Leilani Maaja Münter
Hawaiian + German
Race Car Driver + Environmental Activist
Website: leilani.com
Instagram: @leilanimunter
Born in Rochester, Minnesota, Leilani is the daughter of a Hawaiian mother and German father. She’s the world’s first green race car driver, and considered “one of the top ten female race car drivers in the world” by Sports Illustrated. Leilani is popularly known for carrying clean energy and renewable energy (wind and solar power) messages on her racecars.
Leilani earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, San Diego. With a specialization in ecology, behavior and evolution, she certainly found an interesting way to merge her educational passion with the racecar world. She became a photo and stunt double for actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, and used her earnings to put herself through racing school.
Leilani then went on to make her racing debut in the Allison Legacy Series in Southern California (2001), with a 7th place finish. In 2004, she entered her first speedway start and qualified fourth at Texas Motor Speedway. During this race, she set the record for the highest qualifying effort for a female driver. And by 2006, she received the highest finish for a female driver in the history of Texas Motor Speedway, finishing 4th. “That same year, Leilani became the first woman in history to qualify in the 45 year history of the Bettenhausen Classic in Indiana.”
Continuing to break records, Leilani’s race team became the first to power their pit box from 100% solar power in 2014. To date, she has 9 top fives, 19 top tens, and 33 top 15 finishes in 50 starts; has raced both open wheel cars and stock cars; and currently drives in the Arca racing series on the Venturini Motorsports team.
Leilani has been named an ‘Eco Hero’ by Glamour Magazine; a recipient of Elle Magazine’s ‘genius award’ (2012); sits on the board of the Oceanic Preservation Society; is an ambassador for Ric O’barry’s Dolphin Project; and has been featured in several media outlets, including: Huffington Post, CNN, Coco Eco Magazine, Vogue, and Vanity Fair.
Interesting facts: “since 2007, Leilani has been adopting an acre of rainforest for every race she runs.” She’s an animal rights activist, a vegan since 2011, and drives an electric Tesla Model S, which she charges with solar panels on the roof of her home.
Sources: Leilani.com and IMDB.com