Amber Balcaen prepared to win with ARCA opportunity at Venturini Motorsports

Canadian driver Amber Balcaen is back full-time in the ARCA Menards Series. This time with Venturini Motorsports. Venturini has been at the top of the ARCA national series for the last few years. Last season, they dominated with their fleet of cars, including a championship with Jesse Love who is going NASCAR racing this year.

Amber Balcaen, 31, is going to race her second full-time season in the ARCA Menards Series. Her last effort came in 2022 with Rette Jones Racing. However, Balcaen did have starts with Venturini in 2023, although they were limited.

More than anything, Balcaen is ready to be in winning equipment. Her biggest competition could be her own teammates.

“I think the thing I’m looking forward to the most is just using everything I learned in 2022 and putting it toward this season,” Balcaen said, via ARCA. “I know that with Venturini Motorsports I’m in great race cars around great people. Now, it’s time to put all that experience to use and try to be up front every race.”

Daytona and Talladega are two tracks that Balcaen enjoys. But she knows the danger of superspeedway racing.

“I honestly, I really enjoy the superspeedway racing but the biggest challenge is going to be the unpredictability of it. There’s, as a driver, you can control what’s in front of you behind the wheel, but you can’t control the people around you. Unfortunately, a lot of this kind of comes down to luck, you’ve gotta be able to finish the race before you can finish first. So, just making sure the people around you are working with you and not against you and keeping the fenders on for all 100 laps.”

Above all else, Amber Balcaen is ready to get back in Victory Lane.

“I’m out here to win every race that I can,” the driver said.

Amber Balcaen lags behind in first ARCA practice

For those who don’t know, Balcaen has a successful history. She was the first Canadian woman to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race in the United States. She did that by claiming victory in the NASCAR Weekly Series at Motor Mile Speedway.

In her 2022 ARCA season, she finished 7th overall racing for Rette Jones. In 22 total races, she has 7 top ten finishes. So far, in Daytona, Balcaen is lagging behind her Venturini teammates.

While Jake Finch, Toni Breidinger, Kris Wright, and Gus Dean all topped practice as the top-four drivers on Friday night, Balcaen was further back. Overall, the No. 22 car was back in 29th overall during that first practice session.

There has been some doubt over whether Amber Balcaen can succeed in ARCA and beyond. She gets her chance with the best equipment she’s ever been in.

Now or never it seems for Balcaen in 2024.