Amber Balcaen

About Amber Balcaen

Amber Balcaen began racing go-karts at age ten on dirt tracks around North Dakota. At sixteen, she bought her first lightning sprint car and became the first female driver to win in a dirt track racing championship in Manitoba. She made her Northern Outlaw Sprint Association debut in 2014, running a full-time schedule, and won Rookie of the Year that season. She competed in the 2015 Chili Bowl Nationals.

In 2016, Balcaen drove in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series (now NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). That year, she became the first female Canadian driver to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race in the United States, winning at Motor Mile Speedway. She earned eleven top-five finishes and Rookie of the Year honors in her first season. She won at the same track a year later for her second series win. In 2017, she made her NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debut at New Smyrna Speedway for Martin-McClure Racing. She started 21st and finished 20th after a late-race wreck and a penalty for a detached spark plug wire that put her six laps down.

In 2018, Balcaen made her first CARS Super Late Model Tour start, driving the No. 4 for Kyle Busch Motorsports at Hickory Motor Speedway. She started 26th and finished 28th after an early-race wreck. On March 21, Kyle Busch Motorsports announced that she would drive two late model races in 2019: the Pro All Star Series race at Hickory Motor Speedway and the CARS Super Late Model Tour race at Motor Mile Speedway. She started 22nd and finished 14th at Motor Mile. In 2020, she competed in the POWRi Midget Racing Series, qualifying for two races and finishing 22nd and 12th. On July 11, 2020, her sprint car got loose in turn 4 at Valley Speedway, went off course and flipped multiple times into a fence. She suffered collapsed lungs, a severe concussion and burns to her arms, was hospitalized for three days, and was away from racing for about three months.

Balcaen made her first ARCA Menards Series West start for Bill McAnally Racing at Irwindale Speedway in 2021, finishing 15th. She made two more starts that season, finishing 11th at Irwindale and 22nd at Las Vegas. On January 3, 2022, Rette Jones Racing announced that she would run the full ARCA Menards Series season. She earned six top-ten finishes and finished 7th in the final point standings. On January 12, 2023, it was announced that she would join Venturini Motorsports for the 2023 season, running the races at Daytona and Talladega.

Balcaen co-hosted the TV series "Car's of Rock" with AC/DC member Brian Johnson. In 2019, she was a main cast member of the CMT NASCAR reality show Racing Wives. She is a motivational speaker and was a spokesperson for Kal Tire during a winter campaign.