Racing wonderkid Tallan Chandler, 15, has been tipped for a “tremendous” future in motorsport, having already beaten former NASCAR drivers Landon Cassill and Kenny Wallace. Chandler made his mark at Hawkeye Downs in the Sports Mod feature races.

The teenager could be the next generation of NASCAR stars, alongside Kyle Busch’s son, Brexton, and Kyle Larson’s son, Owen, who are also carving out the early stages of their motorsport careers. “I haven’t raced against a teenager like that in a while,” said 2008 Xfinity Rookie of the Year Cassill to KCRG. “But I can tell you that I’ve been him before and he’s a tremendous talent and has won a bunch of races.”

“A young driver like that, hopefully he can keep pushing himself and his family can keep pushing him,” Cassill continued to The Gazette. “Keep challenging yourself and looking for competition.

“Race Hawkeye Downs on Friday nights and find somewhere else to race on Saturdays. Go where the toughest competition is going to be. If you can really go and be challenged, it’ll make you an even better driver.”

“Before we even race, they say that they heard I’m a good driver, and I’m the one that they have to race against. Then after the race, they’re surprised and it’s a good feeling,” said Chandler.

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“I know he’s [16-season NASCAR vet Cassill] a great racer and it was fun to be out there racing against him,” Chandler added. “It’s really fun having people to push me to get better and race against all different kinds of people. They all have different racing styles — and today’s race was one of the toughest.”

The love for racing is ever-present in the Chandler family from his father and grandfather. “As soon as he got into power wheels, he was doing donuts and drifting. So we knew he really liked the cars,” said his dad, Nathan Chandler.

So much so that the family built a racing track in its backyard. “We made a track around my backyard and my dad and all his brothers would go out there and race me just like I was one of them,” teen Chandler added.

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Chandler hopes to win more titles at Hawkeye Downs against some of the sport’s best. “It would be special, especially against all these different kind of racers,” Chandler said.

“Kenny Wallace, Ken Schroeder, Landon Cassill — all of them. They’re great drivers and getting to compete with them and still hold my own here is the best.”