IndyProRacer.com Talks Cars, Guys and Green with Leilani Munter
Indy Pro Series Favorite Forecasts Bright Future for Self, Series
by Allan Brewer
allan@indyproracer.com
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Leilani Munter. Photo: JimHainesIRL
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Leilani Munter took the Indy Pro Series by storm last summer when she made her debut at Kentucky Speedway for Sam Schmidt Motorsports aboard the SMART Papers orange and black Dallara racecar.
She drew acclaim from motor racing's cogniscenti, prompting four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears (who coaches young drivers in the Pro Series) to remark, "Leilani did a great job, I’m looking forward to seeing her race some more."
So were the rest of us!
After qualifying fifth on the grid at Kentucky, at a speed just a tick shy of 190 miles per hour, Leilani drove through the field with confidence and skill until a multi-car smashup put her out of the race with only thirty-nine laps gone.
Misfortune struck again when mechanical problems and a lengthy pitstop set her back in the field in the No. 57 car during the season-ender at Chicagoland Speedway.
Back in North Carolina after a busy off-season in which she became engaged, tested for Panther Racing, appeared in Italian Vogue, and continued her good works in protecting the world's rain forests, Leilani has her sights set on getting back on-track again.
Ever-true to the words of Laurel Thatcher Ulrich that grace her website ("Well-behaved women seldom make history") Leilani took time out to talk to IndyProRacer.com about the upcoming 2008 Indy Pro Series season and where she's going (as always) fast!
IndyProRacer.com: What would be the ideal situation for you as far as a ride in the Indy Pro Series for 2008? Join an existing multi-car team? Get in on the ground floor with a team that’s growing? Start your own team?
LM: I think I gained some respect with my debut last year because I had calls coming in from some really great teams offering me a home for 2008 and asking me what my plans are.
I have fast race cars waiting for me. All the pieces of the puzzle are there now except for one - a sponsor.
SMART Papers has indicated to me that they are not going to be making any decisions until later in the year so I have to open up the discussions and let people know that I need a company to come on board. If I’m not in a car at Homestead, which I still have hope I will be—then I feel that it is very important for me to run at Indianapolis because it is our largest stage. It's a huge audience being on Carb Day for the Indy 500. It's the biggest Indy Pro Series race of the year and I don't just want to be there, I want to win it.
The Necessary Steps Lead to Sponsorship Commitment
IndyProRacer.com: How do you build the relationships that lead to sponsorship? Do you network? What kinds of things do you think are helpful for racers in this regard?
LM: I had a pretty big network of companies that had been talking with me throughout the years I was racing stock cars, so I am still in touch with all of them. Many of the companies that have sponsored me in the past have been from me just picking up the phone. I was cold calling, emailing, and mailing out proposals nonstop. Sometimes sponsorship has come from marketing people, sometimes it has come in from race track personnel that have seen me race and want to help out so they picked up the phone. It is a word of mouth kind of thing, but speaking with the media is also a good way to reach out to a lot of people at once. Sometimes sponsors have called me because they saw me on tv or in a magazine or found my website somehow.
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Leilani Munter. Photo: AllanBrewer
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IndyProRacer.com: Your commitment to the environment is arguably the greatest of any current race-driver at any level. How did you get involved initially in this cause?
LM: I was a scientist before I became a race car driver. Science was a very important part of my childhood because my family is in the medical field. I hold a degree in biology (with a focus on ecology, behavior, and evolution) from the University of California San Diego. While I attended college I volunteered at a wildlife rehabilitation center - we would take in injured and orphaned wildlife and return them to the wild when they were ready. I have also been a certified scuba diver since 1994. So I have cared about conservation and the environment for a long time.
I am extremely concerned about the damage we are doing to our earth and I believe climate change is the most critical problem we need to solve. We stand to lose an incredible amount of biodiversity on both land and water if we continue the path we are on now.
I feel that one of the greatest challenges of our generation is to replace our current fossil fuel energy infrastructure with renewable, clean energy sources such as solar, wind and tidal turbines. Cars need to be run by either hydrogen or electric power. Ethanol could have a future, but first we need to make the use of cellulostic ethanol more economical so we don't use up a food energy source. Cellulostic ethanol would allow us to make fuel out of the stalks of the corn, grass... the stuff we don't eat.
The great thing about making all these changes is the benefits go far beyond our environment. Politically this will make our country more self sufficient and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. The interesting thing to note is that the basics for these technologies are already there, our challenges now lie in the political arena. So please, pay attention when you vote.
IndyProRacer.com: How is the work going so far? Do you have a goal for this year or beyond?
LM: Being in a sport that is not necessarily the most “green” of sports, I wasn’t sure of the reaction I may get by speaking out but the reaction has been really positive. I have a few really exciting environmental programs I will be working on in 2008. One of them even includes me flying to Washington DC to meet with members of Congress on behalf of a new climate security act that will ask for firm caps on carbon emissions in the United States. I am really looking forward to that trip. I want to learn more about the political process of making changes in our country.
No Need for E-Harmony Around Racing Match-Makers
IndyProRacer.com: How did you meet your fiancé?
LM: I met my fiancé through a mutual friend—a motorsports marketing guy. He and one of his buddies started asking me what I was looking for in a guy. I told them I wanted to meet someone that wasn’t involved racing, someone that had other interests. They immediately both said, “We have to introduce her to Kiwi!” My fiance’s nickname is Kiwi because he comes from New Zealand. We met, went on a date, and have been inseperable for the last 3 ½ years. He is an engineer and my background is biology so we are both science geeks. It’s an amazing feeling when you meet the person you want to grow old with. I feel very lucky to have found that.
IndyProRacer.com: Is he a race-fan? If not, what can we do to make him one?
LM: He is an Indy Pro Series fan now! He’s from New Zealand so rugby is really the main sport he follows. Since we have been dating, I think his interest has gone up because he understands the sport so much more. My entire family didn’t know much about racing when I started out. During my first Indy Pro race my whole family was tuned in watching it live on IndyCar.com. They all flew in to watch the next race in person. It means a lot to me to have so much support from my family.
IndyProRacer.com: What are your thoughts on the unification?
LM: I think it is the best thing that could have happened for open wheel racing. I know I came from stock cars but I feel like I am an open wheeler now and I am so excited about what this will do for our sport. It’s going to be a great year for open wheel. I can’t wait to get in a car!
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