Amber Eberspeaker: From Go Karts To Street Stocks In Michigan

Meet Amber From Greenville

Melinda Russell 0:02

Hello everyone. Uh this is Melinda Russell with the Women's Motor Sports Network podcast. And I'm happy today to share a Michigan racer with you, Amber. Speaker. Did I say that right, Amber? Eber speaker. Eber speaker. Long E at the beginning, Eber speaker. And so, Amber, I've heard about you, but this is the first that we've had a chance to talk. So I'm excited to get to know you and your story. So would you first share a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_01 0:33

I am 39 years old. I am from Greenville, Michigan. And I have three children, 19, 17, and 3. And we are a pretty athletic family. I play softball during the week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, some occasional Saturdays or Sundays. I'm excited for this year. My 17-year-old decided he's gonna play with me, so that'll be interesting. Um he wrestles and decided that he runs the wrestle all year round. So we do quite a bit of traveling and stuff for that. Both of my older two boys race as well as I. So we are pretty busy during the summer with sports and racing. And that's about the gist of my family.

Losing A Beloved Dog

Melinda Russell 1:27

So do you have any pets?

SPEAKER_01 1:29

I do not. Uh, I had her for about eight, nine years. She was like two or three when I got her, and um unfortunately my dad or my mom had thrown away some bones, and she got into the garbage and noticed a little bit of her getting sick. She lasted about a week. The day I had my daughter, she actually passed away the morning that I had my daughter.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

Oh, so sorry.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

Yeah, I got induced with my daughter, and um my parents were with my dog at the time. So thankfully she wasn't alone, but I really the it was my daughter come into the world and my dog went to heaven.

Melinda Russell 2:32

Yeah, yeah. That's that's too bad. But you know, um, it's kind of the cycle of life, isn't it? Whether it be a dog or a child, she was your child, the dog was your child.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

She was so much my child. Um if I was around, she would not leave my side. If we were outside or I started walking, she would walk with me. If I stopped, she stopped. If I was sitting on the couch or in a chair, she was right next to me at all times. She was just overall the best dog I could have ever asked for.

unknown 3:03

Yeah.

Melinda Russell 3:04

Well, at least you have lots of good memories. That's yeah, that's the best part. So um we have a dog, we have a shih tzu, as everybody that listens knows. And so um, I had four children, but um, and this is not the only dog that my husband and I had. We had we had to put one of our older dogs down, but they become your child, especially when your kids have moved out and it's just you and your husband, then the dog is definitely your child, for sure. And he goes everywhere with me if possible. And so, yeah, it's it's crazy, crazy how much we love our dogs. So, Amber, you live in Greenville, Michigan. Tell me how did you get interested in motorsports?

SPEAKER_01 3:47

So

Family Roots In Racing

SPEAKER_01 3:48

that goes back to even before myself. Um my mom's dad actually was racing late models.

Melinda Russell 4:01

And um go ahead and I'll cut this out. Go ahead if you need to do something. I can cut this out.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

You cannot have that.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

No, you can't have that.

Melinda Russell 4:22

I'm sorry about that. No, it's fine. It's fine. I'm just gonna ask you the question again and we'll start. Start over. I can cut this out. That's easy. No problem. Okay, this happens. You're not the first and you won't be the last. So you gotta do mom duty sometimes too. Yeah. So so Amber, tell me, how did you get started being interested in motorsports?

SPEAKER_01 4:45

So that became way before I did. My mom's dad actually raced late models. Um, he did Cherry Merit, which are further up north. And then my dad started racing and did some derbies and different things like that. Well, when I was about five, six years old, um, my grandpa owned a marina and decided he was going to build a go-kart track. So we were always at the go-kart track. My brother and my dad actually shared a shared a go-kart. And then when I got to the age about five or six, um, they allowed me to get a cart. So I started racing. I can't remember if I was five or six, but I started racing it at my grandpa's truck. And then he bought some other property and built a bigger, newer marina and built a goat cart track at that one and moved it

A Mod Crash And Starting Over

SPEAKER_01 6:02

there. And then when I was about 17 and a half, my brother passed, and he had just bought a brand new modified because he had raised modified for like two or three years prior to that. So then my parents decided that they were going to finish putting the mod together. So I got into a mod in 2004. Well, it was the end of 2004, and it was a great experience, but it was a bad experience. Um, I did quite well when I got into it, and then there was a big race, and I was passing for second, and the guy, I don't know if something broke on his car or what, came down into me and it spun me head on into the wall, rolled me down the front stretch, and completely totaled the mod. So then um my dad decided let's buy another one. So we went out of state, got another mod, and I raced that up until 2013, I believe, was I can't remember if it was 2012 or 2013, but um I was dating a guy who actually raced street stocks, so he raced my mod and I got into the street stock, and then I started racing street stock full time and ended up buying one myself, and then I just got rid of my street stock back in 2019, 2020, and that was to allow my kids to get into cars. So I sold my car to buy my son a street stock and a four-cylinder, so then they started racing those. Um, we went and bought another four-cylinder, and the day we bought the four-cylinder, I decided, hey, let's go racing. So I went and raced that and then went up to Merritt with it, and then we allowed my son to get into that car full time because it was actually faster than the one he initially had. And then um last year I raced for a friend of mine and had a lot of success last year in the four-cylinder, and this year I decided that I'm going to get back into street stock and actually share the street stock with my son.

Melinda Russell 8:45

Okay, that's a pretty great story that you have there. You know, a mom that sells her car so the kid can race.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

That's I I don't think I could have cried more other than like w having my kids and things like that. But it was definitely a very sad day. I loved that car so much and I had a lot of success with that car. It was just very sad. Yeah. But but it was definitely well worth it. I enjoy watching my kids race.

Melinda Russell 9:18

Yeah. But isn't that kind of what moms do?

unknown 9:21

Yeah.

Melinda Russell 9:22

I mean, that's just you don't nobody even tells us as moms that that's what we should do or that's what we could do. It's kind of an instinct for most people.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

I think as a

Selling Her Car For The Kids

SPEAKER_01 9:36

mother, you decide to make sacrifices for your kids that you never even would have imagined.

Melinda Russell 9:42

Yeah, absolutely for sure. So, what are you gonna be doing this year? You're gonna share this the car. Now, does that allow you to run for for like championships and points? Is it the car or is it the driver?

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Unfortunately, this year I am not running for points. Um I in order to run for points, you have to start at the beginning of the season. And the car is close enough. We could um we've decided to run I-96, which is an actual it's bigger than the normal tracks, but it's a Friday night track. And unfortunately, with Thunderbird closing and just the drive of having to go to different tracks and the gas prices now, we've decided to stay close.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

So um unfortunately, we're not running for points, and I'll be in it here and there, and then he'll be in it here and there, and he still hasn't quite got the concept of racing in a street stock yet. He hasn't had a full year. So um last year, unfortunately, he only got maybe half to three-quarters of the season, and the car got broke. The year before, which was his first season in the street stack, he raced four or five times and kind of got taken out. And when he got hit, it was in the driver's door and it caught the front tire and it snapped the steering wheel, so it broke his thumb at the growth plate. So he was done for the rest of the year.

Melinda Russell 11:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

So he still has some things he's gotta learn, which only comes with um more seat time and stuff in it, but he'll get there.

Melinda Russell 11:34

Yeah, absolutely. So I-96, that's not all that far, is it, for you to go from Greenville? How far is that? It's about 35 minutes, yeah. Not bad at all. So that's that's a and that's a good track, so that's gonna be fun for you to go there.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

My I'm really excited for it. So I've only ever raced I-96 twice, and I loved it. But it was a bigger track, and now it's supposed to be a 3-8, but if you run the high side, it's more of the half mile.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

But um I'm excited because it's gonna give him more room. It's wider than any track he's ever been on, and it's longer straightaways. So he doesn't have to worry about if he's gonna be slow, he'll he's not holding anybody up at that point. And or if something happens, he's not in the way. It just I feel like it'll be a better learning experience for him.

Melinda Russell 12:31

Yes, I think so too. That sounds that sounds great. So, Amber,

Sharing A Street Stock At I-96

Melinda Russell 12:36

what's what is it about motorsports? You know, you were hanging out at the go-kart track and that. What what is it that you love about it?

SPEAKER_01 12:45

So I quickly fell in love with speed. Um I growing up, I bet you I was only three, four years old, and my parents had bought me my first uh snowmobile because we lived up in Kalkasca area, so we got quite a bit of snow. Um, so I had a snowmobile and we had tons of acres I could go and ride it on. Then we got dirt bikes. The older we got, we got more toys. Um we ended up with dirt bikes and going up and riding the trails and stuff up there, and then once racing came around, I quickly fell in love with it. And I had so much success in go-karts that I had asked my parents for years to get me a car and they kept saying, You have to wait, you have to wait. But I was I think I was like 14 when I got my first race car, and then um kind of put that off because I was still r wanting to run um part.

SPEAKER_00 14:01

Yeah.

Melinda Russell 14:01

So yeah, I love I love that your little guy wants mom. Um, you know, that isn't that something Amber that that we can talk about. Uh as a woman in motorsports, we have to juggle. Oh, hi there. We have to juggle so many things. A mom, a wife, you know, uh a lot of women have a job that outside the home, and then we're a race car driver. There's so many things, and that that's part of what we do as women, more so. I'm sorry, guys, more so than the men.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

I think that was the hardest struggle with racing this last year. Thankfully, I had um the friend I was racing for, he was a lot of help. He would watch her when I was out on the track, or if um anything needed done, he did it because he knew I had her. But back in 24, um, she actually was hospitalized and ended up coming home on a feeding tube. And then March of last year had surgery to have it implanted. So he was tremendous help when it came to the racing and helping me so I could race.

SPEAKER_00 15:20

Right.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

And I sorry, I agree. It definitely for a woman in racing or even anything, it's more of a challenge to try and coordinate everything to work out.

Melinda Russell 15:33

Sorry, I was thinking that your little one was a boy, but now she sat on your lap, I was like, Oh yeah, that's a little girl.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

So this is a little girl. Um, this is Camberlyn, and she actually got her name because you checked Castor and Camber on a race car.

Melinda Russell 15:51

Yes, yes, absolutely. So, how does she go to the races on the weekends? Somebody watches her for you, she doesn't like every race.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

And um funny story, she actually most of the time is sleeping at the races.

Women Juggle Racing And Parenting

SPEAKER_01 16:09

She sleeps through everything. Yeah, that's a good thing. She absolutely loves the races. I have a wagon and it actually fits up in between the bleachers, bleachers, so it sits right there, and it's got a little canopy thing that goes over it, and she's able to go there during the cold because I have a cover, and yeah, she just absolutely loves the races.

Melinda Russell 16:38

It's like her little play yard in the races. Yeah, that's awesome. So, Amber, would you recommend? You know, it's hard. It's like we said, it's hard when you're a woman. Not that it's not hard for everybody because we all have struggles if we're involved in racing. It's expensive, it's the tracks are a long ways away, all the things, but especially for a woman. Would you recommend being involved in motorsports to other women?

SPEAKER_01 17:07

100% I would. You know, for me, it's my outlet, it's my time away from everything, even though you only get well, depending on the race and cautions and everything, it could be 20 to 30 minutes, but yeah, it it's time to get away and clear your head. And like for me, for me, it allows me to recharge. And once I get in that race car, all my issues, my stress, it goes right away.

Melinda Russell 17:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

And yeah, I love the adrenaline from getting in the car. And I make so many new friends and everything from racing.

Melinda Russell 17:50

Oh, yeah. And and you can block out all the other stuff and focus on the racing. So what's what's something I know you said you like to go fast, you like the speed, but what keeps you going back to the track every weekend? What's the thing that really has your heart when it comes to motorsports?

SPEAKER_01 18:12

Just the enjoyment um meeting new people and when you have your race family and go to the tracks, even if you don't know anybody, it's like getting a new family. Even the people you don't know are inviting and sit there and talk to you about anything, right? It's just uh to me, it's an enjoyable environment and allows you to broaden your aspect of different things. And I always learn something at the track. You never know who you're gonna run into and what they're doing and what they'll teach you.

Melinda Russell 18:53

Exactly. And you know, you you don't know you don't know who's gonna be there that's gonna cross your path for one thing. Um, that's always fun. You make uh you make lifelong friends, uh even if you quit racing, a lot of those people are still gonna be your friends, and and there's just so much camaraderie you can be um competitors on the track and best friends off the track, and that's just uh a great a great thing about motorcycles. Yeah, yeah, for sure. What was the hardest thing for you to learn when you first started like in this in the front wheel drive, the four cylinder, the street star? What was the hardest thing for you to learn?

SPEAKER_01 19:41

The hardest thing was patience. Okay. Um, when I went from go-karts to cars, it's it's a little different. You can't race a car like you can a go-kart, and I had lots of things to learn, and I had to learn patience very much in the bigger cars and realize that it's bigger than what you expect, and it takes a little bit more time getting around somebody or learning how to do the setup because it's not like you

Why Racing Feels Like Freedom

SPEAKER_01 20:20

can just get in a car and go and expect to start winning. You have to learn the setup, you have to be patient and get the correct setup, and then you have to get out on the track. And if you're in the way back, you have to have patience to go forward so you're not wrecking everybody or yourself, and it can get quite expensive when you do that.

Melinda Russell 20:40

That's true. So would you rather start at the front, the middle, or the back?

SPEAKER_01 20:47

It's always nice to start in the front because it's easier to stay there. But the most rewarding is starting in the back and coming all the way to the front, knowing that you've earned it and you were good enough to get through everybody.

Melinda Russell 21:03

Yeah. Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

It it makes a bigger win worth more.

Melinda Russell 21:10

Right. Yeah. What's your favorite memory? Do you have like a a race or an event, something that happened at the track? It could be more than one. That when somebody says, you know, what's your what's what's your favorite thing or favorite memory? What comes to mind?

SPEAKER_01 21:28

Um, I actually have quite a few. Um one back in goat karts was I bet you I was like 12, 13. I was still in the kids' class, and I had convinced my dad to pull my restrictor plate out of it and allow me to race with the adults. So me and another kid that I raced with actually were told we were too young to race with. The adults, and we were at the track for a weekend race, and we waited until their feature went out. And after they pulled out on the track, we pulled out onto the track and rate went and raced with the adults. And I actually ended up winning the race. So that's one of my best race like things in goat karts because then it allowed me to show yes, I'm I might be young, but I was good enough to race with the adults. And I actually that following year went into the adult class and I actually won the championship. That's awesome. So it was nice. That's then in carts. There's so many in cars that I don't really know where to narrow it down, other than um this last year I actually won my first big check. I won the big race. So that was pretty awesome because I've never had a big check. I have trophies, but it it's there's something about them big checks that are just yeah, absolutely.

Melinda Russell 23:11

Did you take it to the bank?

unknown 23:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:22

But um another good memory is we went to Kokomo this year. Um la or I say this year, but it's actually last year.

Melinda Russell 23:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

Um, and we had just gotten the car fixed up from one of the other races and went down there. And I right from the heat, I qualified for the A-Main and I was doing great in the A-Main. I think I started 16th, was up to ninth, and then I got hit in, of course, at Kokomo. If you stop on the track, even if it's not your fault, you get put to the rear. Well, when he hit me, it turned me into the wall. So I had not I could only stop. But up until that point, that was by far one of my favorite races because I had actually went out of state and I was competing with the boys.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:17

So I really want to go to Kokomo again, but that involves

Patience And Racecraft Lessons

SPEAKER_01 24:20

buying a whole nother car because I need a four-cylinder to go do that. Right.

Melinda Russell 24:24

It'll happen, and that's a great track. I've been there once for a big big sprint car race, and um so so fun of a track to go to in the crowd and everything. It's it's pretty cool, yeah. So I it sounds like maybe you work on the car. Um, do you do a lot of it and and then do you have help? And if so, who would your help be?

SPEAKER_01 24:49

So I do do the work when I was running street stock. I was myself was my cre pit crew and the driver. I hauled myself to the racetracks, I worked on my cars myself, and then it wasn't until this year that um I didn't even have to touch the car. But of course, I was driving for somebody else, and he's he was finicky and didn't want anybody else touching the cars. So if something happened, he wasn't blaming somebody else or saying you didn't do it right. So he worked on the cars and I drove.

Melinda Russell 25:31

That's kind of nice, really, when you got your family.

SPEAKER_01 25:35

It it was very nice, although I felt bad because I'm like, well, I'm driving it. If I break it, I'm the one breaking it. And he's like, nope, you are the driver, you drive and I do the work. Yeah, so that was very nice. But of course, like this year with me and my son driving the same car. My dad is the one that helped my son on his car. So he's the one that likes to work on this one. But he had an accident back in September and he's still recovering and stuff from that. So it's gonna be hard for him, but it'll be my dad, myself, and my son working on the car.

Melinda Russell 26:13

Okay. All right, that sounds good. Now, um, what about sponsors? Do you have sponsors that that help? Do you fund your own drive, you know, self-funded? How does that work for you guys?

SPEAKER_01 26:27

So I had a sponsor when I was in the street stock, and then um he decided to step away from racing. So I've actually funded my own racing, and my parents have helped here and there, sponsored me some tires or whatever. But now um my son's cars, my my two sons' cars, my parents actually have paid for those. That was something

Best Memories And The Big Check

SPEAKER_01 27:00

they decided that they were going to fund the racing until they turned 18. Once they turn 18, then they're on their own. But I don't have any sponsors. I find it's kind of um it's nice to have sponsors, but then you feel obligated that you have to make so many races, or if something happens to the car, you have to replace the stickers, and it becomes more expensive doing it that way than just paying for things out of your own pocket. And if I can't afford it, I I either don't go racing or I find used parts, which can be cheaper.

Melinda Russell 27:44

Right.

SPEAKER_01 27:45

So I that's what I've ran into. I just uh sponsors you run into, you have to have them on the car. And you tell them, okay, I plan on being at so many races a year, or I plan on going to Coco. And if something happens, you don't go. I feel like you're not giving them their full benefit of sponsoring.

Melinda Russell 28:06

Yeah, yeah. I haven't really had anybody put it in that perspective, but you know, it makes a lot of sense, Amber. It really does. And I can I can see that, especially when you're kind of a one-man, one woman team. Yeah, you know, things happen and you have a life and you can't always afford to replace things or have the time to do the work on the car. And so um I understand that that's that's not a bad, that's not a bad plan if you can make it work.

SPEAKER_01 28:39

Right. I I just I I have a very hard time of let down, and I don't want to let people down. And I feel like if they're giving you money for something, they should be getting what they're paying for. Yeah, and unfortunately, there's times we can't go to the track or life happens, and like last year we were on our way to the track, and we got flat tires. We ended up having to call somebody else to haul the car there. Thankfully, they were already on the way to the track, but just things happen and then you're letting somebody down.

Melinda Russell 29:15

Yeah, yeah. I I totally get that. So, how could someone follow you or see when you're gonna be racing? If you're driving, your son's driving, is there social media that you are on? And how how would we follow you?

SPEAKER_01 29:31

We do have a Eber speaker racing page. I haven't used it much um over the last two, three years due to my kids not racing full time, and I've put a few updates on there. And um with my racing, because I wasn't technically under EBA speaker racing, I was racing for somebody else. I didn't use it for mine. Okay. Um I really didn't post when I was going racing or nothing, but okay, this year I plan on using

Wrenching Help And Sponsorship Reality

SPEAKER_01 30:05

the Eber Speaker Racing Facebook page more and posting on my own. But other than that, I really don't do much with social media. I kind of have my profile a little bit private due to my kids and not wanting everything out there with them. Yeah, so it would more or less be the Eber Speaker racing page. Okay.

Melinda Russell 30:33

Okay, sounds good. So when is the first race you think that you're gonna be actually participating in?

SPEAKER_01 30:41

Um, I-96 opens this Friday. I think I'm gonna shoot for that. There's not a whole lot that needs done to the car, but it might be a couple two, three more weeks before we actually get it done. I'm not a hundred percent sure if we'll be able to get the car ready for this weekend, or it's been so cold and we don't have a race shop, so it's hard to work on it when we're outside.

Melinda Russell 31:07

Yeah, yeah. Actually, yesterday was the nicest day we've had here in Kalamazoo. It was almost 80, I think. And then now it's cold again.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

And so yeah, and especially towards the night time, it's getting even colder.

Melinda Russell 31:21

Yeah, it is, and you know, it's not necessary that you have to be there when it's 30 degrees, you know. Right. I mean, if you have the choice, uh yeah, I'm a hardcore race fan, but when it's really cold, there's no point in me going to the races.

SPEAKER_01 31:39

Yeah, I haven't even went to the races yet this year because it's been so cold and I don't want to just sit in the stands and be miserable. And I even bought the heated chairs for going. I'm like, it just it's still not worth it.

Melinda Russell 31:54

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 31:56

So I can watch it online so I can stay warm and watch.

Melinda Russell 32:02

I know, I know, and you know, there's two sides to the streaming. I have a flow account and I love it because I I know so many women from s all across the country that if they're racing uh and it's on flow and they live in Colorado or somewhere, I can watch, which is always fun. The downside of it is if um if I was uh a fan of a racetrack that's on flow and the weather's iffy, people stay home and the tracks need for you to go. I get that, but it's so it's kind of a two-edged sword. But I love flow racing. I can't I don't know what I do on the weekends without that, you know, because I'm able to watch so many.

SPEAKER_01 32:47

Yeah, it definitely makes it nice because you can watch from anywhere. Yes, you can be warm, you don't have to bundle up and load your car full of everything. Yeah, but at the same time, it's it's not

Following Along And Season Plans

SPEAKER_01 33:02

the same as going to the track, it's not the same as giving them the support, right? But we're in Michigan, we're I know to a short race season due to weather, yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Melinda Russell 33:17

And it'll get warm here soon, and we'll be able to make it to the track every weekend, so that's that's a good thing. So, Amber, is there anything that I haven't asked you about that you'd like to share about yourself or your racing, anything at all?

SPEAKER_01 33:34

I think we covered everything. Um, I would recommend making it to some track if you can go, whether it be asphalt dirt or even just a little go-kart track. I mean, it's always definitely a different experience, if especially if you are like me and love traveling to different tracks. I mean, this last year I went to four new tracks that I have never been to. So that that's definitely on my bucket list, like St. Louis. I was supposed to go this last year, but I wasn't able to. I definitely want to make it down there because I've never been to the dome. Right. So it's definitely you want to travel, go to some racetracks and enjoy some ice beat and yeah, lots of good entertainment all across the country.

Melinda Russell 34:24

Yes, yeah, yeah, for sure. Well, Amber, I appreciate that our friend Marcus that you went to school with and that I've been friends with, uh, he's the one that gave me your name. And so I appreciate that that Marcus did that, connected me uh to a new racer that I was not aware of. And so, Amber, thanks for being on the show. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 34:46

Um I appreciate you having me on here, and I appreciate Marcus for giving you my information.

Melinda Russell 34:53

Absolutely. So um, I'll kind of keep track of you a little bit this year. So you're gonna have to do a little bit of posting on social media or else you'll definitely do some posting. Yeah. Or or reach out to me and say, hey, we're we're racing that such and such, you know, tonight. So I like to keep track of the ladies that I've interviewed. So um stay in touch with me, Amber, for sure. And uh, if there's ever anything I can do or we need to have you on again after you get that first big feature win, then you let me know and we'll do that.

SPEAKER_01 35:25

I will. Thank you so much. All right, thank you.