pressdog Loves the Ladies, Holiday Edition: Leilani Münter

We're pleased to bring you the Women of pressdog.com, a holiday gift from female racers who have done Q&As with the p-dog over the years.

First up is the eco-friendly hotty, Leilani Münter, who says ..

i am honored to be one of the pdog women. we're just like charlie's angels only there are four of us (pdog note: who are the other three? Stay tuned.) and we all have helmets and your name isn't charlie! :)

answers are below, can you tell your readers that i'm sorry, but i was just too lazy to do caps today.

Fair enough, let's get to it. Make sure to read the part where Leilani talks about testing with a team soon below. Insert me breathing into a bag here.

pressdog: Bestest Christmas present ever:

Leilani: a kitten from my big sister, I named her "christmas" but we called her "christy" for short. i was a little girl and i spent the rest of the night following her all over my house, i was in love.

pressdog: Have you ever spent Christmas in Hawaii (Leilani's mother was from Hawaii)? Does it rock?

Lelani: i haven't spent christmas in hawaii yet but i imagine it would rock because... well, because hawaii pretty much rocks all year round. mele kalikimaka.

pressdog: What was the best part of Christmas growing up in Minnesota?

Lelani: ah, so many things! having a white christmas, throwing snowballs, snowboarding, ice skating, building snow men, sledding, leaving food for wildlife and the excitement of finding their tracks in the snow the next morning, broom ball on the lake (a game i played with my cousins, sort of like hockey but with brooms!) everything that comes along with snow and winter. not to mention the scenery, snow makes minnesota beautiful.

pressdog: When do you start getting your schwerve back on for the next season? 

Lelani: funny you should ask. i just ordered a sweet looking new racing suit and will be getting my seat fitted in a new race car next week. i should hit the track in about 11 days, you will have to guess the location. i will give you a hint. it is a big track with palm trees, a big lake in the middle and a tiny airport right next door. and rumor has it i won't be the only open wheel girl at the test.

pressdog: Do you read all the @leilanimunter replies to your Twitter stream? If yes, does anything in there shock/disturb you?

Lelani: i do. nothing disturbing so far. i can only hope i have a lot to look forward to in terms of disturbing and creepy tweets. i did meet a guy once at a party and when we were introduced he excitedly exclaimed, "i know you! i follow your tweets!" it wasn't creepy at all, it just took me by surprise. twitter has changed the game of life. we are all narrating our own life stories, 140 characters at a time.

pressdog: Movie that always makes you laugh (along with Office Space):

Lelani: napoleon dynamite, gosh!

pressdog: Top of Leilani's Christmas wish list this year (no fair saying "a sponsor" or "a carbon-neutral world"):

Lelani: solar panels for our house, a karma by fisker, or a tesla. i will take any of those three. world peace would be pretty cool too but i'd rather one of the electric sports cars, to be honest. i kid people, i kid.

pressdog: Do you have a real Christmas tree or a fake one (or none at all)?

Lelani: it is tradition in our new house to get a baby tree in a pot as our christmas tree, decorate it, and after christmas we plant it. i get so bummed when i see all the trees people cut down for christmas, i think we should change that tradition so we aren't killing so many trees every year. it's a happy time for people, but man if you are coniferous tree it's a seasonal massacre -- it must be absolutely terrifying to be an evergreen in december.

pressdog: How do you feel about holiday decorations? Griswold or minimalist?

Lelani: i am usually a minimalist but this year we ordered a bunch of solar powered LED lights, so we are going to be a little more along the lines of a granola crunching griswold house.

pressdog: On New Year's Eve, are you more likely to be the designated driver or drive-ee?

Lelani: neither of us will drive, we will take a cab (and when i say cab, i don't mean nascar)

pressdog: During holiday family times do you get a lot of Leilani Munter the driver questions or do they treat you like Leilani the cousin, niece, etc.

Lelani: no, we sing songs and play games and talk and laugh and have a great time just hanging out. we are a very loud family - we call it munterama. racing usually never comes up unless i bring it up on my own.

pressdog: What does the Kiwi (Leilani's husband, Craig, who is from New Zealand) want for Christmas (no fair saying "a sponsor" or "a carbon-neutral world")?

Lelani: i am guessing he is wishing for a wife that cooks and cleans on a consistent basis. i am a better race car driver than most wives, so i have that going for me but... well, i understand the concept of cooking and cleaning, just not as it applies to me. i haven't really been domesticated yet. but i'm working on it. i make a fantastic white wine mushroom risotto and my fried bananas are out of this world!

pressdog: Any special holiday traditions (for example, my family always watches Christmas Vacation on Christmas Eve).

Lelani: we sing songs around the tree and then open presents. on christmas morning, we open our stocking gifts - yes, santa still comes to our house. i never gave up on childhood. say what you want about me, but i am no quitter!

Check out previous Q&A's with Leilani here and here.

Check out the other Women of pressdog.com here.

Comments

[Roy Hobbson]

"this year we ordered a bunch of solar powered LED lights"

This was the least surprising thing I've ever read. And yet, I still feel incredibly selfish for my earth-destroying electric-powered lights.

Damn you, you selfless do-gooders!!!!! Quit making me feel evil!!

[redd carr]

sorry if I'm dense, but does this mean she's testing a stock car?

[pressdog]

Yes. A stock car. In a place that I think starts with "Day."

[redd carr]

Yeah. The lake and everything. I was just hoping there was an open-wheel course with some lake I didn't know about.

[Tom]

Maybe she was talking about Homestead? On second thought its a medium track, small lake, and an Air Force base next door.

Great interview pdog! Thanks for perking up the off season!!

[Steve Barnes]

"rumor has it i won't be the only open wheel girl at the test"

Danica ... ya think ???

[Mike R]

No wonder she has a hard time finding a sponsor to put her in an open wheel car. There's nothing annoying or pretentious about her. She's so obviously normal and just seems to be a very cool person. Great interview and great answers. Hope the test goes well for Leilani...among other things meaning that the team shows up actually prepared to run a proper test, unlike her experience in the FIL car earlier this year.

[Jordan Flipsyde]

Your blog has an I liked the faith! You defend your interests, I get my light, nothing more.