Popular Canadian Sprint Car driver Amber Balcaen will be making her asphalt Late Model debut in Saturday night’s Southeast Limited Late Model Series race at Tri-County Motor Speedway.
Balcaen, 23, from Winnipeg Manitoba in Canada, has been racing on dirt her entire career. She has scored 10 Sprint Car wins. Now, in hopes of racing in NASCAR, she is making the transition to asphalt racing and making her debut with Troy Carnes’ CM Driver Development – a team that has found victory lane this season with Kyle Plott and Kason Plott.
Ahead of her first competitive asphalt race, she has nervous and exciting feelings at the same time, but she also comes in with a sense of confidence having already tested with CM Driver Development.
“I have pretty high expectations for myself,” Balcaen said. “I’ve done pretty well on dirt so I’m looking forward to this. Pavement is definitely challenging. It’s different. It sparks new challenges but I like to be challenged. I’ve tested with CM Driver Development. I have nothing but good things to say about the team. Obviously it’s nice to race with a team I’ve worked with before even though I haven’t raced with them. Comfortably and communication is half of it. I think it’s going to go well.”
Balcaen isn’t selling herself short ahead of her asphalt debut. She wants to do more than just log laps, gain experience and have a solid finish. She wants to, and expects to, win in the Southeast Limited Late Model Challenger feature race.
“My goal is to win, plain and simple,” Balcaen exclaimed. “I just want to win. This is my first pavement race so I want to prove to people I can do this to. Hopefully, it will spark some interest from sponsors so I can run a full season next year.”
Like many women in racing, Balcaen has enjoyed enormous fan support throughout her career. She is often cited as one of the most attractive women in all of motorsports but she doesn’t want that to be her claim to fame. She wants to be known for her success and her results on the track, not what she looks like off the track.
“I think people who don’t know me as a person might not take me seriously but when they see me on the track or talk to me, they see how serious I am and they take me seriously,” Balcaen explained. “I’m not just in this to say I drive a race car. It’s my life, my passion. Everything I want to do. I’ve sacrifice a lot and worked hard to get here.”
Balcaen hopes to climb the ranks of asphalt racing and compete in NASCAR in the coming years. She already has her sights set on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and plans to move to North Carolina during the offseason.
“My goal in 2016 is move to North Carolina and race in the K&N Series and get as much asphalt Late Model experience as I can this winter to prepare me for K&N in 2016,” Balcaen said. “I have a good relationship with one team, but all comes down to money and sponsorship. As long as I have sponsorship, I’ll be on the track.”
Balcaen’s asphalt racing debut will come in the Southeast Limited Late Model Series Challenger feature race, which is the undercard event for the Southeast Limited Late Model Series, at Tri-County Motor Speedway on Saturday night.
