Daytona Beach, Florida (Jan 3, 2012) Leilani Münter, race car driver and passionate environmentalist, is bearing down on her goal of driving a “The Cove” themed race car at Daytona International Speedway, arguably one of the most famous race car tracks in the world. The ARCA race at Daytona is February 18 and will air live on SPEED television, which is available in 79 million homes. This will be the first ever ocean awareness themed race car to race the high banks of Daytona. Münter is seeking corporate and philanthropic donations for the remaining funds required, which is $30,000. Leilani has already raised $15,000 in donations prior to this story. To make a tax deductible donation, please visit opsociety.org/securedonation.htm and be sure to write “For Daytona” in the notes.

The Academy-Award winning documentary “The Cove” exposes the annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins in a small cove in Taiji, Japan. It also exposed the undeniable connection between dolphin parks and dolphin captivity, and the largest slaughter of dolphins in the world.  ”The Cove forever changed me. I know race fans will respond to it, they just need to know about it,” said Münter. “The race falls on my birthday, and my greatest wish is to end the slaughter and the ongoing abuse of these beautiful ocean creatures.”

This campaign in designed to educate and engage 75 million race fans in the United States. Director of “The Cove” Louie Psihoyos has committed to giving away 1000 DVDs of “The Cove” at the race, and in addition, will be in attendance for the race alongside dolphin activist Ric O’Barry autographing DVDs of the film. People donating $50 or more will be entered into a raffle to win two pit passes for the Daytona race and two other lucky fans will win two garage passes each. Münter will be wearing a helmet painted for “The Cove” during the race, which will then be auctioned off with all the proceeds going to Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project to continue the fight on the ground in Taiji. To donate to “The Cove’s” awareness campaign at Daytona,click here and be sure to write “For Daytona” in the notes. (...)
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NASCAR driver turned environmentalist, Leilani Munter, takes time out from the 2011 Detroit Auto Show to introduce Green Energy News to the world’s faster electric car, the Inizio, by Li-Ion Motors. Capable of speeds of up to 170mph (RTX model), the Inizio goes from 0-60mph in 3.4 seconds, faster than it’s competition (Tesla Roadster), which reaches 60mph in just about 3.7 seconds. With a price tag of $130,000 USD, the Inizio certainly isn’t a practical choice for everyone; but just like when Chevy announced the 454ci LS6 engine in 1970, the Inizio marks a new era of American muscle… and it sure looks green.

[Source]

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I am currently in the little town with the really big secret: Taiji, Japan, made famous by the Academy Award winning documentary The Cove . I am here as a volunteer for Save Japan Dolphins and Earth Island Institute. This is my second trip here since the killing season began on September 1st. Although I have seen the movie many times, this week was the first time I was in Taiji during a dolphin slaughter.

On October 11, 2010 a pod of dolphins were driven into the cove. The following day, I saw these beautiful creatures swim into the cove and come out dead bodies. The fishermen are very careful to hide the evidence of their actions, hiding the bodies under tarps and keeping people from filming the slaughter. But on this day I got lucky and managed to get close up photos of the fishermen cutting up the dolphins inside the slaughterhouse. They left a door slightly open, and I stuck my camera under it. One of the fishermen eventually spotted me from the grocery store across the street and shut me down, but I got them cutting off the dolphins’ fins and chopping up the torsos. It was one of the hardest things I have ever seen and I will never be the same. This is the footage I collected over those two days:

[To view videos click here]

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Kansas City, Mo (October 1, 2010)  Leilani Münter and the #59 Operation
Free Mark Gibson racing team unloaded the car Thursday morning with high
hopes for the Kansas Lottery 150 at Kansas Speedway after a successful
test session here a week before. They were joined by a number of the
Operation Free veterans who came to help spread the message of the need
for Energy Independence as a matter of national security to a new
audience.

Münter was sitting 21st on the practice board when with 5 minutes left in
the practice the team went out for a mock qualifying run and the car got
loose coming out of turn 1 and backed into the wall. “We had been
loosening the car up all practice” Münter said “then we taped up the nose
and put stickers on to take a mock qualifying run to see how it would
handle, the car felt great through 3 and 4 as I was getting up to speed
but as I went through turn 1 it got loose and backed into the fence.
Finding the edge is part of the game, and I certainly found it yesterday.
It’s obviously not what I wanted for my first ARCA race back since
Daytona, but in racing we all have our bad days and today it was my turn.”

The MGR crew worked to get the back-up car ready and the team used the
qualifying run to shake down the car since Leilani hadn’t had any laps in
it. The car was way too loose and Münter spun coming out of turn four but
did a great job keeping the car off the wall and went through the grass.
(...)
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KANSAS CITY, KS (September 21, 2010) Stock car racing fans at Kansas Speedway on September 30 will receive an unusual message from one of the cars speeding around the track: America needs to compete in the “Race to Energy Independence.”
 
Operation Free, a group of U.S. military veterans advocating for clean energy and climate change reform, today announced their sponsorship of race car driver Leilani Münter, who is also a clean energy advocate, environmental activist and was recently named the #1 eco athlete by Discovery’s Planet Green. For the September 30 ARCA Series Kansas Lottery 150 race at Kansas Speedway, Leilani’s car (#59) will feature Operation Free’s logo, images of clean energy sources, and “Race to Energy Independence” prominently displayed and will deliver their message that climate change and our energy posture are national security threats. The “Race to Energy Independence” is partially powered by sponsor Sturman Industries, manufacturer of advanced digital valve technology that improves engine efficiency and reduces fuel usage. 
 (...)
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By Laine Bergeson

Leilani Münter is a passionate environmentalist — and a rising star in the motorsports world. It may seem like a paradoxical pairing. But in Münter’s mind, that’s a good thing. She believes that the faster she drives, the easier it will be to sell her environmental message to the sport’s 100 million U.S. fans — a group not widely associated with overt ecological concern.

(...)
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The Carbon Free Girl Special from mediamente^ on Vimeo.

LeilaniMunter.com/CarbonFreeGirl.com

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ARCA driver and environmental activist Leilani Munter, 34, expects to do at least five more ARCA races this year, pending sponsorhip. She was hoping to be back on the track at Pocono Raceway on June 5th, but sponsorship didn’t materialize. According to Munter, it is looking good that she will return to her Mark Gibson Racing Dodge later this year. She says, “I have good race cars waiting for me, just need some corporate support.”

“Tim Cindric of Penske Racing connected Leilani and Mark Gibson Racing
last year; to see if they could put something together with Munter. They were not able to get sponsorship in time to work together in 2009. After keeping in touch throughout the year, Mark Gibson says, “Leilani was able to secure sponsorship from NextEra Energy for the Daytona test in December andGREENandSAVE for the race in February.”(...)
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Watch every Friday for our next FollowFriday!

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