For immediate release
Leilani Münter Management: Marissa Nilon, Wasserman Media Group
mnilon@wmgllc.com
or call Dan Levy at 919-256-1600.
(December 17, 2008) Daytona Beach, FL - EM Motorsports and Hylton Motorsports is proud to announce that Leilani Münter has been hired to test the team's 2005 Ford Taurus during this weekend's ARCA Series open test at Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR Legend James Hylton, 1966 NASCAR Rookie of the
Year, will be Leilani's mentor and coach throughout the weekend.
"I am thrilled to have a driver of Leilani's caliber in our race car. Her proven talent combined with her determination to succeed in this sport is a winning combination in the ARCA Series," said Hylton, "I am looking forward to seeing her race in the ARCA 200 at Daytona on February 7th."
Leilani Münter has been racing since 2001 and last year became the fourth woman in history to race in the Indy Pro Series, the development league of IndyCar. Prior to running in Indy Pro Series, she spent 6 years in stock car racing earning 19 top ten finishes and 9 top five finishes in 39 starts including setting the record at Texas Motor
Speedway for the highest finish for a female driver in the history of the 1.5 mile speedway. In 2007 Leilani moved into the Indy Pro Series and the open wheel community quickly took notice when she qualified 5th and had a very impressive run in her debut at Kentucky Speedway, earning her praise from the Indy garage, including four time Indy 500 Champion Rick Mears who said, "Leilani did a great job, I am looking forward to seeing her race some more."
But no one is looking forward to Leilani getting back in a race car more than Leilani.
"I can't thank Hylton Motorsports and EM Motorsports enough for this opportunity. There is no better racetrack in the world to get behind the wheel
of a stock car than Daytona," said Leilani, "To have the opportunity to work with James Hylton, a true legend in the sport, is an absolute honor and
I know I will learn a lot from him."
Sponsorship opportunities are available for Datyona and the remainder of the 2009 season. For information on sponsorship, personal services agreements, and media requests please contact Leilani Münter's management: Marissa Nilon, Wasserman Media Group mnilon@wmgllc.com or call Dan Levy at 919.256.1600.
About the Carbon Offset
Leilani will continue with her commitment she started in 2007 to offset her carbon footprint by adopting an acre of rainforest for every race she enters.
As she did for all her Indy Pro Series events (both races and tests), Leilani will be offsetting her race car's emissions with World Land Trust.
"I felt a responsibility to do something about the impact I have on the environment because of my racing career," said Leilani, "I am speaking out
about my actions in hopes of bringing awareness to race fans and the racing community. Carbon offsetting is not the solution to climate change,
but I had to do something about my unavoidable emissions."
Leilani, who holds a degree in biology for the University of California San Diego, is well known for her support of environmental causes. She has made three
trips to Capitol Hill this year to speak to members of Congress on behalf of climate change legislation and is an Ambassador for the National Wildlife
Federation.
“World Land Trust helps local organizations buy, protect, and replant tropical rainforest to help absorb the carbon we pour into the air,"
said Byron Swift, President of World Land Trust-US, "Every time Leilani races she helps us purchase one more acre of endangered tropical rainforest.
It’s just great that she’s doing this and at the same time raising awareness in the racing community of the need to balance our use of carbon.”
Leilani is a long time vegetarian, an animal friendly and environmentally sound diet. An area of rain forest the size of seven football fields is
destroyed every minute to make room for grazing cattle and an average meat-eater requires about 20 times as much land as a vegetarian to fulfill
their yearly calorie requirements. The United Nations determined that raising animals for food generates almost 50 percent more greenhouse-gas
emissions than all the cars, SUVs, trucks, and airplanes in the world combined. In addition, a report from the University of Chicago determined
that switching to a vegan diet is 40 percent more effective in countering global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Toyota Prius.
For more information, visit
http://worldlandtrust-us.org.
About James Hylton
James Hylton is a NASCAR Legend and at age 74, he is the oldest living active NASCAR driver. He was the 1966 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year
and finished second in NASCAR Sprint Cup points on three occasions, scored wins at Richmond and Talladega and captured four pole positions in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition.
During his NASCAR Sprint Cup career, Hylton has recorded 140 Top-Five finishes and 301 Top-Ten finishes. He will be attempting the Daytona 500
in February and will be the oldest driver to ever race it if he qualifies. For more information visit
http://jameshylton.com
About EM Motorsports
EM Motorsports, previously R&J Racing, is a NASCAR Sprint Cup and ARCA Series race team founded in 2004 and is currently owned by John Carter
and Doug Barron. The team has been the home of drivers including Bill Elliott, Boris Said, Joe Nemechek, John Andretti and Johnny Sauter. EM
Motorsport has formed an alliance with Hylton Motorsports and will be fielding a race car for Jame Hylton in the 2009 Sprint Cup Series, including
the Daytona 500. For more information visit
http://em-motorsports.com
About Leilani Münter
Leilani Münter is a professional race car driver and environmental activist. She holds a bachelors degree in Biology specializing in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution from the University of California San Diego. Leilani adopts an acre of rainforest for every race she runs and is a long time vegetarian and eco activist. She is politically active in the legistlative fight for the environment and has made several visits to Capitol Hill to speak with members of Congress on behalf of climate change legislation.
Leilani is the fourth woman in history to race in the Indy Pro Series, the development league of IndyCar. She set the record for the highest finish for a female driver in the history of the Texas Motor Speedway when she finished fourth in 2006. Her racing accomplishments have landed her on the pages of USA Today, Italian Vogue, Esquire, ESPN and Sports Illustrated named her one of the top ten female race car drivers in the world.
With family ties in the music community – her brother-in-law is Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir – Leilani is a self described “vegetarian hippie chick.” She blogs on the green section of the
Huffington Post, rated number one on Time Magazine’s blog index, and documents her efforts to go green on her eco site
http://carbonfreegirl.com.
