James Harvey Hylton Born (1934-08-26) August 26, 1934 (age 77) Roanoke, Virginia, United States Awards 1966 NASCAR Grand National Rookie of the Year NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career 601 race(s) run over 27 year(s) Best finish 2nd - 1966, 1967, 1971 First race 1964 Old Dominion 400 (Manassas) Last race 1993 TranSouth 500 (Darlington) First win 1970 Richmond 500 (Richmond) Last win 1972 Talladega 500 (Talladega) Wins Top tens Poles 2 301 4 NASCAR Nationwide Series career 4 race(s) run over 4 year(s) 2011 position 140th Best finish 135th – 2008 First race 1982 Coca-Cola 200 (Rockingham) Last race 2011 Royal Purple 200 (Darlington) Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career 1 race(s) run over 1 year(s) 2011 position 102nd Best finish 102nd – 2011 First race 2011 Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service 125 (Pocono) Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0 Statistics current as of March 17, 2012. 2012 ARCA Racing Series Debut season 1975 Current team Hylton Motorsports Car no. 48 Wins 0 Poles 0 Best finish 13th in 1998, 2001, 2002

Hylton's 1985 Monte Carlo Winston Cup car

James Harvey Hylton (born August 26, 1934) is a part-time race car driver. He is a two-time winner in NASCAR and competes in the ARCA RE/MAX Series,finishing 16th in points in 2006. He made headlines while attempting to qualify for the 2007 Daytona 500 at age 72. He was to also attempt to qualify for the 2009 Daytona 500 at age 74 in the #60 Dodge for Carter/Simo Racing, an alliance with E&M Motorsports and Simo Racing for at least the Daytona 500, with Boris Said in the #08 car but after carburetor and ignition problems and without any track practice he was forced to withdraw.

Early life[link]

James Hylton was born on August 26, 1934 to a Roanoke, Virginia family and was one of thirteen children. Hylton's early years centered primarily around farming but he soon found himself, like many other southern teenagers, immersed in the world of stock car auto racing.

Auto Racing career[link]

Hylton's career in auto racing began in the late fifties when he began working as a mechanic for the legendary Rex White. James, Rex and Louis Clements teamed to win 26 races and most importantly the 1960 NASCAR Grand National championship. In 1964, White scaled back his driving duties and James began his tenure as crew chief for the Ned Jarrett / Bondy Long team. During the 1964 season the team won 14 races and finished second in points. In 1965, the team won 12 races and won the NASCAR Grand National championship.

On July 8, 1964, Hylton made his first Grand National start at the Old Dominion 400 at Old Dominion Speedway at Manassas, Virginia. James finished 19th and collected $100 for his efforts. Things improved dramatically in 1966, as Hylton finished second in the points chase and won the coveted NASCAR Rookie of the Year award. James also captured his first pole at Starlite Speedway in Monroe, North Carolina. Hylton again finished second in points during the 1967 season while driving Dodges for owner Bud Hartje. James was a model of consistency during this two year period as he had 46 top five finishes in 87 races.

Hylton won the NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year honors in 1966, and finished second in the season points standings. He won only two races over his career. Although, he only won two races, he was always in the thick of the championship hunt. He finished in the Top 10 in the season points standings in ten of the twelve years between 1966 to 1977.

In the 1972 Talladega 500, Hylton won under interesting circumstances, when Goodyear supplied teams with a special tire for super speedways. However the tire shredded after a while, and because Hylton's team could not afford the new tires they ran with the old ones. Hylton and Ramo Stott, another low tier driver who also could not afford the tires, skated around the other cars, and Hylton won it by less than a second.

On June 24, 2006, Hylton started his first Busch Series race since June 27, 1982 at the AT&T 250 held at the Milwaukee Mile. This made him the oldest driver to start in a 'top level' NASCAR event.

Dual role[link]

In 1968, James became a car owner / driver, a dual role that continues to this day. James found his way to victory lane for the first time on March 1, 1970 at the Richmond 500, driving the familiar number 48 Ford. During the late sixties and early seventies, Hylton amassed an amazing consistency record that was rivaled only by those of Richard Petty and Cale Yarbrough.

On August 6, 1972, James forever etched his name in the history books by claiming the Talladega 500. Hylton led 106 laps of the 188 lap race and won $24,865 for the day. Hylton won by one car length over ARCA legend Ramo Stott.

Hylton continued driving the full schedule until 1982, when he handed over driving duties to Canadian driver Trevor Boys. James soldiered on as an owner in NASCAR Winston Cup until 1993.

ARCA circuit[link]

James moved to the ARCA circuit during the 1990s, and ran in 16 of 23 ARCA REMAX Series schedule in 2006. He finished 18th in the final points standings. Hylton's final planned race was at the inaugural race at Iowa Speedway, but has since returned, running nearly every race.

Comeback[link]

At the age of 74 James Hylton returned to Daytona to attempt to qualify for the 2009 Daytona 500. Hylton has signed on with E&M Motorsports for the 2009 Daytona 500.

Hylton attempted to make the 2007 Daytona 500 in equipment leased from Richard Childress Racing, sponsored by GrahamFest and Retirement Living TV. [1] ^[1][2] Hylton said "I am doing this for seniors to show that at 70 years old, you don't have to go hunting for an old-folks home. You can go race for a little bit."

In the final practice session for the 2007 Daytona 500 he posted the 15th fastest time of 48.532 sec./185.445 m.p.h.^[3] He was in a position to qualify for the Daytona 500 with 10 laps remaining in the qualifier when he was leading, then a caution for a wreck was called and on the re-start he fell out of the draft due to a clutch problem. He did not qualify for the race. It was announced that he was going to attempt several others races in 2007, including the UAW-Ford 500, but these plans did not come to fruition.

Hylton was planning on qualifying his #48 car sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans for the ARCA race at Rockingham on April 19, 2009. Hylton lost that sponsorship on April 16, 2009, due to ARCA placing a ban on the organization's logo that contains a version of the Confederate Battle Flag. Since this ban breached the contract already entered into by ARCA and the SCV, the SCV cancelled it's sponsorship and participation with the race. ARCA was forced to refund the organization's fees due to the breach of contract. Hylton has since become a member of the SCV.^[4]

Hylton planned to attempt the 2010 Daytona 500 [2], but no deal came to fruition. In 2011, Hylton set a record at the 2011 Royal Purple 200 in Darlington as the oldest driver in history to start a NASCAR race in the top three divisions. Hylton will compete at Pocono for Norm Benning Racing.

References[link]

• Drivers statistics at racing-reference.info
• James Hylton on Decades of Racing

External links[link]

• Official website
• PPacing-Reference driver|James_Hylton}}

Leilani Maaja Münter
File:LeilaniCloseUp.jpg
Nationality	American
Born	(1976-02-18) February 18, 1976 (age 36) Rochester, Minnesota
2012 ARCA Racing Series
Debut season	2010
Current team	Tony Marks Racing
Car no.	12
Starts	3
Wins	0
Poles	0
Best finish	121st in 2010
Previous series
2007	Firestone Indy Lights

Leilani Münter (born on February 18, 1976) is an American race car driver and environmental activist. She drives in the ARCA Racing Series, and previously drove in the Firestone Indy Lights, the development league of IndyCar. Prior to her debut in open wheel racing, she was a stock car driver in the NASCAR Elite division. She was born and raised in Rochester, Minnesota, earned a degree in Biology in San Diego, California, and currently lives in Cornelius, North Carolina.

Personal life[link]

Prior to becoming a race car driver, Münter earned a bachelor's degree in biology, specializing in ecology, behavior, and evolution from the University of California, San Diego. During her college years, Münter was also a volunteer at a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center. She is also a long time vegetarian. She once worked as a photo double for Catherine Zeta-Jones. On March 17, 2009 Münter married Craig Davidson in a seaside wedding on New Zealand's Cathedral Cove beach.

Racing career[link]

Münter began racing in California in 2001 in the Allison Legacy Series. She debuted with a seventh place finish. In 2002 Münter made the move to Mooresville, North Carolina, widely regarded as the center for NASCAR racing. In 2003 she had her first start in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series at South Boston Speedway, she finished ninth. She made her first speedway start in 2004 at Texas Motor Speedway and set a new record when she qualified fourth, the highest qualifying effort for a female driver at the track. It was also her first super late model race; she finished seventh. In 2006 she had her first full-time season in a race car. In just her fifth race of the season, she had one of the biggest races of her career when she finished fourth, setting a new record at Texas Motor Speedway for the highest finish for a female driver in the history of the 1.5 mile speedway. Later that year, Leilani became the first woman to qualify in the 45 year history of the Bettenhausen Classic at Illiana Speedway in Indiana. In 39 stock car starts, Münter scored 19 top tens and 9 top five finishes. She finished running 92% of the time. At the end of the 2006 racing season, she was set to make the move into the ARCA Series in 2007, a stepping stone series into NASCAR's top three series. In December 2006 she completed her ARCA rookie test at Daytona International Speedway. She was 24th quick of 59 race cars testing that day in a race car prepared by Andy Hillenburg, a retired driver who owns Fast Track Racing School, where Münter once worked at as an instructor. Shortly after her Daytona test Münter received a phone call from an Indy Car team to ask if she was interested in racing open wheel cars. By May 2007 she had completed her Indy Pro rookie test and made the move to open wheel racing. She got back in a stock car in December 2008, testing an ARCA car at Daytona International Speedway for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver James Hylton. In December 2009, she returned to ARCA testing at Daytona, driving the #59 NextEra Energy Resources Dodge for Mark Gibson Racing. In the final practice, Münter posted the seventh quickest lap with a speed of 181.77 mph, just 69 one-thousandths of a second behind Danica Patrick, who posted the fifth quickest time of the final practice. Patrick and Münter drafted with each other throughout the weekend. The two female drivers had previously worked together off the racetrack, in an ad campaign together in 2006 and 2007 for Hostess.

In 2007 Münter became the fourth woman in history to compete in the Indy Pro Series, the development league of IndyCar. In May, Münter passed her Indy Pro Series rookie test at Kentucky Speedway. In August she inked a deal with three time championship team Sam Schmidt Motorsports. She qualified fifth for her debut at Kentucky Speedway on August 11. She had trouble on a restart and dropped back to thirteenth but raced her way back to the front of the field. She passed five cars in a lap and a half and turned in the fifth-fastest lap of the race with a speed of 192.399 mph. She was about to pass for fourth place when she was involved in a multi-car accident. Four-time Indy 500 champion Rick Mears, IndyCar driver Jaques Lazier, and many others in the IndyCar community spoke very highly of Münter after her debut. Münter's current plans include both a return to the Indy Pro Series and the ARCA Re/Max Series, a development league in NASCAR.

In 2012, Munter will compete in the ARCA Racing Series, driving for Tony Marks Racing in the season-opening 200 mile event at Daytona International Speedway.^[1]

Media[link]

Münter's accomplishments have landed her on the pages of USA Today, New York Times, Italian Vogue, Esquire, ESPN, Men's Journal, Newsweek, Glamour, Reader's Digest, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, and Sports Illustrated named her one of the top ten female race car drivers in the world. Glamour Magazine named her an "Eco Hero." In 2010 Discovery's Planet Green named her the #1 Eco Athlete, beating out Lance Armstrong for the top spot. She was profiled on Discovery Planet Green's new 2010 television series "Fast Forward." She has also been featured on DIY, ESPN, Fashion TV, National Geographic, NBC Sports, and Spike TV. Münter has also appeared as a model for Lucky Brand Jeans and appeared in ads for the brand in Vogue, Vanity Fair, In Style, and W Magazine as well as in Lucky Brand Stores across the country. Münter spent three years as a special correspondent for NASCAR.com and was one of three "Hostess Race Divas" to appear on boxes of Hostess Twinkies and Cupcakes - alongside IRL's Danica Patrick and NHRA's Melanie Troxel. The ad campaign for Hostess was significant because it was the first time the bakery has featured athletes on their products since professional baseball players were featured in the 1980s.

Environmental activism[link]

Münter is well known for speaking out about environmental issues. She blogs in the green section of the Huffington Post and is very active in the fight for environmental legislation. In 2010, she was named by Discovery Channel's Planet Green Network as the #1 Eco Athlete in the world, beating out Lance Armstrong for the top spot. She was also featured in a series called Fast Forward on Planet Green Network, which highlights environmental heroes. Glamour Magazine named her one of their "Eco Heroes."

In 2006, Münter started a section on her racing website dedicated to environmental news. She now hosts an eco-site called Carbon Free Girl, where she documents her efforts to become carbon neutral and discusses environmental issues and clean energy. She also has a blog where she is known to speak out about green issues. In 2007, Münter made the commitment to adopt an acre of endangered tropical rainforest for protection from World Land Trust to offset her carbon footprint from the race.

In March 2008 Münter went to Capitol Hill with the National Wildlife Federation to speak with members of Congress on behalf of the Climate Security Act. During her visit Senator Elizabeth Dole called Münter "a woman on a mission." That summer, Münter spoke at a rally in Capitol Hill alongside Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator John Kerry, and Senator Joe Lieberman in support of the Climate Security Act. When asked to comment on her environmental activities, Frank O'Donnell (President of the Clean Air Watch) told the Washington Post "I thing it's a fantastic thing."

The Indy Car Series runs on 100% ethanol and Münter has talked on her blog about the need for NASCAR to make the switch to a renewable clean energy source. Münter graduated from the University of California San Diego where she earned a Bachelors Degree in Biology specializing in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution. She is also a long time vegetarian.^[2][3]

In February 2009 Münter climbed to the top of a wind turbine at Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center in Abilene, Texas and autographed one of the blades. The turbine was consequently nicknamed "Leilani" by its owner, NextEra Energy Resources. Later that same year, Münter signed a solar panel at NextEra Energy's SEGS in the Mojave Desert, the largest solar thermal energy center in the world.

Also in February 2009 Münter met musician Jack Johnson, who later that same year gave Münter permission to use his music with her slideshow about her mission to bring environmental awareness to the racing world.View Leilani's Eco Slideshow with music by Jack Johnson

Münter spoke on a panel discussion on creative activism with actress Daryl Hannah at Powershift 2009 in Washington, D.C.

In May 2009 Münter went to Norway to participate in the zero emission Viking Rally, driving a hydrogen fuel cell Ford Focus which has only harmless emissions of water and heat. Münter finished second in the hill-climb, just behind World Rally driver Hennig Solberg. Münter drank the water from the exhaust of the vehicle at the 24th annual Electric, Fuel Cell and Hybrid Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition in Stavanger, Norway. In December 2009, Münter tested at Daytona International Speedway in the ARCA Series and she was 7th quickest in practice alongside Danica Patrick who was 5th quickest in practice even though she was with a team that did not have the financial backing that Patrick's team had. At the Daytona test, she was driving for the largest renewable energy company in the United States, NextEra Energy Resources.

In the February 2010 race, Münter was one of only three women to qualify for the race on speed alongside Danica Patrick and Alli Owens. Münter was driving the first ever 100% eco sponsored race car at Daytona International Speedway, and was taken out in "the big one" when a driver spun coming out of turn two and collected ten race cars, including Münter's #59 eco race car. Later in 2010, Münter was named by Discovery Channel's Planet Green Network as the #1 Eco Athlete; Lance Armstrong was rated #5. She was also featured in the new TV series Fast Forward on Planet Green, which profiled her environmental efforts in racing. In February 2010, she

Münter was one of the first celebrity activists to visit the BP Oil Spill; she arrived in Venice, Louisiana on May 2, ten days after the Deepwater Horizon sank to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, the same day President Barack Obama arrived. She spent a week at the spill, documenting her experience there. On July 13, 2010, Münter returned and toured the oil-stained areas of Louisiana devastated by the BP Oil Spill as part of a Sierra Club sponsored event involving 10 current and former athletes which included tennis star Chanda Rubin, Olympic skier Stacey Cook and NFL stars Ovie Mughelli and Mike Alstott.^[4]

In 2010, Münter became involved in the fight against the dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan and became a volunteer for Save Japan Dolphins. She has said publicly that immediately after watching the Academy Award winning documentary The Cove, that the first words out of her mouth when the movie ended to her husband was, "We have to go to Taiji and help Ric end this." Within a year, on September 2, 2010 Münter stood in Tokyo, next to dolphin activist Ric O'Barry who is featured in the movie, to deliver a petition signed by 1.7 million people from 151 countries asking for the dolphin slaughter to end. She returned to Taiji, Japan again for two weeks in October 2010 and documented two dolphin slaughters while she was there. She has stated she will continue to return to The Cove until the slaughter has ended. Münter recorded a video from Taiji for the project One Day on Earth on 10/10/10. She returned to Taiji in September 2011 with world renowned dolphin activist Ric O'Barry and was trapped in Typhoon Talas and had to live without access to water for several days, which she later attributed to helping her understand water stress issues around the world in a much deeper way than she did when she was an environmental activist talking about it, but never having lived through it. She recorded the first dolphin slaughter of the 2011/2012 hunting season on September 7, 2011 which was a pod of Risso's dolphins including a mother and her baby which Münter caught on camera.

On January 3, 2012 Münter announced that she was raising funds to drive a "The Cove" themed race car at Daytona International Speedway on February 18 to draw attention to dolphin captivity and slaughter.

References[link]

• Insider Racing News: Leilani Münter More Than Ready for Success
• Washington Post: Race Car Driver Aims to Put Brakes on Global Warming
• NASCAR.com: Münter Sets New Female Mark

External links[link]

• Official website
• Leilani Munter at Racing Reference
• Discovery's Planet Green Names Leilani #1 Eco Athlete
• Discovery's Planet Green TV Series "Fast Forward" episode on Leilani
• Leilani Live on MSNBC from the BP Oil Spill
• Leilani's Eco Slideshow with music by Jack Johnson
• Slideshow of Leilani's Journey in Motorsports
• Leilani in Esquire Magazine's Women We Love Gallery

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2010)

Craig Groeschel (born December 2, 1967) is the founder and senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv, a church with fourteen locations in five states. He is married with six children and lives in Edmond, Oklahoma, a suburb of Oklahoma City, where LifeChurch.tv is based.^[1]

Groeschel was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in southern Oklahoma, attending Ardmore High School. After high school, he attended Oklahoma City University, where he was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Craig attended for four years on an athletic scholarship, and received a Bachelor's degree in Marketing. Shortly thereafter, he met his wife Amy, and the two married in 1991. That same year, Groeschel entered the ministry as an associate pastor in the United Methodist Church. He attended Phillips Theological Seminary, which is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and secured a Master of Divinity degree. He was an associate pastor at First United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City when it was damaged in the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing.^[2][3]

In 1996, Groeschel and a handful of people started Life Covenant Church in a two-car garage. Groeschel later told Business Week that he started by performing market research of non-churchgoers, and designed his church in response to what he learned.^[4] Groeschel’s non-traditional style was successful and attendance of Life Covenant grew rapidly, eventually evolving to become (as of December 2009) the second largest church in the United States with thirteen LifeChurch.tv campuses^[5] Groeschel began using video to deliver some of sermons when his fourth child was born in 2001 and he was unavailable for the Sunday service; he discovered that the videos were popular with his churchgoers, and his church has continued to use them.^[6][7] In 2006 he set up a website called mysecret.tv as a place for people to confess anonymously on the Internet.^[8][9] Groeschel also began delivering his services to the Second Life virtual world on Easter Sunday 2007.^[10]

Groeschel was named the 5th most influential pastor in 2006^{[citation needed]} and LifeChurch.tv was named America’s Most Innovative Church by Outreach Magazine in 2007^[11][12] and 2008.^[13]

Bibliography[link]

• Chazown: A Different Way to See Your Life (2006) ISBN 1-59052-547-7
• Confessions of a Pastor (2006) ISBN 1-59052-720-8
• Going All the Way: Preparing for a Marriage That Goes the Distance (2007) ISBN 1-59052-938-3
• It – How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It (2008) ISBN 0-310-28682-4
• The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living as if He Doesn't Exist (2010) ISBN 0-310-32789-X
• Weird: Because Normal Isn't Working (2011) ISBN 0-310-32790-3
• Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World (2012) ISBN 0-310-33368-7

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Craig Groeschel

• Craig Groeschel bio
• LifeChurch.tv Swerve Blog