away from the field. With the incredible competitors that were here tonight,
I was really happy with my performance and finishing 25th. The way you
become the best is to race with the best, and we certainly had the best in the business here tonight."
The day started out badly for Münter who missed the entire first practice session when the No. 2 car of Jason Tyler made an abrupt left turn into Münter
as he was getting on the racetrack, still getting up to speed. Münter's right front tire was flat, the radiator was knocked loose, and there was some
cosmetic damage to her right front due to the contact. The team missed the first hour of practice repairing the damage.
"I was pretty upset about missing practice because I needed those laps, but the guys from the 2 car apologized, apparently there was some miscommunication on their
radio and the driver did not know I was on his inside. Mistakes happen and I have such a great team, Deon and Troy fixed the car and got me back out there for the next
practice session. It started out badly but turned out to be a really good night for me. "
In a live radio interview after the race, the radio host at the race proclaimed, "Leilani Münter is one heck of a
talented race car driver and you are going to be seeing a lot more of this young lady in the future."
ESPN was following Leilani and the No. 57 Konica Minolta race team at Madison International Speedway on Tuesday and did a sit down interview with Leilani
and crew chief Deon Deneau the next day. The footage will air during a two hour documentary about NASCAR in 2007 on exclusively on ESPN.
**NOTE OF INTEREST: LEILANI'S BEST LAP TIME WAS 18.843, TONY STEWART'S BEST TIME WAS 18.485. LEILANI WAS ONLY .358 OF A SECOND OFF OF THE TWO TIME
NEXTEL CUP CHAMPIONS BEST TIME.
MEDIA LINKS:
ESPN INTERVIEW AFTER RACING TONY STEWART & MATT KENSETH
INTERVIEW WITH LEILANI AT MADISON ON FRIDAY JUNE 23
FIRST SUPPLY ALL STAR CHALLENGE 100
1. Kelly Bires – Mauston, WI
2. Matt Kenseth- Cambridge, WI
3. Bobby Wilberg – Orfordville, WI
4. Chad Wood- Madison, WI
5. Robbie Pyle- Columbus, OH
6. Jacob Goede- New Germany, MN
7. Andrew Morrisey- DeForest, WI
8. Tony Stewart- Columbus, IN
9. Dave Feiler- Sun Prairie, WI
10. Nathan Haseleu- Pardeeville, WI
11. Dan Lensing- Rockford, IL
12. Ken Wills-Milwaukee, WI
13. Rich Bickle Jr.- Edgerton, WI
14. Troy Hintzsche- Malta, IL
15. Brian Hoppe- Madison, WI
16. Nick Hammer- Sun Prairie, WI
17. Jason Erickson- Lake Mills, WI
18. Travis Dassow- West Bend, WI
19. Jason Tyler- Stoughton, WI
20. Josh Bauer- Random Lake, WI
21. Nick Schumacher- Hartford, WI
22. Mike Beyer- Machesney Park, IL
23. Travis Sauter- Necedah, WI
24. Scott Broughton- Stoughton, WI
25. Leilani Munter- Charlotte, NC
26. Charlie Menard- Eau Claire, WI
27. Ryan Carlson- Loves Park, IL
28. Mark Kraus- Stratford, WI
29. Jesse Saunders- Janesville, WI
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