LEILANI SETS HER SIGHTS ON INDIANAPOLIS FIRESTONE FREEDOM 100 Eco racer hopes to return to Indy Lights for biggest race of the year
Indianapolis, IN - (April 26, 2009) Race car driver Leilani Münter is hoping to make her return to the Firestone Indy Lights Series at the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 22, 2009. The Firestone Freedom 100 takes place on Carb Day, the Friday of the Indianapolis 500 weekend immediately following Indy 500 practice. More than 400,000 people gather each May for "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," making the Indy 500 the largest one day sporting event in the world. The Firestone Freedom 100 will air live on VERSUS to more than 73 million homes.
"There are a couple of race teams that have offered to field a car for me at Indy," said Leilani, "It's a matter of getting the sponsorship in place quickly so I have a chance to test at Indy next week."
Münter qualified fifth for her first open wheel race and was running in the top six when she was caught up in a multi car accident. Her impressive run - including passing five cars in a lap and a half - turned the heads of many in the open wheel community.
After seeing her debut four time Indy 500 Champion Rick Mears said, "Leilani did a great job, I’m looking forward to seeing her race some more."
Practice for the Firestone Freedom 100 is on Tuesday, May 5. Primary sponsorship is available for $50,000. Any companies interested in sponsorship for the Firestone Freedom 100 should contact Leilani's management team at Wasserman Media Group immediately: Marissa Nilon mnilon@wmgllc.com, telephone 310-882-4745 and Dan Levy, dlevy@wmgllc.com, telephone 919-256-1600.
About Leilani Münter
Leilani holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology specializing in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution from the University of California San Diego. While attending college she worked as a volunteer at a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center. She started racing cars in 2001 and quickly began making a name for herself in the racing world. In 2006 she set the record for the highest finish for a female driver in the history of Texas Motor Speedway when she finished fourth. In 2007 Leilani became the fourth woman in history to race in the Indy Pro Series, the developmental league of IndyCar. She qualified 5th for her open wheel debut in August 2007 and earned praise from many in the IndyCar community including four time Indy 500 Champion Rick Mears.
Her racing accomplishments have landed her on the pages of USA Today, Glamour, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Men's Journal, the Washington Post and ESPN. Esquire Magazine has called her "A Woman We Love" and Sports Illustrated named her in their list of the top ten female race car drivers in the world.
Leilani adopts an acre of rainforest for every race she runs to offset her carbon footprint and has been a long time vegetarian and eco activist. She is also active politically in the legislative fight for the environment. She has twice made the journey to Capitol Hill to speak with members on Congress on behalf of the Climate Security Act. In June 2008 she spoke at a climate action rally in Washington DC alongside Senators Barbara Boxer, Joe Lieberman, and John Kerry.
In fall 2008, Leilani became an Ambassador for the National Wildlife Federation and landed a national ad campaign as a Lucky Jeans model, her caption read: "Leilani Münter, Race Car Driver and Environmentalist - Saving rainforests one race at a time." Her ads appeared in Vogue, Vanity Fair, In Style, W Magazine and Lucky Jeans stores across the country.
She is currently putting together a race program she calls her "Eco Dream Team" that will be a vehicle (pun intended) to reach out to millions of US race fans to make eco minded changes to their lives. "Changing out light bulbs, recycling, and using canvas grocery bags may seem like small things," says Münter, "but small changes, when multiplied by millions, can make a big difference."
"I realize that being a race car driver, I am not in an environmentally friendly sport. That is why I am doing everything I can to reduce my carbon footprint such as using renewable energy, recycling, and adopting tropical rainforest for every race I run. As citizens of Earth, we all need to work together to take care of our world. So far, we have not been doing a very good job of that. The situation is dire and requires our urgent attention. Now is the time to make a change. We need to reduce our use of fossil fuels, commit ourselves to renewable energy sources, and conserve the biodiversity that we have on Earth before it is lost forever. Together we can make enough noise to get the attention of the decision makers in our local and national governments. Let's all do our part to help save our Earth for future generations to enjoy as much as we have. It is our responsibility -- and our privilege -- to do so. "
Leilani is also an accomplished public speaker and writer, currently contributing to the green section of the Huffington Post,
rated the most influential blog in the world by the Guardian and topping Time Magazine's blog index.
Many media outlets find it interesting that Leilani once worked as a photo double for actress Catherine Zeta-Jones and that her older sister
Natascha is married to Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir. Her hobbies include scuba diving and snowboarding.
