Saldana began his racing career at local Indiana tracks in the early 1990s. He is the son of Joe Saldana, a former sprint car and Indy car driver. He cites his father, Doug Wolfgang, and Lee Osborne as his racing heroes and mentors.
Saldana’s breakthrough came with the All Star Circuit of Champions, where he won 18 races in 1995. He began touring full-time with the World of Outlaws in 1996 after winning his first race with the series that same year. He finished third in points in 2003 and 2006, and second in 2007.
Saldana achieved a peak in 2009, winning 20 races while driving for Kasey Kahne's race team – one of only six racers to accomplish this in a single season – and finishing third in points. He continued with Kasey Kahne Racing in 2010, securing 13 wins and finishing fourth in points. A contending run for the 2011 title was cut short when he broke his arm, ribs, and punctured a lung at the King's Royal race in July, sidelining him for nine weeks.
Following the end of his time with Kasey Kahne Racing at the end of 2012, Saldana joined Dan and Ruth Motter of Motter Motorsports from 2013 to 2015. He secured 11 World of Outlaws races and one All Star race win during this period, along with 48 Top-Qualifier awards. He notched his 100th career World of Outlaws win at Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 8, 2015, while driving for Motter Motorsports.
In 2016, Saldana returned to a familiar seat, racing for Roth Motorsports. Despite crew changes, he achieved 5 World of Outlaws wins and a 5th-place finish in season points. For 2017, he joined Stenhouse Jr/Wood Racing before later racing with the Indy Race Parts #71, achieving success in ASCoC races. In 2018, Saldana signed with Kevin Rudeen Racing, competing on a pick-and-choose schedule.
Saldana has finished second in the Knoxville Nationals three times. He has won prestigious events including the Devil's Bowl Speedway Winter and Summer Nationals, Silver Dollar Speedway's Gold Cup, Eldora Speedway's 4 Crown Sprint Nationals, and I-55 Speedway's inaugural Iron Man 55. His father, Joe Saldana, won the Knoxville Nationals in 1970.
Saldana also raced in Australia during the mid-to-late 1990s, driving for Bill Barrows in the World Series Sprintcars. He finished second in the 1995/96 World Series Sprintcars behind Brooke Tatnell.
In 2020, Saldana founded Saldana Racing Oil Tanks, a business specializing in dry sump oil tanks and overflow catch cans for race engines. On December 16, 2022, Saldana was elected to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame on his first ballot, for the 2023 class.
Saldana is married to Shannon and has two sons, Reece and Ragan.