In a hard wreck into the inside wall at Dover Motor Speedway, Amber Balcaen had to be assisted on her way out of her No. 22 Toyota Camry. Balcaen tried to avoid Christian Rose who had hit the outside wall and lost control at the NASCAR track.
The ARCA Menards Series can be intense. Racing is dangerous, no matter what series it is. Dover is so fast and slick and there can be so many issues that happen in the blink of an eye.
Rose lost control out of a corner and hit the outside wall. Then his car caught on fire. Amber Balcaen tried to avoid him and ended up losing control herself. Balcaen was taken away on a stretcher by the safety crew.
UPDATE: Amber Balcaen was released from the care center and reported she felt “fine.” She did have her left foot wrapped up and will get further evaluation on the injury.
Christian Rose entered today as the points leader. This is going to be a hard break for him and his championship quest. However, there is plenty of time for him to get points back and rebound.
The real concern is for Amber Balcaen. She hit the inside wall almost head-on. Those wrecks can be violent and lead to a lot of issues. Balcaen, a Canadian driver, is racing the full ARCA Menards Series schedule this season. Let’s hope she doesn’t miss any extended time from the car.
Balcaen was fourth overall in the points standings prior to today’s race. During her three prior starts, Balcaen earned two top-10 finishes. She was on her way to another before the wreck happened about halfway through the race.
Amber Balcaen taken away on a stretcher
Racing for Venturini Motorsports, Amber Balcaen has had fast race cars. In the 2022 season, Balcaen finished 7th overall with Rette Jones Racing in the ARCA Menards Series. She has never earned a top-5 finish in the series, but this year has had strong runs.
This Dover race has been a little wild. Cars are losing power, there was a restart violation just before the wreck with Rose and Balcaen. The Monster Mile has delivered and this is just the ARCA race!
Dover has so far been the first exciting ARCA race of the season. Of course, we haven’t had a ton of races to judge. But things are only getting more intense as the season ramps up and gets ready for that big stretch throughout the summer and into the fall.
Fresh off of that Talladega wreck Erik Jones had, it is important to remember how scary these incidents can be. Things happen quickly on the race track and whenever a driver smacks the wall like that it makes you feel uneasy. Hopefully we hear good news about Amber Balcaen soon.
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