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A history-making driver is about to take on the full ARCA Menards Series schedule for the first time in her career. Amber Balcaen will run all 20 races for Rette Jones Racing while aiming to contend for the championship.
The ARCA Menards Series team issued a press release on Monday, January 3, and announced the news. Balcaen, a Winnipeg native, will run with Canadian-based ICON Direct as her primary partner, continuing a relationship that also featured races in 2021. Glenn McLeod and Sons, a Winnipeg-based transportation company, will also join the fold for the season.
“It is really special for me as a Canadian competing in the United States to be representing all Canadian companies on my car with Rette Jones Racing,” Balcaen said in a statement from the team. “To have the hometown support is amazing. I couldn’t do this without them.”
In addition to Icon Direct and Glenn McLeod & Sons, Balcaen will have the support of longtime Rette Jones Racing partners. Ford Performance, Goodridge Fluid Transfer Systems, Jones Group Demolition and Abatement, and JRi Shocks will all serve as associate partners on the No. 30 ICON Direct Ford Fusion.
Balcaen Has Numerous Starts Across Multiple Series
The 29-year-old Balcaen has competed in a variety of series throughout her racing career. She made history in 2016 by winning the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series race at Motor Mile Speedway and becoming the first female, Canadian driver to win a NASCAR-sanctioned event.
In 2021, Balcaen ran three races of the ARCA Menards West Series schedule for Bill McAnally Racing’s Driver Development Program. She competed twice at Irwindale Speedway, posting a career-best finish of 11th in August, and then finished the year with a 22nd-place run at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring.
Balcaen has also suited up for races in the CARS Super Late Model Tour, Northern Outlaw Sprint Association, and POWRi Midget Racing. Balcaen also made two Super Late Model starts for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2019, the same year that she starred alongside Samantha Busch in CMT’s “Racing Wives.”
Rette Jones Racing Has Big Expectations for 2022
The 2020 season will mark Balcaen’s first full-time run under the Rette Jones Racing umbrella, and the team has big expectations. RJR has the goal of helping Balcaen contend for an ARCA Menards Series championship.
RJR previously achieved success with another Canadian driver behind the wheel. Dominique Van Wieringen spent 2016-2020 with the team and competed in both the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards East Series. She posted five top-10 finishes and three top-fives while running a full ARCA Menards East Series schedule in 2016.
“Everyone at Rette Jones Racing is excited about the 2022 ARCA Menards Series season,” team co-owner Mark Rette said in a statement. “As a company, we are thrilled to return to the premier ARCA Menards Series on a full-time basis and we look forward to the opportunity to strengthen Amber’s craft as a driver in a series that has always provided a lot of diversity.
“Our goals for the season are obtainable and we look forward to producing the results we know that we are capable of and giving Amber a shot at the ARCA Menards Series championship.”
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