Meet Amber Colvin

Wednesday, 09 December 2009 10:39

At fifteen years old, most young girls are experimenting with makeup, spending their weekends with friends and spending their pocket money on clothes and shoes. Not many are racing a Chevy Coup at 120mph, like Amber Colvin.

Born in December 1993, in Tallahassee, Florida, Amber has been racing since she was ten years old. Her father, Wayne, bought her a kart for Christmas. “In about three months, she had driven the cart so hard that she broke he wheels off of it.” He recalls. “I ran into a cousin that had a racing cart which I ended up purchasing. It was a 1997 model Shadow. The cart was pretty well worn out and I built the engine in my shop.”

Amber’s first race was in August 2004, a mere eight months after first sitting in a kart, and at only eleven years old. The Shadow, with soft tires and a home-made engine, yet she still managed to be consistently quick.

A family friend soon spotted the potential in Amber’s racing, and encouraged her father to buy her a new cart. He did, and in her first race in the new car she won by half a lap.

In December 2004, Amber qualified 37th out of the 250 in her class at Daytona. This was the start of her racing career, just one year after she had first stepped foot in a kart.

She then went on to win 42 of 44 races in two years of a very successful karting career.

The next step in her already flourishing career was to join the Bandoleros series, in which she finished second in her first season, a mere one point behind the overall winner.

In 2008, Amber switched to legend racing in a field with a ratio of around fifty males to one female. As does the majority of the field, Amber raced a Chevy Coup; the difference between the winners and losers is solely down to driver and set up - a challenge that Amber relishes within the series. She flourished in the competition as well; the young star made 39 starts, achieved 36 top ten finishes, 24 top fives and an incredible 6 wins.

Unfortunately, her progress this season has been hindered by a lack of sponsorship, and as a result she has only been able to compete in a handful of races. However, in the seven races Amber has managed to race in, she has continued to impress, finishing in the top five six times.

So how does it feel to be not only one of the youngest but also one of the only girls in the series?

“It is difficult to compete in a ‘mans’ sport most of the time; I don't get good calls a lot and I am judged for being a girl. But I can't let people’s negative thoughts get me down. I have to prove them wrong. Not just for me but for every female who is put down for being a girl. The end result is worth pushing through people in disbelief.”

Amber says that her one main ambition is to become the first female NASCAR driver to win a major race or championship, and with a career sheet as impressive as hers already is, there is no reason why she won’t. By Sarah Lancaster www.girlracer.co.uk