LEILANI COMPLETES INTENSE TESTING WITH SS RACING; PREPARES FOR LONG SCHEDULE IN 2006
By Shawn Stewart, SS Racing
SS Racing’s newest driver, Leilani Munter, completed a weeks long testing session. The program began with a day at Anderson Speedway (Anderson, Ind.) a very fast high banked quarter mile. The next three days of testing were held at Illiana Speedway near Chicago, IL.
Illiana and Anderson Speedways were chosen deliberately to provide Leilani two very different track experiences. “We wanted her to feel comfortable and natural in the car. The best way to do that is by driving lots of laps,” said Deon Deneau, Crew Chief for the new Konica Minolta Team.
“This is just the beginning. We have a long season ahead and lots of development planned to include further testing and racing at many different types of tracks,” added Deneau.
SS Racing is known for creating tailored driver development programs that teach their driver’s with steady but realistic growth.
“We are going to take it one step at a time,” said Ken Smith, President of SS Racing. “There is no substitute for lots of good quality seat time. And we have a lot of that planned for Leilani.”
Munter has a 30-40 race schedule planned for the 2006 season, which is the longest yet in her career. Already in last weeks testing Munter logged over 1,000 laps.
“I logged more laps in the last week than I have in the last two years combined,” said Munter, in an excited tone. “It felt great to be back in the car!”
After the intense testing Munter was bit worn out but felt good about the quality of her team and depth of knowledge that was on hand to mentor her.
“I’m really grateful to have Deon, Butch and Zach on my team, they were all very helpful and I learned a lot in four days,” said Munter.
Deon Deneau is a long time Crew Chief for SS Racing and recognized as one of the best in the ASA series. Butch Miller is a 3 time ASA Champion and Zach Niessner has been a long time Car Chief and Driver for SS Racing.
The first racing event for Munter will likely be a weekly show at Illiana Speedway. Long term 2006 plans include races in the ASA Late Model Series Challenge and Northern Divisions. At the end of 2006 Munter will have gained a great deal of experience from racing in 30 or more races. But for now the team is focused on learning and building a steady growth pattern with the rookie driver.
“I know I will have good days and bad days. I need to keep the big picture in mind that this year is about learning and growing as a driver, so I need to be patient,” said Munter. “I hope to have some good solid finishes in there that I can be proud of.”
PR Contact: Shawn Stewart
shawn@racingsolution.net
(619) 857-1172
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