LEILANI'S DAY ENDS EARLY AT HICKORY
Courtesy of SSRacingOnline.com
Hickory, NC (May 22, 2006) - An accident ended Leilani Munter's day at Hickory Motor Speedway. She finished 17th in her first-ever ASA Late Model Series (ASALMS) race. Munter piloted
the No. 57 Konica Minolta Chevrolet in the Hickory 100 ASALMS Southern Division event, which was held on Saturday afternoon at Hickory Motor Speedway in
Newton (NC). On hand were several representatives of Konica Minolta to cheer on their driver and also participate in the event. The event was labeled “A
Day at the Races with Konica Minolta.”
In only her second short track race since 2003, Munter raced on Hickory Motor Speedway’s famous 3/8 mile banked oval for the first time the day of the event. She didn’t have any test time or prior
experience there, but was still able to turn very competitive speeds. In the beginning laps of the race Munter quickly gained positions, but had to come
down pit-road due to a brake issue. The SS Racing team got the Konica Minolta machine back out on the track and
Munter was then clicking off lap times equal to the leaders.
“I was really happy to hear about my lap times,” said Munter. "Of course I wanted a better finish today, but it being my first race here,
I have to be proud of that.”
Munter was running a smooth race with a goal of maintaining fast speeds and bringing home a solid top running finish. But a mid race incident heading into
turns one and two provided an unfortunate outcome. She was bumped from the rear by a car attempting to make a pass, which spun her into the outside wall.
The incident left heavy damage to the front end forcing Munter to retire from the race.
“I felt that I gave him plenty of room on the inside,” said Munter. “I watched some video afterwards and from the tape there was a clear 2 ˝ car lengths
getting into turn one.”
“We talked after the race and all is OK between us,” Munter added. “And Butch Miller gave me some input on how to handle that type of situation on the track,
which I will apply next time. So I guess there is always something to be learned even out of a bad situation.”
Munter came out of her disappointing day proving that she was very competitive against some of the countries most experienced short track racers. This is only the beginning of a long season,
where Munter will continue to learn and grow as a developmental driver. She has 30+ events on her schedule this year.
“It wasn’t the finishing position I wanted, but most importantly I learned a lot today and look forward to applying what I learned to my upcoming races,”
said Munter. “Of course as a racer I want to be in the top five every event. But I understand that racing throws a lot of tough circumstances your way and
I have to learn from each situation and move forward.”
“Most of all I feel really bad for my sponsors, who have been so supportive of my racing. And my crew chief Deon Deneau who has to fix a torn up race car,”
added Munter.
The next race is less than five days away for Munter. She’ll be racing this Saturday night at Illiana Speedway in Schererville, Ind. Keep up to date with
Leilani Munter as her season unfolds at both www.SSRacingOnline.com and www.LeilaniMunter.com
KONICA MINOLTA PRINTING SOLUTIONS U.S.A., INC., is an innovative developer, manufacturer, and supplier of document printing solutions. The product line
includes color and monochrome laser printers and all-in-ones, and associated supplies and accessories, for general office, electronic publishing, graphic
design, advanced imaging, and home office applications. KONICA MINOLTA PRINTING SOLUTIONS U.S.A., INC. headquarters are in Mobile, Alabama, USA, and its
products are distributed through a broad network of e-commerce, retail, reseller, and distribution partners. For more information please visit printer.KonicaMinolta.com/usa.
KONICA MINOLTA and the KONICA MINOLTA logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of KONICA MINOLTA HOLDINGS, INC. All other trademarks or registered
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Finish / Car # / Driver / Status
1. 83 Beau Slocumb, Running
2. 70 Ryan Tedesco, Running
3. 2 James Buescher, Running
4. 74 Jay Middleton,Running
5. 38 Bo Miller, Running
6. 15 Colt James, Running
7. 188 David Pollen, Running
8. 26 Phil Gill, Running
9. 119 Dalton Zehr, Running
10. 09 John Wes Townley, Running
11. 66 Kevin Willis, Running
12. 12 Mark Reedy, Running
13. 99 Tony Willis, Running
14. 94 Jason Miller, Running
15. 7 Landon Cassill, Mechanical
16. 62 Travis Wilson, Mechanical
17. 57 Leilani Munter, Accident
18. 33 Dillion Oliver, Accident
19. 133 Greg Stewart, Accident
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