Shift Up Now Athlete Amber Balcaen earned a sixth-place finish in the ARCA Menards Series, competing in the penultimate event of the season, the Reese’s 150 at Kansas Speedway on September 27, 2024.
Driving the No. 22 ICON Direct Toyota for Venturini Motorsports, Balcaen anxiously anticipated the series’ return to the 1.5-mile banked oval, one of her favorite tracks.
The race weekend began with a short practice on Friday, followed by qualifying and the race, all in the same day.
Balcaen qualified tenth, putting her on the outside of row five for the start of the 100-lap race, beginning at 5:30pm ET.
Early in the race, contact at the front of the field sent a car into the wall and brought out the first full-course caution. On the restart, contact with Balcaen’s rear corner created a big slide. She had to work to save it, but held on and stayed within the top 15.
Balcaen then got to work advancing toward the top ten. When a second rear-corner contact sent her into an even bigger slide, the Canadian driver impressed spectators and commentators alike by once again managing to save her race car.
Still focused on the top ten, she settled in. Her competition caution pit stop was clean, getting four new tires from the Venturini Motorsports crew, and ready to finish the race.
At the drop of the green flag, Balcaen settled in and picked off her opponents one by one, moving into the eighth-place spot. When the next caution flag flew, she was one lap down but able to get the waive-around to rejoin the lead lap.
Late in the race, when one more caution flag emerged, many of the leaders chose to pit. When Balcaen’s crew chief kept her out on track, she became the first woman to lead an ARCA race since 2021.
Three laps remained when the final green flag flew. When Balcaen sustained her third rear- corner contact of the competition, being on old tires was detrimental and cost her momentum, and her car slipped back to seventh place. But when contact from two cars ahead on the final lap allowed her to make one final pass, she matched her best-ever ARCA finish, taking the checkered flag in sixth place.
“I’m really proud of how my Venturini team executed all race long,” said Balcaen. “My crew chief, Neil Tucker, did a great job with adjustments, and I really liked his call to stay out on old
tires for the final restart of the race. It was great to lead a couple laps. I knew it would be hard to hold off the top cars on new tires during the final restart but I still felt it was the right call.
“There were a few close calls during the race when I got sideways from other cars making contact with mine, but I made some good saves and kept the car clean to fight for position. All in all, I am really happy with how my entire team communicated and worked together to earn a sixth-place finish in my ICON Direct Toyota Camry.”
Next up, the ARCA Menards Series heads to Toledo Speedway in Toledo, OH for the Owens Corning 200. The season finale will take place on Saturday, October 5, 2024.
