Munter voted NASCAR’s hottest driver

Leilani Munter

"The blare of revving engines, the squeal of tires leaving pit row, it's not an atmosphere where you'd expect someone to be touting the benefits of vegetables, recycling, composting and canvas bags. And that's exactly what makes rising star race car driver Leilani Munter so interesting."

A biology graduate turned race car driver, Munter began racing stock cars 10 years ago, and now competes in both NASCAR and IndyCar. She's been voted "the hottest woman in NASCAR," and is only the fourth woman in history to compete in the Indy Lights Series.

Read Elam's full interview with Munter, and hear how she manages her ironic dual identity of race car driver and environmentalist. The blare of revving engines, the squeal of tires leaving pit row, it's not an atmosphere where you'd expect someone to be touting the benefits of vegetables, recycling, composting and canvas bags. And that's exactly what makes rising star race car driver Leilani Munter so interesting — and so important in these times.

A biology graduate turned race car driver, Leilani began racing stock cars 10 years ago, and now competes in both NASCAR and IndyCar. Her dual identity, as race car driver and environmentalist, is made perfectly plain on her website — she sees herself as the bridge between these two worlds. Having been voted "the hottest woman in NASCAR," and being only the fourth woman in history to compete in the Indy Pro Series, Leilani gets a good deal of media coverage. I thought to focus attention on something entirely different: food. Here was an opportunity to get a window in on a world I knew nothing about, thanks to the insights of a totally unique woman. I sharpened my pencil (actually I batteried up my digital recording device)…