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Amber Turner has always been the pull-up-the-boot-straps and do-it-herself type of individual. Like most of us, the go-getter enjoyed off-road recreation from an early age. Once she saw an actual competition in person and others not too different from herself making a living doing it, she formed her own aspirations. Instead of letting life choose her course, she’s paving her own path with sheer grit, talent, and a bit of luck.
The off-roader carved her way into a welding career and has broken into off-road racing. She races a $500 self-built Suzuki Samurai at King Of The Hammers. Her KOH 4600 Class Samurai is absolutely unique just like its owner and driver. When your racing peers utilize expensive, professionally built rigs, versus a self-taught and self-funded program, she is conquering the seemingly impossible.
An eternal optimist, Amber Turner gives a thumbs-up while her KOH 4600 Class Samurai receives work at a pit stop. Photo: Richard Giordano
We sat down with the energetic 29-year-old to learn why she got into the automotive trades and Ultra4 racing, what challenges she’s faced along the way, and why the legendary late Jessi Combs, the Fastest Woman on Earth, meant so much to her.
“I thought cars were cool when I was a kid,” Turner says. “All my dad’s favorite movies that he’d show us as kids were car-related somehow. The old-school hard work and pride mentality that went into people’s rides back in the day was imprinted on me from a young age—it still aligns with my values today.”
Amber Turner’s enthusiasm and determination are perfectly paired, especially when it comes to off-road competitions. Photo: Paolo Baraldi
Why Wheels?
Three pivotal points led to her automotive-related career:
One: attending her first King of the Hammers in February 2014. It drew her out of the “normal” path she was on and into the “abyss of dirt and hard work.” The difficulty of the extreme desert event hooked her. “My family and I volunteered that year and had a blast running the pedestrian crossing at Backdoor [obstacle], and meeting other people who were crazy enough to come out to this event.”
Two: In November 2014, Turner attended her first SEMA show. From the time she entered the halls of SEMA to the time she got home; the overwhelming sensation of all things automotive had consumed her. She knew then she wanted that to be her life, and she hoped it’d never slow down. “I wanted to be a part of the electric atmosphere, the hustle, and bustle that existed in those halls,” Turner exclaims. “I had no idea what any of it meant at the time, and just knew I had to be a part of it.”
Three: Turner started welding classes at a community college. “I was in my early 20s and no longer wanted to pursue a long, expensive degree in Veterinary medicine. I took a few elective classes that interested me, Welding was one of them. Turner initially signed up for the beginning MIG/TIG class to build a set of rock sliders for her [Suzuki] Samurai. She took every welding class the community college offered and was able to learn the basic skills that would propel her.
Turner worked for three years in large production shops, learning skills in general metal fabrication. She finally got a chance to work for Bomber Fabrication building off-road race cars in 2021. Photo: Amber Turner
The First Inkling of Jessi Combs
While cutting her teeth and learning her future career’s foundation at school, Turner saw Jessi Combs in an American Welding Society video and thought to herself, “If Jessi can do it, I can do it.”
“My dad and brothers would watch Extreme 4×4 Sunday mornings and I was surprised to see a girl like her [Jessi Combs], not much different than me, working on crazy off-road builds,” Turner explains as she fondly remembers those moments.
The KOH 4600 Class Samurai was finally upgraded to Toyota axles and 35-inch BFGoodrich tires for the 2022 Every Man Challenge. Photo: Lona Scott
“I got to meet [Combs] a handful of times, the first was King of the Hammers in 2014,” Turner says. “I snuck into the awards ceremony that morning. She was gracious enough to meet me after accepting her first-place award for the 4700 spec class. This was an extremely impressive win. This is a “driver’s class” with the cars all built within the same specifications. She beat every single one of the other drivers, appropriately being crowned the ‘Queen of the Hammers.'”
Combs encouraged Turner to pursue welding as a career. Combs had a saying, “Be the light you want to see in the world.” Turner strives to be that light and hopes others can be lit up by it, too.
Working Hard, Learning Skills
Turner got her first job while taking night classes in welding, honed her MIG and TIG skills, learned to sandblast and powder coat, and helped with product development. She then worked in two high-production welding shops, furthering her welding and fabrication skills. She then got the opportunity to start working at Bomber Fabrication. Her first week was spent ‘thrashing’ (as they liked to call it) to get a new racecar finished up in time to race in Mexico the following week.
“Baptism by fire is how I like to experience new things,” Turner says. “My life is now 100-percent immersed in off-road, from racing King of the Hammers once a year, to adventuring in the hills at home on weekdays, and all the late nights spent fixing and maintaining my rigs in between.”
The Two Stone Racing pit crew replaces a bent leaf spring on the KOH 4600 Class Samurai in the main pit during their first race in 2020. Photo: Richard Giordano
Following Combs’ Footsteps
So how did an entry-level welder become an off-road racer? Amber Turner does whatever it takes! Turner registered for her first King of the Hammers race on August 28th, 2019—the day after Jessi Combs passed away. “I looked up to her [Combs] in every major step of my life and her death spurred me to pursue my biggest, baddest goal.”
Racing in the iconic KOH event had become a center-point focus of her life. Amber had aspirations of building something other than her Samurai to race, for obvious reasons. Simply put, working at Bomber Fabrication, Turner builds some of the most awesome Ultra4 cars on the planet. This front-line experience is revealing, and by the way, there are just not too many competitive Suzuki Samurais racing hammers.
Turner’s KOH 4600 Class Samurai raced past the start/finish line onto her final lap, missing the cutoff time by about 30 minutes. Photo: Richard Giordano
“In five short months, I had it ready to take that first green flag,” Amber says. “I was terrified of what people might think; it’s small and underpowered. My 31-inch tires are the smallest to run the Every Man Challenge. There were so many reasons this was not the ideal Ultra4 car.”
Turner waited months before she announced her intentions. However, she was welcomed to the start line with open arms and made quite a splash while on the lakebed that year.
Turner’s KOH 4600 Class Samurai crossed the start/finish line in the main pit during the 2020 Every Man Challenge race. Photo: Richard Giordano
Amber Turner’s 1988 Suzuki Samurai Every Man’s Challenge Rig:
- TEAM NAME: Two Stone Racing
- DRIVER CLASS: 4600
- CAR NUMBER: 468
- CHASSIS: 1988 Suzuki Samurai
- REAR AXLE: Trail Gear housing, Yukon Zip Lockers, 5.29 gears
- FRONT AXLE: Toyota housing, Longfield Shafts, Yukon Zip Lockers, 5.29 gears
- TRANSFER CASE: 6.5:1 gears in stock case
- TRANSMISSION: Stock samurai five-speed
- ENGINE: Stock carbureted 1.3l
- SHOCKS: King 2.5″
- TIRES: 315x70r17 BF Goodrich KM3’s
- WHEELS: Sidetracked Offroad
- SEATS: Beard
“I want to prove my little car can finish the world’s hardest one-day off-road race,” Turner states with a determined stance. “Even though I don’t have the biggest or the best equipment, I can still get out there and do the (seemingly) impossible!”
The very same rig that was saved from decades of decay at a golf course, that trusty old daily driving commuter, the same old Samurai she’s owned for 10 years; she’s racing at the King of the Hammers. She is conquering the (seemingly) impossible—in her own way.
Photo: Amber Turner
Amber Turner’s Progression
Turner has yet to finish the KOH Every Man Challenge, but each year she has gotten closer. Not only does she want to finish King of the Hammers, but she wants to finish WELL. And she is not afraid to dream big.
Turner would like to, one day, have her own shop and build her Suzuki into the dreamer’s dreamy Samurai. She is also aspiring to build herself both a rock crawler fun-haver, and a modern purpose-built competitive race rig.
Amber inspects the undercarriage of her teammate (and mother’s) Izusu VehiCROSS during an off-road competition. Photo: Caleb Wallace
Turner’s family supports her. Especially the women within it, starting with her mother’s mom. “She followed my grandpa to jet ski races.” She wrenched on ovens in their used appliance shop. Turner’s grandmother was part of the male-dominated world.
Amber Turns To Family For Support KOH 4600 Class Samurai
“My sister, Sara, is a concrete pump-operator, following my dad’s footsteps,” Amber adds. “We constantly swap stories of being the only female on the job and how we’re underestimated at every turn. We thrive on being able to point to things and say, ‘I built that!’”
Amber’s mother, Dolly, smiles during the 2022 Rebelle Rally Competition. Dolly and Amber teamed up to race the all-female rally competition in a 2001 Isuzu Vehicross. Photo: Nicole Dreon
“My mom, Dolly, followed in those footsteps by getting her trucking license when she was young and putting on jet ski races in the ’80s and ’90s. For my whole childhood, she would tag along on my dad’s dirt-biking adventures so my siblings and I could experience camping and motorsports,” she adds.
Photo: Regine Trias
“Nowadays she runs my pit crew and has stolen the hearts of the entire Ultra4 community with her big smile and homemade cookies.” To Amber, her mother Dolly is the most selfless, helpful person she knows. “This fearlessness took a while for me to embrace, but my family history of badass women continues to inspire me.”
Although Turner didn’t officially finish her first Every Man Challenge race in 2020, she and the Two Stone Racing team were invited by King of the Hammers staff to cross the main stage. Photo: Chris Goodman
This is Amber’s third year racing in the 4 Wheel Parts Every (Wo)Man Challenge after years of volunteering at the King Of The Hammers. She has some tricks up her sleeve this year though! Amber added Toyota axles and 35-inch tall BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain KM2 Tires to her Suzuki Samurai to make it more competitive in the Spidertrax Off-Road 4600 Stock Class. More importantly though, working for three-time King Randy Slawson as a welder at Bomber Fabrication, gained her priceless knowledge along the way.
The Jessi Combs Foundation also caught wind of Amber’s effort and has issued support in her racing endeavorers.
Going for Gold: What Is In Store For the KOH 4600 Class Samurai?
“One of the things that frustrate me the most is that I am underestimated at first glance,” the near-30-year-old Turner says. “Be it welding or wheeling, people see me or my Samurai and brush us off as incapable. People think that because I’m female, I don’t get my hands dirty or work on my own stuff. There must be a man behind me making it all happen. In fact, there isn’t.”
It’s Amber turning those wrenches. Turner has put in hundreds, if not thousands of hours, learning her craft. She plans on dedicating thousands more, just like Combs did, so she can be her best.
“Dedicating my life to taking that checkered flag is a challenge in itself, with a mass of sacrifices in its wake,” the dedicated off-road racer said. “You can’t get better at it if you don’t try it! You’re going to fail. A lot. But you can’t let that stop you and you can’t let other people’s opinions stop you either.”
A few glamor shots were taken of Turner’s Samurai days before it took its first green flag. Three years later, it’s a much different-looking machine. Photo: Phillip Salfen
“Living a life of passion isn’t easy, or comfortable. No one else is going to understand it but you. Every person has the ability to do whatever they want. Believe me when I tell you that you absolutely can do it alone. Stop making excuses and just believe in yourself!” – Jessi Combs
Wise words from a woman who admires one who HAS conquered the seemingly impossible.
Photos by Richard Giordano, Nicole Dreon, Caleb Wallace, Regine Trias, Paolo Baraldi, Chris Goodman, Phillip Salfen, Lona Scott, and Amber Turner.
