JustPlainRacin Blog

As some of you know, I took some time off to handle an illness. Cancer visited the family tree by way of me. It was Prostrate Cancer and I had a Radical Prostectomy (for those in Rio Linda, I had it taken out). As of September 02, 2009 I am Cancer FREE! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

I am ready to get back to the website and I hope to be covering the Barrett - Jackson Auto Action at the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas on Oct. 7 - 10, 2009. Hopefully, able to get great images and stories just hours after the auction.

April 11th History Ends The “Training Track Of Champions”!

Sometimes others say things better than I can. The following was sent to me by “Terry”… These are his words…

For the last couple of days I have hit every open wheel message board I could find. Reading others views. Seeing all sides. And I decided before I posted anything, that I would go through all of the emotions. And with every email, text message and phone call, I went through every emotion a person can have. And I sit here and type this with such a heavy heart. For the last few days I could not find the words. I almost feel like I am sitting here writing a eulogy for a lost loved one.

I have and always will have great memories of Manzanita Speedway. I grew up there. Just like most of you have. I was fortunate to be able to race there like so many of my hero’s had before me. The history is so rich and deep. I can remember my first race there. I can also remember my last as a driver. I remember as a kid growing up how badly I wanted to race there. The first time I made a lap on the half-mile, I got chills down my spine. And with tapes and photo’s I will be able to have that memory with me for the rest of my life.

I sit here and think about all the races I have seen at Manzanita. I think back and replay some of the greatest races in my lifetime. For my generation. How could we forget Ron Shuman, Leland McSpadden and Richard Griffin battling lap after lap. I will never forget Steve Sussex Jr. winning the Midget Western World by a bumper. Jerry Coons Jr. Winning the Western World from the back. Andy Reinbold getting his first win last year at the Hank Arnold. Jeremy Sherman joining the elite 100 plus wins club. Nathan High showing the USAC guys that locals can run up front. Kiley Fellars winning all those races and his Championship. Windy celebrating his 50th year at Manzanita Speedway. How could we forget last years Western… Hockett and Swindell battling until the end. And most certainly the best damn weekly non-wing short track racing this country has to offer. I could not possibly list every race that I keep in my memory. But these are a few events that stand out.

And to think of the drivers that Manzanita Speedway has produced. Man that’s a long impressive list. The drivers that went on to become bigger. And show the rest of the country that Arizona does have the talent. There isn’t a racer in the country that does not know about Manzanita. Training TRACK OF CHAMPIONS!

And who can forget the Manzy Mag? One of the best race track programs across this country. I still remember the funny cartoon drawing in them as a kid.

Thanks to Windy Mcdonald. He has put out books that will forever keep the memory of Manzanita Speedway alive. He put together the best photographic history book racing has seen. And he did it for the love of the sport and Manzanita Speedway. And hopefully Windy can produce a book that left off with his last one. One that will take the rest of the history to the end, April 11th, 2009. And thanks to Windy for some of the greatest nick names. Ricky “The Racer”, “Chargin” Charles, “little Bit” Chad, “the Bullet” Bob Ream Jr.

Thank You to Keith Hall as well. Year after year he gave us a place to race. A place to meet our friends. A place to share the sport we all love so much. Rather you like Keith or not, He kept us all racing.

These are just some of my thoughts. And I thought that I would share them with the rest of you. While it is easy to point fingers and lay blame. I felt that I would share some of the positives I am taking away with me. Thank all of you…. The fans, The Drivers, The Crew members, Corner Workers, Front Office, General Managers, Push Truck Drivers and the Medics for making it as special as it was. Thank you everyone behind the scenes. Thanks for the long hard hours. The blood, sweat and tears we have all shared there. Thank all of you for being part of my family.

Barrett-Jackson, My First Time…

01/14/2009 Scottsdale, AZ Barrett-Jackson Auction.

What a great place to be with SUPER weather. Cars, cars, cars, cars, cars, cars… You get the idea… No matter what type of car you like, dream about or ? its here,

Its a long day to try and see all the cars, exhibits, food to and things I haven’t seen yet. To REALLY see the whole event takes a minimum of 2 days (and they say the economy is bad!). I saw a new 09? Corvette, no real miles go for about $25k and a (year?) Z28 IROC Camero go for about $14K?

After all the cars I saw today, One is out there for you!

To see images from today, click here!

Barrett-Jackson Auction Starts Today!

Scottsdale, AZ. 01/11/2009

I’m not particularly good at word smithing or what some people call reporting. I’ll try and get some fantastic images from this venue. Where I called home for a few decades are getting socked with rain and snow and this may warm them up as well as some other cold weather places.

This is one off the first cars I saw after getting my credentials for the event. Not all is built, the auction starts Tuesday. The list of cars is here.

To see images from today, click here!

Whew!!! I’m glad that one’s over!

The year that is. I came to Phoenix, AZ. to visit for a couple of months. That was about November 2006. I had taken a month to take images of “Route 66″. Well, the old health thing started to go backwards. 4 back surgeries (last one 12/29/08) , 2 eye surgeries (so far. I’m not finished yet.) and another hospital visit of about 6 days.

The beginning of this year feels good. I’m not fully physically healed yet.

Hopefully, a New Year, a new outlook and a new website will benefit us all!

December 17, 2008 (Daytona Beach, FL) - EM Motorsports and Hylton Motorsports are proud to announce that Leilani Münter has been hired to test the team’s 2005 Ford Taurus during this weekend’s ARCA Series open test at Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR Legend James Hylton, 1966 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, will be Leilani’s mentor and coach throughout the weekend. “I am thrilled to have a driver of Leilani’s caliber in our race car. Her proven talent combined with her determination to succeed in the sport will be a winning combination in the ARCA Series,” said Hylton, “I am looking forward to seeing her race in the ARCA 200 at Daytona on February 7th.”

Leilani Münter has been racing since 2001 and last year became the fourth woman in history to race in the Indy Pro Series, the development league of IndyCar. Prior to running in the Indy Pro Series, she spent 6 years in stock car racing, earning 19 top ten finishes and 9 top five finishes in 39 starts. Leilani also sat the record at Texas Motor Speedway for the highest finish for a female driver at the 1.5 mile speedway. In 2007, Leilani moved into the Indy Pro Series and the open wheel community quickly took notice when she qualified fifth and had a very impressive run in her debut at Kentucky Spe edway. This performance earned her praise from the Indy Pro garage, including four time Indy 500 Champion Rick Mears who said, “Leilani did a great job, I am looking forward to seeing her race some more.”

But no one is looking forward to Leilani getting back in a race car more than Leilani.

“I can’t thank Hylton Motorsports and EM Motorsports enough for this opportunity. There is no better racetrack in the world to get behind the wheel of a stock car than Daytona,” said Leilani, “To have the opportunity to work with James Hylton, a true legend in the sport, is an absolute honor and I know I will learn a lot from him.”

Sponsorship opportunities are available for Daytona and the remainder of the 2009 season. For information, contact Prime Time Media (New York City Office) 718-374-5146 or email prime@primemedia.info and for Leilani Münter’s management, personal services agreements, and media requests please contact Marissa Nilon, Wasserman Media Group mnilon@wmgllc.com or call Dan Levy at 919-256-1600.

About the Carbon Offset

Leilani will continue with her commitment she started in 2007 to offset her carbon footprint by adopting an acre of rainforest for every race she enters. As she did for all her Indy Pro Series events (both races and tests), Leilani will be offsetting her race car’s emissions with World Land Trust.

“I felt a responsibility to do something about the impact I have on the environment because of my racing career,” said Leilani, “I am speaking out about my actions in hopes of bringing awareness to race fans and the racing community. Carbon offsetting is not the solution to climate change, but I had to do something about my unavoidable emissions.”

Leilani holds a degree in biology for the University of California San Diego and is well known for her support of environmental causes. She has made three trips to Capitol Hill this year to speak to members of Congress on behalf of climate change legislation and is an Ambassador for the National Wildlife Federation.

“World Land Trust helps local organizations buy, protect, and replant tropical rainforest to help absorb the carbon we pour into the air,” said Byron Swift, President of World Land Trust-US, “Every time Leilani races she helps us purchase one more acre of endangered tropical rainforest. It’s just great that she’s doing this and at the same time raising awareness in the racing comm unity of the need to balance our use of carbon.”

Leilani is a long time vegetarian, an animal friendly and environmentally sound diet. An area of rain forest the size of seven football fields is destroyed every minute to make room for grazing cattle and an average meat-eater requires about 20 times as much land as a vegetarian to fulfill their yearly calorie requirements. The United Nations determined that raising animals for food generates almost 50 percent more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, SUVs, trucks, and airplanes in the world combined. In addition, a report from the University of Chicago determined that switching to a vegan diet is 40 percent more effective in countering global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Toyota Prius.

For more information, visit http://worldlandtrust-us.org.

About James Hylton

James Hylton is a NASCAR Legend and at age 74, he is the oldest active NASCAR driver. He was the 1966 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year and finished second in NASCAR Sprint Cup points on three occasions, scored wins at Richmond and Talladega and captured four pole positi ons in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. During his NASCAR Sprint Cup career, Hylton has recorded 140 Top-Five finishes and 301 Top-Ten finishes. He will be attempting the Daytona 500 in February and will be the oldest driver to ever race it if he qualifies. For more information visit http://jameshylton.com

About EM Motorsports

EM Motorsports, previously R&J Racing, is a NASCAR Sprint Cup and ARCA Series race team founded in 2004 and is currently owned by John Carter and Doug Barron. The team has been the home of drivers including Bill Elliott, Boris Said, Joe Nemechek, John Andretti and Johnny Sauter. EM Motorsport has formed an alliance with Hylton Motorsports and will be fielding a race car for James Hylton in the 2009 Sprint Cup Series, including the Daytona 500. For more information visit http://em-motorsports.com

About Leilani Münter

Leilani Münter is a professional race car driver and environme ntal activist. She holds a bachelors degree in Biology specializing in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution from the University of California San Diego. Leilani adopts an acre of rainforest for every race she runs and is a long time vegetarian and eco activist. She is politically active in the legislative fight for the environment and has made several visits to Capitol Hill to speak with members of Congress on behalf of climate change legislation.

Leilani is the fourth woman in history to race in the Indy Pro Series, the development league of IndyCar. She set the record for the highest finish for a female driver in the history of the Texas Motor Speedway when she finished fourth in 2006. Her racing accomplishments have landed her on the pages of USA Today, Italian Vogue, Esquire, ESPN and Sports Illustrated named her one of the top ten female race car drivers in the world.

With family ties in the music community – her brother-in-law is Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir – Leilani is a self described “vegetarian hippie chick.” She blogs on the green section of the Huffington Post, rated number one on Time Magazine’s blog index, and documents her efforts to go green on her eco site http://carbonfreegirl.com.

Tulsa, OK (November 30, 2008) — “The Business of Racing” Driver Development Seminar is set for Tuesday, January 13, 2009, from 10:00 AM-3:30 PM, held in conjunction with the 2009 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. This learning experience, held at the Hicks Community Center (approximately five miles from the QuickTrip Center’s Tulsa Expo Raceway where the Chili Bowl is held), is designed for race car drivers in the beginning stages of pursuing a professional auto racing career, although all ages and levels of experience are welcome.

Drivers attending or participating in the Chili Bowl who choose to attend the Seminar will receive all of the tools necessary to know how to approach “the business of racing,” and will be able to apply those tools directly and immediately in preparation for the 2009 racing season. One parent of each driver will also be invited to attend the Seminar to learn about the important role they will play in the development of their child’s career (parent’s attendance is not mandatory).

Seminar topics will include: Marketing - how to get and keep sponsors; Public Relations and the Media - what to say to whom and when to say it; Presentation - first impressions count, on and off the track; Materials Development - how to put together an impressive portfolio to follow you through your career; Fitness and Nutrition - getting and keeping a fit mind and body specifically designed for racing; Legal / Insurance / Protecting Yourself / Salary - how to protect yourself and make the most out of your career from start to finish; Speaking - representing the people and organizations who allow you to race; Fan Relations - dealing with the demands of being a role model and taking care of your fans; On-Track - internal focus and external communication to get the job done right; Team Relations - working within a true team environment and contributing to their overall success; Driver Safety - making sure you take the checkered flag each time you strap in; Communications - how to relate to each person in your racing career effectively.

“The Business of Racing” Driver Development Seminar will include in-depth information on a variety of subjects intended to give any driver the tools he or she needs to succeed as a professional in auto racing, as well as an extensive Q & A after each seminar topic, materials/handbook/CD of all seminar information, lunch, snacks, beverages, PLUS one 30-minute personal coaching session via the telephone for the driver any time during the two months after the Chili Bowl concludes. Drivers and parents will be asked ahead of time what specific information they want to find out through this Seminar, and the Seminar topics will be adjusted and customized to answer those questions. The driver does not have to be a Midget car racer to register for this Seminar.

Please note that there is a limited enrollment cap for this Seminar, so reserve your seat today!

For more information and to request a registration form for “The Business of Racing” Driver Development Seminar, please e-mail: RacingPR@oh.rr.com (include your phone number so we can communicate with you immediately about this opportunity)!