CHICAGO — The racing career of Cale Cannon seems to be rising year after year. The 15-year-old Cannon, whose dad, Jeff, made a name for himself winning late model championships at the old Illiana Motor Speedway, seems to be on his way to a bright future in racing.
Cannon, a Kouts, Ind., high school freshman, has put together championships in micro sprint competition at Indiana’s U.S. 24 Speedway the last three years and hopes to do more of the same in 2026. By his own account, Cannon has won more than 50 main events since getting into micro sprint action in 2022.
Jeff Cannon was a four-time champion at Illiana before the Indiana track’s gates closed for good after the 2015 season. Cannon, who now owns FRS Shocks, bought his son a go-kart when Cale was four years old.
“I drove the thing in a parking lot until my dad thought I was ready,” remembers young Cannon. “We went to Michiana Raceway Park (near South Bend, Ind.) when I was five. I won a lot in the “kid kart” class.” In 2019, I raced quite a bit in street races in Indiana.”
Victories here and championships there were part of Cannon’s go-kart racing career. With the support of his dad, mom Amelia and younger sister Bristol, Cannon started in micro sprints.
“It’s wild. Everything happens so fast,” said Cannon about his micro sprint experience. “It’s always on the edge. The weight to power ratio of these cars is insane. I’ve talked to sprint car people, and they say if you can drive a micro, you can drive a sprint car. “
After competing on paved go-kart tracks, Cannon credits an iRacing simulator for helping make the transition from pavement to dirt micro racing.
“My friends and I like to do a lot of dirt racing on the simulator,” said Cannon. “It helped with the transition.”
Young Cannon competed in the Tulsa Shootout, which was held this past late December and early January.The Oklahoma event featured micro sprint racing in six classes with this year’s entries topping well over 2,000. This 41st running of the prestigious event saw racers from throughout the country competing for a Golden Driller trophy.
“It went pretty good,” summed up Cannon about his first experience at Tulsa. “I had some tough luck too – racing in one of the day’s first races and the track wasn’t too forgiving. It was pretty crazy.”
Wheeling the Texas-based Johnny Boland No. 1s entry, Cannon won a non-winged outlaw division heat race, grabbed a second in a “B’ main and posted several fourth-place finishes in preliminary races.
“In that “B” main, I needed more motor and probably could have won that,” said Cannon.
Cannon estimates he won 17 features in 2025, the majority of those coming at his “home track” – the tenth-mile dirt U.S. 24 Speedway in Logansport, Ind., with success coming behind the wheel of the family-owned No.3, the Justin Brewer entry No. 72 and the Blount Racing No. 16.
2026 looks promising for Cale Cannon. In addition to racing micro sprints, a possible Midwest Truck Series ride and a late model ride or two might be in the works.
Local Track Season Openers
South Bend Motor Speedway, South Bend, Ind.
Limited Racing Schedule Begins – Saturday, April 11
Kankakee County Speedway, Kankakee, Ill.
Weekly Racing Begins – April 17
Grundy County Speedway, Morris, Ill.
Spring Classic, Big 8 Series Late Models – Saturday, April 18
Weekly Racing Begins – Saturday, May 2
Plymouth Speedway, Plymouth, Ind.
Weekly Racing Begins – Friday, April 24
Shadyhill Speedway, Medaryville, Ind.
10th annual White Lightning Showdown (Modifieds) – Saturday, May 2
Fairbury American Legion Speedway, Fairbury, Ill.
Weekly Racing Begins – Saturday, May 2
Sycamore Speedway, Maple Park, Ill.
Interstate Racing Association (IRA) sprint cars – Saturday, May 9
Weekly Racing Begins – Friday, May 15 & Saturday, May 23