From Karting to NASCAR Late Models with Kaeden Ballos
To All The Cars I've Loved Before: Classic Car Restoration, JDM, and Automotive History
From Karting to NASCAR Late Models with Kaeden BallosTo All The Cars I've Loved Before: Classic Car Restoration, JDM, and Automotive History · Jul 21, 2026
The Volkswagen Golf is a small, everyday car that people use for commuting and errands. The podcast mentions it because where it’s built and how parts are handled can change, which can affect repairs and maintenance. It’s a common car, so these topics matter to many owners.
The Chevrolet Nova is a model name for a Chevrolet car that was made in different years. In the podcast, it’s mentioned because it connects to someone’s personal or local history. It’s being used as a reference point in a story about people and cars.
A go-kart track is a racing course made for small race karts. Many racers begin here because it’s a safe, affordable way to learn how to steer, brake, and race.
Denny Hamlin is a famous NASCAR driver. The guest is saying that Hamlin also started racing at a similar dirt-track when he was younger.
Term
prep tires
Prep tires are race tires that have been treated so they work more consistently on that track. That can help drivers get reliable grip instead of unpredictable traction.
Concept
asphalt ranks
“Asphalt ranks” means progressing from dirt racing to racing on paved roads. The driving is different on asphalt, so it’s like moving to the next level of competition.
An oval track is a race track that’s shaped like a stretched circle. Cars go around it mostly turning the same direction, which changes how drivers steer and how the cars are set up.
Counterclockwise means the cars go around the track turning the other way compared to how a clock moves. If a track always runs counterclockwise, drivers and cars get used to the same kind of left-turning forces.
Prepped tires are race tires that have been treated or set up to work a certain way on the track. The goal is better grip and more predictable handling during the race.
No groove tires are tires with a flatter, less-channelled tread pattern. That can change how much grip you get and how the tire behaves as it picks up dirt on the track.
Term
dirt champ cart
A dirt champ cart is a type of go-kart made for racing on dirt tracks. It’s built to handle loose surfaces and lots of quick laps.
Capital City Speedway is the dirt track where this happened. Dirt tracks are loose and can be easy to lose control on, so flips can happen if you hit the wrong spot or get bumped.
A barrel roll is when the kart flips over and rotates in the air. It often happens when the tires lose grip or when there’s contact with another racer.
Term
safer race cars
“Safer race cars” means race vehicles built with more safety gear than the earlier stuff. The idea is that if you crash or flip, the car is designed to protect the driver better.
Term
flat carts
“Flat carts” in this context means a kart setup without the safety frame. The speaker’s mom didn’t want that because it would be much riskier if the kart flipped.
A “crazy cart” is a toy-like go-kart for kids. You sit in it and use a lever to make it slide/drift around, kind of like learning the basics of car control at a safe, small scale.
“Drifting” means the car slides sideways while you steer, instead of gripping and turning normally. Calling it a “drifting toy” means it’s made to help kids practice that kind of sliding.
Rick Wren is mentioned in connection with NASCAR. The transcript says he was Kyle Bush’s ex-crew chief, which means he was the main person helping run the team and make strategy/car setup calls.
The start-finish line is the track line where races start and where the checkered flag ends the race. It’s also the reference point for timing and scoring, so drivers experience it as a major “moment” in every race. In oval racing, it’s often near the main grandstands and pit/driver access areas.
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a famous race track in North Carolina that hosts NASCAR events. It’s known for big, fast oval racing. The speaker mentions it because it’s where drivers celebrate and fans are right there to see it.
Bandoleros are a kind of race car used for young drivers. They’re meant to be simpler so beginners can focus on driving and learning how racing works. Compared to bigger NASCAR cars, they’re easier to drive and less complicated.
The clutch pedal is what you press in a manual car to change gears. The speaker is saying Bandoleros are set up so you don’t have to use the clutch pedal the way you would in a typical manual car. That makes them easier for new drivers to focus on steering and braking.
A start button is like a push-button ignition that starts the car. Instead of turning a key, you press the button. The speaker is saying Bandoleros still use that kind of control.
Late model racing is a type of stock-car racing in the U.S. The cars look like regular cars, but they’re built and tuned for racing. It’s also a specific racing class/series name, not just a description.
The “summer shootout” is a big racing event that runs for weeks in the summer. The speaker is saying it was very intense and competitive, with drivers traveling in to race.
Term
bandolital cars
“Bandolital cars” sounds like the bandolero-style junior race cars. They’re small race cars meant for younger drivers, usually on short tracks where speeds are lower than big NASCAR-style cars but still fast.
Legend cars are a specific youth-focused stock-car racing category with standardized rules and purpose-built cars. They’re designed to be relatively affordable and competitive for developing drivers, which is why they’re mentioned alongside other junior classes.
A “spec” class is where the race cars are supposed to be very similar, following the same rules. That way, the driver’s skill matters more than having a wildly faster car.
A quarter-mile track is a short race track. Cars don’t reach the very highest speeds there, but the racing can still feel fast because the track is tight and turns come quickly.
Carting means racing small go-karts on a track. Even though the car looks simple, it can be hard work because you have to steer and move your body a lot to go fast and stay in control.
Eurolean is a karting technique where you lean your body into the corner. The goal is to help the kart turn better and keep more grip, especially when the kart feels twitchy.
In racing, grip is how much traction the tires have with the track surface. More grip lets the car (or kart) turn harder and accelerate sooner without sliding.
Sim racing means racing in a video game with real racing gear, like a wheel and pedals. People use it to practice and learn how to drive, even though it can still feel tiring.
Force feedback is what makes a racing wheel in a simulator push back against your hands. It can also shake or resist so the steering feels more like a real race car.
A NASCAR weekly series is local stock-car racing that happens regularly—often every week—at different tracks. It’s a way for drivers to compete in NASCAR-style cars and build experience.
Hakery Motor Speedway is a race track where the driver competes. In weekly stock-car racing, the track matters a lot because it shapes how the cars handle and how drivers learn racecraft.
“Wide-body” means the race car has a wider body than a normal version. That can help the tires fit better and can change how the car grips and handles on a track.
A short oval track is a smaller oval race track with tighter turns. Cars have to be set up to handle lots of cornering and getting back up to speed quickly.
Term
car handling wise
“Handling” is how the car feels when you turn the wheel and drive through corners. If the driver says it was bad “handling wise,” it usually means the car didn’t turn or grip the way they wanted.
Term
motor wasn't performing
“Motor” here means the engine. If it “wasn’t performing,” the car wasn’t making the power the driver needed to accelerate and keep pace.
On an oval, turns are numbered. “Three and four” means the back two corners, and how you drive them can make a big difference in how fast you go down the next straight.
Term
analyze the racetrack
“Analyze the racetrack” means the driver is figuring out the track—where it’s grippy, where it’s slippery, and where they can gain time. It’s like learning the best way to drive each section of the course.
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car made by Chevrolet. People often buy it for performance and driving enjoyment, not just for getting from place to place. In the podcast, it’s mentioned as an example of a car that might not fit the idea of a simple daily driver.
The DeLorean is a very recognizable sports car with a unique look. The speaker is mentioning they have one in their garage, even though they don’t want to “plug” it.
Term
Novelle networking
This is about computer networking—how computers connect to each other at work. The speaker is saying they learned about networking through Novell and it helped them find a job.
The Nissan 240 SX is a popular Japanese sports car from the late 80s/early 90s. People liked it because it’s rear-wheel drive and there are lots of parts and upgrades available, so it’s a common “starter” car for car people.
Concept
time machine
When someone says “time machine,” they mean the car feels like it takes you back to an earlier time. It’s usually about how the car drives and feels compared to newer cars.
The Nissan 300 ZX is a more upscale Japanese sports car than the 240 SX. It’s known for looking cool, driving well, and being a car that enthusiasts like to modify.
F3 and F4 are lower-level open-wheel racing series that help drivers learn race techniques. The cars are designed to be similar enough that you can see who’s driving best.
This is a short racing school that teaches you how to drive a race car. The goal is to learn the basics—like where to brake and how to take corners—before you race more seriously.
The halo is a safety device on the car that sits in front of the driver’s head. It’s there to help protect the driver if something hits the cockpit area.
Place
South course
Many big race tracks have more than one layout. The “South course” is one specific version of the track, so lap times depend on which layout you’re running.
LIVE
Welcome back to All the Cars I've Loved Before, the podcast where we park the specs at the door to focus on the stories that matter.
Your stories.
It's time to get a little grease under your nails, grab your favorite car themed t-shirt or hat, jump in our DeLorean time machine, get it up to 88, and get back to your first sense of pure freedom.
The windows down, the music pegged, and your best friends piled in the back.
Every car tells a story, whether it's that forgotten beater or the one that got away.
We're diving into the personal history behind the metal.
So let's get into it.
I'm Doug, and I'm here going solo without the help of my wonderful co-host Dave.
He's tied up today.
And we're gonna jump right into podcast updates.
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I do have a review to share.
This one is from Peter G101.
Peter G-E G-E-E 101, that is.
And Peter says there are a lot of podcasts out there, but this one delves deep into the emotional attachment of the guests and the meta that they once owned.
Metal, pardon me, that they once to own.
And this is a great show.
Thank you, Peter.
Really appreciate it.
And for everyone listening, if you leave us a great review, five-star review, we will read it live on the podcast.
So please tune in and you'll hear your name.
So on to today's guest.
So as our podcast grows and I get more involved in motorsports, I was fortunate enough to come across today's guest in the media.
And by coincidence, his grandfather, who is very involved in helping him, was in IT in the Nova area, Northern Virginia.
And we know some of the same people.
So when I was in Myrtle Beach a few months ago with my family on spring break, I was able to meet up with our guest's grandfather, who handles all of his sponsorships.
And for anyone who doesn't know, motorsports is truly a family sport and tradition.
Everyone wants to see you succeed and they lend a hand wherever possible, whether it's from retirement or just pitching in, putting on social media.
So without further ado, we are thrilled to welcome Caden Balos to our virtual garage today.
He's coming to us.
Thank you, Caden.
He is coming to us from North Carolina, Concord, North Carolina, and he is an 18-year-old racer.
He's been making waves in the late model ranks behind the wheel of the number 19 car in the NASCAR weekly series.
And he's a proven competitor.
He's taken home the 2022 NX Summer Shootout Championship, has racked up several wins in his late model career, including a recent step up to the highly competitive cars tour.
And so, Caden, welcome to the show.
We're excited to have you here.
And we're going to do something unique that we've been doing with our race car drivers.
We're going to talk less about your, although I do want to hear about your daily driver and first cars, but we're going to talk more about your race cars and where you've gone, where you started, where you went to, and how you got there.
So can you tell us about your background, how you got into racing, when, and what motivates you to get behind the wheel?
Yeah, thank you for having me first off, Doug.
I really appreciate the podcast.
And I think it's pretty, pretty neat what you do.
Thank you.
So what first really originated me wanting to get behind the wheel was I would say the legacy that my grandfather, Tom Ballis.
Um, so as of right now, he unfortunately passed away.
Um but my you know, my other grandfather, he's been helping with sponsorship and everything.
Um but as of right now, you know, I'd say looking back, the most important thing in my life was realizing the legacy that he created, realizing that there's something else that I have to fulfill, right?
There's a duty almost in this world for me.
Um and it's something I've seen since a young age.
Since my dad brought me to the go-kart track when I was like six years old, he's, hey, buddy, you want to go to your our local dirt track?
And um ever since then, I've just been kind of tied in.
And it's the same place that Denny Hamlin started racing when he was younger.
Um ever started.
So it's just like a dirt track, but they actually run like prep tires and everything on there.
So it's like pay-proofed.
So it's not actually, you know, you're not getting sideways, you're not running a micro, you're not doing anything like that.
But fortunately, it did help me quite a bit to progress towards the asphalt ranks moving forward.
Um, so I'd say running my first dirt go-kart race and going out there for the first time and just taking a look at the carts, it really drew my attention and really got my interest in racing.
No, thank you for that.
And I think I remember from our discussion that you were a fourth generation racer.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Can you tell us more about that?
You mentioned your grandfather, but obviously there's more more in the family that were involved.
Yeah.
So my great-grandfather raced.
He raced, I think, the street stocks and uh like local dirt tracks and local like asphalt tracks as well.
Um, kind of looks like the car behind you, in a sense, back in the day, you know, super, super old.
And then my grandfather actually raced in the Goody Dash series in the 70s and the 80s.
Ended up becoming the NASCAR race director um for quite a bit, ended up becoming a tech official at Southside Speedway, uh, Virginia.
So he had his rounds quite a bit, and a lot of people knew him.
And I I was really surprised, you know, at his funeral to see the the amount of names and the amount of people that really knew him and um really held his name deeply in in their heart.
So it it helped me quite a bit on my journey.
Um it made me even more fired up to go out there and and spread, you know, his journey and his legacy even farther than he already has, and I think it's very important to me.
Wonderful, wonderful.
And how about your father, I think?
Yes, I I totally forgot about that.
Yeah.
My father also raced, he raised Late Models, I think, believe when he was younger.
And but nothing could go further than that.
But I believe he raced somewhat of the similar, similar path to I have already kind of created for myself and and he's provided for me already.
So it's been, you know, it's kind of neat to see the full circle in a way through generation.
Right, yeah, for sure.
And you're you're obviously we talked about it, your grandfather, the one I met, Thomas.
And let's see, your mother, I think your mother and your father involved as well.
Yeah, please.
So we call it the Caden Ballast team.
And that's Caden Ballast team.
It's our family.
It's my mom, you know, my father, my grandmother, and my grandfather.
And we all sit down every, I'd say every Tuesday, maybe every other week, and we we discuss for about an hour, hour and a half what we need to get done, what we, you know, have got done, what we need to focus on moving forward, what we could do better for sponsorship.
And in entirety, we all want to see, you know, this whole team win.
It's not just me behind, you know, the scenes doing everything.
It's everybody.
And that's something that I don't think many people understand.
Right.
Truly a family affair, right?
And not not uncommon when it comes to racers, right?
Yeah, not at all.
Not at all.
I'd say anybody making it in today's world has had their father, mother, or some type of grandparent or relative family step up and really usher the way.
And that's kind of what I've already seen in my life, and I'm super, super grateful for that.
Right.
Starting at age six, right?
Yeah.
It's if you look back at it and you think about it, it is it's quite ridiculous.
It's crazy.
Well, over you're 18 now, so over half your life.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Like three quarters, yeah.
Exactly.
Yeah.
And speaking of people who were influential, and of course we're coming off the the passing of Kyle Bush, but I saw a post from you with a picture of him, a much younger Caden Ballast.
Can you tell us about that?
How old you were when you met him and the it just the impact of that?
Yeah.
So I I believe that was maybe one of the third or fourth times I'd actually met him.
Okay.
Like before that, I've attended races and had the opportunity to meet him before.
But that was one of the only times I really sat down and got to speak and talk with him and really get to know him.
It was at a top golf event.
It was Samantha's Charity Foundation event and the Bundle of Joy Foundation.
And we got to play top golf with Ray Abraham and sit down and talk with Kyle Bush.
And I actually got to meet, you know, Samantha's father, and we became great, great friends.
But that's a different story for another time.
And I got to meet Kyle and thinking about at that time, I was about 13 years old when I really got to know him.
And he was my favorite driver, you know, ever since six years old.
And looking at this screen, looking at the 18 MM cargo and win every pretty much every race.
I feel like he dominated in in his era.
And I think anybody could say that as well.
And even if you hated him, even if you loved him, I think everybody could could agree he was one of the best talents in ASCAR there's ever, ever been.
Besides, you know, Jeff Gordon and a bunch of these names.
I he falls right in line with every single one of them.
And it's it's so sad to see, you know, his legacy ink discontinued in a way, right?
It was we would have seen a different Kyle Bush in this upcoming season.
And I I believe this just he's he was starting to get it, you know, and I think you would have seen a different side of him in this RCR team.
Okay.
It's it's sad, right?
It's very sad.
Yeah.
Well, you're one of the lucky people, and actually there are many, there's so many pictures of people who had met him and spoke so highly of him, just just like yourself.
And having been able to met meet him three or four times is just incredible.
And yeah, I was gonna guess you were about twelve or thirteen in that picture.
So I was pretty clicked.
I've seen him pretty much I would say every other week at the racetrack.
His son, Brexton Bush, would attend most of the races and most of the racetracks that I go to.
Because, you know, in the late models, they also have legends and also have at some of the tracks.
And so sometimes they show up and I get to see, you know, Brexton and the family and Samantha and how they they're just normal people.
And it's so sad to see that, you know, the person ushering him along, kind of like what we just talked about, you know, how important the father, the mother, you know, the the the entire family is in the process to see that he lost, you know, maybe the biggest provider and the biggest leader he could have had is is quite difficult to to grasp.
And he's definitely gained the fan for the rest of my life.
I know.
I know for a fact that I'm gonna do it.
And many.
No, thank you for that.
And thank you for sharing that story.
Of course.
Yeah, I know the whole NASCAR community is hurting over that loss, but it's a tough one.
Yeah, it's came out of nowhere.
I don't know, I'm not even really dealing with it.
I'm just kind of you know, just accepting it in a way.
People light up talking about cars.
It's just it's like the best icebreaker out there.
So it is.
I think it's it's something that creates the most unity.
You know, you see racing, it has the best community I've ever seen out of any sport known to man.
Yeah, I I believe it.
I believe it.
It's just not that animal, you know, there's animosity on the track, but off the track, it's over, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right?
Like, for example, actually, last night I got into it with I was personally just running clean, running next to this guy, and his n I won't say names, but he's one of my good friends.
And I've seen him at most of the racetracks I go to, and he actually messaged me after the race apologizing for what had happened.
And stuff like this, you know, you don't really think about when you look at it in the stance, the connections.
You don't think about how people are running each other, and you don't you just don't see it, right?
You don't see the behind the scenes.
But you know, we got on the track and we were running together, and I I had some good crossovers on him, and I was I kept basically outrunning him on the high side, and he kept trying to pass me on the low side, but he couldn't make it work because the high side was just better that night.
And I was able to get to the gas quicker and outrun him off the straight away.
And he had a really good one and two, but I had an out, you know, I can't even explain.
He said it was, you know, some of the craziest work he's ever seen.
Three and mine, he had mentioned like he could not get around me.
And I knew it, right?
I can't kind of just held him off for a reason because I knew that he was faster in one of two, but I I had three and four kind of locked down.
And so eventually it kind of got so upsetting that he kept entering on the low side, washing up, eventually washed up too high and completely wrecked me.
And he uh he ended up coming to me and apologizing.
And I really appreciate that, you know, because some people would have just let that go and not even said a word.
So very mature of him.
And he's a younger driver himself.
I think he's about 14.
Okay, gotcha.
Wow.
So 14 years old racing the late model division.
Yeah, you know, a lot of people doing that.
And one of my best friends actually started at age 12, was it?
Age 11, 10 years old, something like that.
It was crazy.
But he always had to like lie about his age and a little bit to not get in trouble.
People would get a little bit offended that a 10-year-old or 11-year-old beat them.
So yeah.
And the fan base, right, in racing.
Like everybody's got their favorite, right?
But it's not like going to I don't know, basketball, football when the other team loses.
And like, I don't know, some of the fan stuff, right?
You gotta you gotta be careful at some of those events.
Yeah, that doesn't happen in racing.
Not anybody else for having an opinion.
That's something I don't see, which is quite funny, actually.
Yeah.
No, the sport's not divided.
I love I love that.
Yeah.
Sorry, I'm writing it down for every everybody who's wondering what I'm doing.
So yeah, with that said, we're gonna get to our trivia question.
I knit I'm pretty sure you'll know the answer, but we're gonna say the answer for the end.
But the question is, why do most American oval tracks from short tracks to the ND500 run counterclock counterclockwise or turning left?
So hold that.
I was surprised by the answer as well.
So it's uh it's just interesting seeing the origins and where they come from, but I don't want to give it away.
So with that said, tell us about your first car, racing car, since we're we're at what, age six, seven now.
What was it?
How'd you get it?
What what great memories come back?
Obviously, it was your first racing car, so there's a lot, a lot of deep memories there, I'm sure.
Yeah.
So it was my first real car.
Uh, you know, I I remember my first time in the actual race car.
It was a you know dirt champ cart, and it was you had the prep tires, no groove tires, all prep.
And it was quite fascinating as a young kid going out there.
You know, I remember putting my helmet on for the first time and it choking my neck.
It was a little claustrophobic, and I still remember that to this day.
And getting in that car, I remember doing about a hundred laps my first time out on the track.
And I just I loved it.
You know, I couldn't get enough of it.
My dad was waving me down.
He couldn't get my attention fast enough.
And I was I was out there in the zone.
I think, you know, it's my first car I ever really got to experience.
I really racked in, really flipped.
You know, my first real flip, real flip, like I I barrel rolled down the back straight away at my local dirt track, Capital City Speedway.
Came off a two, and I was passing for the lead.
I was on the outside, and he was on my inside, and I passed him on the outside, and I don't think he had known knowing that I was on his outside, and he went up into me and completely took me out.
But it was okay because I ended up actually looking back on that time and appreciating him for doing it.
It took the fear out of me after that day.
You know, barrel rolling in a champ cart down the back straightaway when there's cars passing next to you.
You all you can see is nothing, really.
It it's a good memory to have, and it takes the fear out of you when you go into these, you know, safer race cars like I'm currently in.
Yeah.
No, interesting to start that way.
And yeah, you know, your parents kept kept you going, right?
Yeah.
They probably would have given you an out if you wanted it, but you just kept going, right?
And then my mom would never let me race the flat carts, though.
They had like the flat carts with no roll cages, and she said no, no at all.
So which is understandable considering if I would have flipped in that, that would have been horrendous.
So yes.
Yes.
Yep, yep.
Mom knows best for sure.
Yeah.
So had how did you get that car?
I think there's an interesting story around that.
I think.
Yeah.
I believe my first ever race car was bought by my grandfather, Tom Ballas.
And that was the Christmas after he had bought me my first crazy cart, which was actually like my first real feeling for adrenaline and feeling for speed.
I would take this, it's called a crazy cart.
For anybody who doesn't know what that is, it's pretty much a drifting toy for kids.
And it's like it's got four wheels.
You sit down in it like a go-kart and you pull a lever and it drifts you around.
Right.
And so I would practice doing this in the parking lot of my school on weekends with my father and my mother who would go out there and I would just drift around the parking lot with a crazy cart.
I actually remember one time my mom wasn't looking and I was just locked in on the track.
I wasn't realizing, and she stepped onto the track and I knocked her out, clean off her feet.
Thankfully, it wasn't too fast, right?
Right.
It still was fast enough for me to remember it and and still actually to this day, you know, looking back, that was probably one of the best moments of my life was really just getting the the feel for speed and understanding I really did like and had a passion for this.
No, that's that's awesome.
And so you you rode the champ cart for a while, right?
That's kind of where you got started.
And then you moved on to so you grew out of it at one point, right?
Is that the the Well, funny story, actually.
Grandfather now, Thomas Mockby, he actually was neighbors with Rick Wren, which is Kyle Bush's ex-crew chief.
Funny enough, talk about it.
Kyle Bush, you know, it was his winning most I I believe he has the most wins with Kyle Bush.
And so went through his whole career with him, which is pretty neat to see.
And he was the first one that came to me after I came to him in his garage.
I came to him one day and knocking on his door.
I just wanted to introduce myself with my, you know, my grandfather, my grandmother, talked to him and his lovely wife.
And I I actually he quizzed me.
He asked me a question.
He said, When you're racing, where do you feel it the most?
Where you where are you driving off of your left front, your right front, your left rear, your right rear?
And you know, to me, I'm thinking, or and he said, Where do you feel it?
Right.
And I I said, I don't feel it in any any of those spots, honestly.
I feel it off directly under me, under my seat, under my butt, you know?
And he said, That's that's the answer I was looking for, right?
He said, get them off of dirt, put them into asphalt, put them into this, move him forward.
When he starts getting wins at late model, call him.
He said, I have the owner, the the basically the the director, the same person who makes all the shots for Toyota in my back pocket, right?
And he said, When you start wanting a late model, come to me.
So right now we're trying to get my name out there the best we can, and hopefully what we're doing is working because I think right now the path that I've created for myself, there's no way it doesn't work.
There's so much output, there's so much progression, there's so much fight drive in me that there's no chance that this doesn't work because I'm gonna fight every day for it too.
Yeah, I can see it in everything you do, all your social media posts, just your energy level.
And we were talking before, you're the oldest 18-year-old I've ever met.
Like you easily like talking to somebody double your age, maturity-wise.
So it's impressive.
I'm sure my mom would would argue would make it.
But that's a mom.
I appreciate you, Doug.
Thank you.
No, you're you're you're welcome, man.
I I don't say it because I don't because I BS, I say it because I believe it.
So and uh you seem like a straightforward guy.
I take you as well, you say what you believe, and I appreciate you saying that.
Well, yeah.
See secretly, I hope my kids aren't listening.
Of course they're not listening to the podcast.
I'm hoping they'll be half as mature as you are in the near future.
So we all hope for that.
So yeah.
So once you grew out of that league scene, that car, what was your next car?
Can you tell us about it?
Yeah.
So when I came to Rick Raynon, we had a discussion and we said move to asphalt.
And we're thinking, where?
You know?
We already thought about one of the places that my buddy Tristan McKee was racing.
It was the summer shootout.
It was bandolero cars at the summer shootout.
So asphalt quarter mile track that actually part passes the start-finish line at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
So you're racing on the track of Charlotte Motor Speedway.
You take a turn down, and then you're going down the pit road of the actual same place that NASCAR drivers go.
And my first real taste for victory, you know, I remember being in the bandolero car and winning my first summer shootout race, you know, getting up on that stage and they would bring like this trailer out.
They'd have like this big, you know, poster with like cookout summer shootout behind it.
I think it was both Bojangles at the time.
They had the Bojangles helps everywhere.
So it's very, very nostalgic for me.
I remember, you know, Lenny Baticki is actually the announcer.
He comes on stage and you roll the dice for the next people to go out, see what position, you know, what invert everyone in the field gets, which kind of makes it cool for the next people to see in the next, you know, cars to come.
And but uh my first real taste for victory is actually on the start-finish line, right?
The same place the drivers get out at Charlotte Motor Speedway, climb the wall, you know, see the fans in the stage in the stage.
And it's so cool to be able to experience the same feeling.
So wow.
Yeah, that's that sounded like fun.
So an amazing experience.
So tell tell me, if you will, and uh hopefully our listeners will know, but tell us about the Bandoleros, what kind of vehicle it is, engine transmission, how it differs from NASCAR, let's say.
Yeah.
It's like a brick on wheels.
So it really is there's gas, there's brake, not much to it.
You know, there's no clutch pedal, although they're you know, in the back, there's an axle, there's a motor, you know, you have your gear, right?
Obviously, you have everything still there, the clutch, but you're not actually using this in the in the car.
It's just a pedal, steering wheel, brake, you know, everything you need.
Yeah.
Gas, brake, pedal.
Or gas, brake, steering wheel.
You got it.
Boom.
You have your ignition, you have your start button, same thing for any car, but it's, you know, I'd I'd argue it's the closest thing to brick on wheels there's ever been.
You know, you just pretty much a body, chassis, on wheels, gas, pedal, steering wheel.
It's very simple.
And it it drives exactly like that.
You know, it's almost like having to angle the brick perfectly before you enter the the corner.
And it it prepared me very well for late model racing.
You would you wouldn't think so, but it it really did.
And it was my first real taste of competition too, because the summer shootout, you know, there's people from all across the globe come there to to compete for about eight weeks during the summer.
It's the best competition there is for this type of racing.
So legend cars, bandolital cars.
It's the best type of racing there is in the country.
So to be able to experience that at a young age, it was like a war zone.
You know, the bet the best thing I could relate it to is.
For anybody who's put Call of Duty out there, anyway, anyone of my gamer friends, you know, you turn Call of Duty on, you go in the lobby and you listen to anything that's going on, it sounds like a war zone.
It is a war zone, right?
That's how I would relate this type of racing in the summer shootout.
It's a war zone, and it prepares you very well for any type of racing, which kind of relates into the the next car you're going to talk about as well as well.
But I'll let you do that.
Right.
What is, I'm curious, what are the top speeds out of that?
We're not a spec thing, spec show here, but what are what are the top speeds somebody could expect out of a bandolaris on that type of track?
I believe, let me let me make sure I get this right.
I believe the bandolero top speed on like the fastest track they is like 56 miles an hour.
I'm not I'm not sure they necessarily go faster than that.
I don't think they have like 60, 70 miles an hour.
I don't I don't believe they go too quick but on quarter mile tracks, so which is still pretty quick for those tiny cars.
But when you move up to like get a little bit more intense.
Right.
And so yeah, it really sounds like a skill building.
Yeah, and speaking of the brick on wheels, right?
It probably doesn't turn that well.
It doesn't do any of those things well, right?
It's all about skill.
Yeah.
100%.
And that's it's kind of like if you've ever raced carts or anybody out there who knows what carting is, if you've ever seen like a Briggs race, you have to be very particular, very on point, very, I don't know, precise with everything you do because you're at the slowest speed.
So everything matters, right?
If you're running a higher class, you know, you have better throttle management, you can mess up, but you can make it back, right?
And breaks and you're running draft, you're running in, you know, the most particular technical type of racing there is.
Everything matters.
If your line's off by a hair, you will ruin your your lap time.
It's true.
So it kind of relates in the same sense to Bandaleros.
Okay, gotcha.
No, thank you for that.
That's that's enlightening learning about it.
Yeah, they I think I did carting once or twice, and uh just you know, it was some random fun things, fun event at some show, and it was exhausting.
Yeah.
How did you like it?
How did you like it?
I did not like it at all.
It was exhausting.
You nobody thinks it, you know, and that's what I'm starting to realize.
When I first laid eyes on a cart and like, oh, it's just a little cart, you know.
You get there, you get in the thing, you're like, oh, let's say nothing.
You get off and you slowly start to realize that the people who do this have to train and have to prepare for this.
It's not you can't just hop in and do this.
It's very physically taxing.
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, just the amount of effort to steer that little wheel, not really wheel, but steer that vehicle is just it, it was amazing how exhausted my arms were after that and elbows, wrist.
Yeah.
You drive with your entire body, which is one of what you could understand.
And in carting, you drive you actually lean Eurolean is what they call it.
You lean certain directions with your core, and that's how you turn the car at the highest degree if you want to be the fastest.
When you it's a push and pull movement, right?
So in the race car, you know, in a normal late model, you're turning just you know, normal, yeah, your shifter here, you're turning.
And this cart, you're actually pushing and pulling the chassis because it's so light and you can flex it.
You can actually bend the entire chassis just by doing that.
So it helps when you're trying to get the most grip out of the car.
Okay, gotcha.
And for everybody who's watching this on YouTube, when the YouTube version of this comes out the following week, Caden just gave us a quick video example.
So it was really, really helpful.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
100%.
And you know, still me even going back out to the track my first time out there.
It's it's still very physically taxing.
Doing it every day, you know, doing it every week, going to the gym every day, going to the sauna every day.
Still, as an 18-year-old at the at the highest physical level I might ever be, still going out there still takes a toll on my wrists, my hands, my arms, everything.
Right.
So I would say, you know, Doug, for you to be able to go out there and say the same thing and do it just as I did is very impressive because it's people don't understand, you know, people really don't.
Well, thank thank you for that.
I didn't do it like you did, that's for sure.
But I tried.
Even even some of the sim racing stuff is kind of exhausting.
Yeah.
It's it's it's amazing that those rigs, what they're capable of doing.
You know better than me, of course.
I actually have one downstairs, yes.
And it I have the force feedback at like the highest degree.
So it mimics the late model that I'm in.
Okay.
Helps, right?
And I went to a sim racing expo with my buddy.
It's in the Charlotte area, and they they were here with about 200, 100, 200 sims.
I got to experience every type of race sim there possibly was, you know, every different type of monitor, steering, you know, pedal system, whatever.
Everything was different.
And it's neat.
And it helped me in my sim today, because I can go back and go, okay, this needs to change.
I don't like this, I don't like this.
Because now I know what I like.
I didn't I had no clue what was out there, you know.
Yeah.
The the amount of adjustment that's available has got to be like infinite, right?
Yeah.
Oh, it's it's a market for sure.
There's a lot of people making money.
There definitely is.
Yep.
Yeah, it's all all over my feed once I started going.
So you can't stop.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, it's fun.
It it it really is.
And there's a local sim place here that I've gone to a few times.
So we're gonna have the have one of the owners on the on the show soon.
So with all that, so you moved from the Bandoleros to what was your next car?
My next car was the Legend car, right?
So for no nobody who knows what the Legend car is, they're like miniature-sized, old-timey looking cars.
It's hard to explain it, but they have a motorcycle motor.
Yamaha actually creates the motors for all the legend cars.
And as of recently, they just progressed.
They started like it was a 1250, is what they call it.
And then they moved to like, I believe the MT is the most recent one, which is electric, actually.
They're moving to electric motors instead of gas field motors, which is it's created a lot of problems for me.
And that's actually one of the main reasons I moved out of Legend cars.
When I started Legend Racing with the gas motors, the 1250, it was completely different.
You know, it was like a raw late model style compared to like, you know, pro-late model, for example.
So it was super neat.
And I gained a lot of success in legend car racing.
It was one of the most intense style of racing I have ever, ever been in.
I will say it prepared me well for any type of racing to come.
They say if you could race a legend car, you could race any type of car out there because it's so light, there's so much motor, there's so much acceleration power that you know you step on the throttle and it feels like you're burning the wind out there trying to hang on.
And you're you're genuinely struggling, you know, and even if you're fast, even if you're out there running it the fastest possible way you can, I would still argue you're out there and your arms are going pretty quick.
It's just very intense, and especially at the summer shootout when you have people banging up against banging up against your front bumper, you know, you're you're genuinely squoshed and you're still having to do this, it prepares you well for anything to come.
You know, if someone hits me now in the late model and I have, you know, it feels like I have days to prepare to save it.
I have, you know, weeks at that, you know.
In the legend car, it feels like everything happened so quick, right?
Sure, some people who who race the micros at 160 miles an hour could say the same thing, you know.
But this is just my my experience and how I can relate it.
Thank you.
So on to the late model, right?
Yes, sir.
So late model is NASCAR, right?
Yes, sir.
Tell us about it.
Yeah.
So it's the NASCAR weekly series, is what I'm running currently.
I race it.
Tracks like Hakery Motor Speedway, which is, you know, it known for the birthplace of like most NASCAR stars.
You know, a bunch of people who've moved up, who you see in the truck series, the you know, Arca series, Xfinity series, all run or have ran the same exact thing that I'm currently running.
So what I'm doing now, it's you know, wide-body stock car racing on short oval tracks and you know, just really getting the need for speed out here.
You know, last night was one of my most difficult races.
You know, we were we were battling through struggles with the car handling wise, and just really the motor wasn't performing as well as we needed it to.
And I was seeing that, right?
And so I knew that they were beating me in one, and even if I got back to the gas at the same point, they were beating me.
So in three and four, I knew I had to make it up, right?
And I and this has really progressed my my ability to analyze the racetrack and see different things on it and not be so stuck in the moment, right?
I can I can withdraw myself from the racetrack, think in my own head and and resume while racing at 100, you know, 30, 40 miles an hour while you know, right next to other people.
And it it's so crazy to see.
I feel like it's almost like a multitasking now and the ability to progress and just the what I've been training and what I've been doing as of recently, I know it's going to pay off.
And I really appreciate my father for you know, paying out of pocket and really providing me this entire lifestyle that I have currently.
And I would not be here without my father, Thomas Ballis, and my mother, my parents, my grandfather, my grandmother, everybody who's laid a hand on this car, Petey Henson, Joe Robinson, you know, any of my sponsors, I will say, you know, one hour, Balance of Nature, Wings of Wheels Foundation, Dry Water, any of the people out there, people in web development, anybody who's even helped me in the slightest.
Thank you, everybody, because I wouldn't be here without any of you guys.
Doug K, thank you for allowing me to have an opportunity.
Thank you for putting me in that category.
We're so happy to have you.
And I've just the little bit I've learned just by talking to you, but as a father, right?
I'm just your family has to be so proud because I'm proud to know you.
So Yeah.
They're they're still disciplining me the best they can.
Yeah.
Obviously, I'm sure we'll look back at days like this and really reflect at a different manner.
But right now it's serious, you know, race, race dad, race kid, and we're moving forward in life.
So I'm sure one day we'll look back and really analyze this at the highest degree.
But right now it's all motion.
Right.
No, I gotcha.
So I do want to ask.
So normally this is about first cars, and we did talk about all your first cars, I think.
What what is your daily driver?
And uh, I'm guessing it's not a Corvette.
It's it's just transportation, right?
At this point.
Yes.
Corvette's coming, it's on the way.
I think it's in the shop, it's getting built.
All right.
No, I'm just kidding.
So actually, right now I'm I'm driving a 2013 out of start.
Nothing too shabby, nothing too, you know, too fancy, nothing like that.
And just really get me by and save my my bread up and trying to get to the best spot.
I think ideally, right, thinking about this could go very far because my ideals range far.
My dreams range big.
So my goal would actually be to end up owning one of the Bugatti Tour Bellones.
Have you seen that car by chance?
I have not, but it says Bugatti.
Yeah.
And which is, you know, quite expensive, right?
So ideally, I would love to aim that high.
And I I have it actually in my lock screen.
I could show you my screen right now.
I could close Zoom and open this up, and it would be that exactly.
Because I I fight for something big and, you know, aim for the stars and settle for the moon.
At the end of the day, you know, I have a dream and I'm I'm willing to chase it.
And I really do think that if anyone's out there thinking about a dream and they have a a desire in their heart that's burning every day that they want to chase and want to continue and want to start, but just haven't.
You're waiting on people to judge you.
Everyone's gonna judge you no matter what.
Like I'm sure people judge my content today.
I don't care.
I'm still here making the most, you know, cringe.
I some people would say cringe.
I don't care.
You know, I'm speaking in front of the the phone like I'm speaking to an audience.
But I just went to an info expo at the high performance expo.
I talked with Mamba Smith, a lot of people who've built a following up to millions of followers on Instagram, social media, all throughout different, you know, apps.
And what they said to me was something I I resonated with very deeply.
They said, even if you're starting right now, you know, at your age, maybe a thousand, two thousand followers, not out there yet.
You know, you don't have a stage to perform on.
This is your stage.
This is who you're performing to.
This is your audience, this is your stage, this is what you can develop on.
And even if no one's listening, keep going because you're perfecting your craft, right?
And I just it really resonate with me, man.
Sorry to take this over, but I really I felt like I need to share that.
No, you and you and you are your social media, just you're, you know, the Caden Balos brand, if you will.
I mean, you are fantastic.
And I watched some of your content from the HPX from the High Performance Expo.
So it was it was fantastic.
And yeah, I mean, you're just you're constantly growing.
And you know, I I always I haven't plugged my DeLorean and I'm not going to, but I this time, this will be the first time, even though I said it.
I will say when I was not much older than you trying to figure out my way, I wanted a 1990-ish Nissan 300Z.
And it was like $20,000, $30,000 back then.
And I wasn't doing well in school.
And what's that?
Back then too.
You know it's expensive now.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
So I have one in my garage now, but it's like five different colors.
But that's another story.
But I was trying to figure out how I can ever afford a car like that.
And I I think I had been plugged in and I grew up around computers, of course.
And I found out about this Novelle networking.
And back then we had the want ads, like it was things in the paper.
Hey, here's a job, Novell administrator.
$31,000 a year.
I'm like, that will pay for it.
And you know what?
I totally forgot about the car for about 30 years, and then I finally bought one.
And it was I had a 240 SX in high school or post-high school, and you know, same same generation.
And man, it was just like stepping into a time machine.
I had the muscle memory of how to get the key out because there was a little bit of a coolest kid in high school.
What's that?
Doug.
You must have been the guy in high school, the coolest kid.
Nah, I was not.
But I was not.
My friend who had cars was my my late friend, sadly.
But man, he he went through some cars.
He was the only child, he was spoiled, but he had a 300 ZX and I loved that car.
He never let me drive it, and then he totaled it, of course, like he did all his cars, but that's not not how he passed.
But yeah, he was a big influence.
I got my first stick shift car because of him, just all that stuff.
But you know, going back to your point, like that was what I wanted.
And then along the way, you know, I got married, I had kids.
I I forgot all about that car.
But there is one in my garage.
It's uh always a work in progress.
But yeah, enough enough about me.
I appreciate that.
And I love Hulk.
And uh continue.
Every car tells a story, right?
That's our motto, and and I and I believe it.
So I want to get to our trivia question before we get too far off.
So let's see if you know.
So, why why do these traditional car races, including NASCAR, go on an oval tracking counterclockwise?
I feel like this is a trick question, Doug.
I'm not sure.
I don't think so, but it's a it's an interesting answer.
So because of horse racing, so early car races were held on dirt racing track and they ran counterclockwise so the spectators in the stands could see the jockey's whip hand on their right hitting the horse.
But who would have thought that, right?
And you know, we just take it for granted.
If I hadn't looked into this, I would have never even realized.
I'm like, yeah, why do they go counterclockwise?
Why not clockwise?
So I've never even thought of that question at all.
Just something we we something we take for granted.
So yeah, speaking of where you're going, we had been talking we talked before the show, on the pre-show, if you will, about some recent experience in the F3 and F4 cars.
And if you could just talk a little bit about that and where you see how that helped you in your mindset and where you see your career going.
I won't go too deep because I know I could talk for days about this topic, but I really did feel at home at the F3 and in the F3 at the Audubon with Havoc Motorsport, as well as with, you know, the skip barber racing three-day school at the VIR track in the F4.
I did that, the F4, I did that right before two weeks prior to the F3 test, which really prepared me well, you know, in a same, same exact seating, somewhat.
You know, the halo was different.
There was something in front of me that was a little bit, you know, my shoulders were packed down a little bit tighter.
But other than that, it was quite similar, a little bit faster than the F4 for sure.
But the F3 car, I just felt very natural.
And, you know, I actually came close to the track record, about a second off of the track record at the South course.
And for anybody who's wondering what that actually looks like, you can see it on my YouTube.
Look up Caden Ballas, Caden Ballas Motorsport.
But you'll be able to see my first run and my second run.
Two of my fastest runs from the four the two days, four test sessions in total, but I only put my my top two sessions out there because I was just learning.
I picked up about 10 seconds overall.
And for anyone wondering, you can just look me up on all socials, Caden Ballas, and you'll see there's actually a video on my socials that says that exactly.
And yeah, it was the best experience I've ever had in a race car.
I've I mean, being able to live the life of road course racing, and it was different, you know.
They don't treat you as well in oval racing, unfortunately.
I I went out there for the F3 test.
I had my own own pool table in the house, I had my own everything.
It was ridiculous.
And I stayed on track and woke up and I walked outside and that was my racetrack.
And I can't even express how much of a a welcoming time that Havoc Motorsport provided me.
Okay.
No, thank you.
Thank you for sharing that.
No, I could tell how excited you were when we were talking about it beforehand.
So in late, I can talk for that.
Right.
Yeah.
Yes, sir.
Well, we'll we'll definitely have you back to talk about it.
And yeah, thank you for sharing uh where to find you on social media, just Caden Ballas or Caden Ballast Motorsport, and we'll link that all in the show notes.
Get there.
Yeah.
And while we start to wind down, we wanted to thank Caden, Kaden Ballas, for sharing his stories and his love for cars with us and his love for the track life with us.
It was truly a pro pleasure.
We know where to find you.
And we hope to have you back soon.
We'll definitely be watching you on social media, but also on the track.
So thank you again for being with us today.
Thank you, Doug.
I really appreciate your support.
You know, every week I see you commenting my post, liking my stuff and following along.
And I really appreciate you doing that, man.
Thank you.
Yeah.
No, it's it's it's hard not to, man.
You're you're a hard guy not to like.
How about I say it that way?
Did I say that?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You should talk to my you'd be surprised what she would say.
So thank you for that.
But I look forward to meeting some more of your family members in the future.
So thank you so much, Doug.
No, thank you.
And you have just heard the high revving, low mileage, late model heard, round the world authoritative podcast on automotive nostalgia.
If you or someone you know has a great car story to share about their first cars, please drop us a line via email at stories at CarsLove.com
or via social media.
And the easiest way to find all of our content is our link tree, L-I-N-K-T-R dot EE slash cars loved.
And I want to leave you with this past final thought.
Telling car stories is contagious.
Just go ahead and ask your friends, family members, neighbors, or the owner of the next cool car you see about their first car memories and watch their reaction.
I guarantee they will start to smile.
And we will.
See you next time.
About this episode
From early go-kart chaos to NASCAR weekly late models, Kaeden Ballos traces his path through family racing roots, karting safety lessons, and the craft of reading grip and passing lines. Along the way, he connects his local dirt-track beginnings to bigger names, explains how Bandoleros and Legend cars shaped his driving, and shares a real on-track passing story. The episode also touches on oval-track direction trivia, sim-racing “seat feel,” and his JDM dream-car history.
Welcome back to To All The Cars I've Loved Before! This week, Doug is going solo in the garage to sit down with 18-year-old racing phenom Kaeden Ballos. As a fourth-generation racer, Kaeden is currently making waves in the NASCAR weekly series behind the wheel of the number 19 late model.
In this episode, Kaeden shares the incredible story of his racing origins, starting at just six years old. We hear about the wild moment he barrel-rolled a dirt champ kart down the back straightaway—and how that crash actually removed his fear of racing. Kaeden also dives into his experiences driving a clutchless Bandolero at the Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway, stepping up to the highly competitive Cars Tour, and his recent test runs in F3 and F4 cars where he almost set a track record.
Don't miss Kaeden's favorite episode with Porsche Carrera Cup North America driver, Sabre' Cook and her amazing motocross legend father, Stacey Cookhttps://buzzsprout.com/2316026/episodes/19386773
Whether you are a devoted NASCAR fan or love the adrenaline of open-wheel testing, this episode takes you directly into the driver's seat.
In this episode, we cover:
A Racing Bloodline: How Kaeden's grandfather, a former NASCAR race director, and his parents shaped his passion for the track.
Meeting a Legend: Kaeden shares a memorable story of meeting his childhood favorite driver, Kyle Busch.
The First Big Crash: The wild story of barrel-rolling a dirt champ kart at Capital City Speedway and how it changed his driving mindset.
Driving a "Brick on Wheels": What it is actually like to race Bandolero cars in a "war zone" of competition.
Open-Wheel Testing: Kaeden's recent experience testing F4 and F3 cars, getting within a second of the track record at the Autobahn South course.
Podcast Trivia: The surprising historical reason why American oval tracks run counterclockwise!
