“Can we never let Amber Balcaen race in a stock car ever again?”: NASCAR fans call out ARCA driver after causing a crash at Daytona

Amber Balcaen was off to a rough start after crashing at Daytona on Saturday. She collected Cleetus McFarland and Kyle Steckly, causing uproar among fans considering they tuned in to McFarland's debut in the ARCA Menards Series.

Balcaen is a 32-year-old professional stock car racing driver from Winnipeg, Canada. She signed a part-time deal ride with Nitro Motorsports starting in the Ride the 'Dente 200 season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Fans called out Amber Balcaen for getting loose and collecting Cleetus McFarland and Kyle Steckly out of turn two. One X (formerly Twitter) user argued the driver shouldn't drive a stock car again, saying:

"Holy s**t can we never let amber balcaen race in a stock car ever again," one fan wrote.

"Yeah. She shouldn’t have a license," one fan wrote.

"Get her off the track," another X user commented.

Some fans of Cleetus McFarland also shared their sentiments on the social media platform. One pointed out that the race's viewership dropped after Amber Balcaen took out McFarland.

"Amber just single handedly wiped out 50k viewers from the race LOL. Cleet had over 50k watching his camera that’s prob more than the whole arca program is getting today," the fan wrote.

"Noo! Cleetus!!! 😬😬," another X user stated.

"Cleet is ok after getting wrecked a second time, I am so happy he was alright. It really sucks because he did so well going from 27th to 8th in just a few laps," one fan shared.

At the conclusion of the race, Brenden Queen secured his first career victory. William Sawalich, who started in pole position, finished second ahead of Jason Kitzmiller and Lavar Scott, respectively.

Helio Castroneves completed the top five finishers' list. He will return to the 2.5-mile track in the No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro for Trackhouse Racing for the Daytona 500.

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Amber Balcaen expressed excitement for 2025 season

Before the Ride the 'Dente 200 at Daytona, Amber Balcaen shared her excitement about joining Nitro Motorsports as a part-time driver. She looked forward to racing in the No. 70 Toyota in select races of the 2025 ARCA Menards Series season.

In a press release, the Canadian driver said:

"I am really excited to join Nitro Motorsports and can’t thank Nick and the team enough for the opportunity, I am looking forward to testing this weekend and hopefully find my way to the top of the charts as we work toward next month’s event in Daytona, and several other races in 2025," Amber said.

Amber Balcaen in the No. 70 Toyota for Nitro Motorsports - Source: Getty

The Nitro Motorsports stint follows a full-time schedule with Venturi Motorsports in the past two seasons. Last year, she finished sixth in the standings after scoring seven top-10s in 20 races.