Jason Jarrett’s foray into auto racing was anything but preordained.

A native of NASCAR-mad Hickory, N.C., with a racing-famous father and grandfather, Jarrett spent hours in the auto shop.

He grew up around racing, but it wasn’t until he turned 16 that he thought about climbing into the cockpit himself.

“I didn’t always think I was going to drive a race car,” the 26-year-old Jarrett  reigning ARCA RE/MAX Series Rookie of the Year and defending BPU 200 champion  said. “But when I finally had the nerve to ask my dad about it, I didn’t think about anything else.”

Jarrett’s father, Dale, won the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup championship. Jason’s grandfather, Ned, twice won the NASCAR Grand National championship.

Jason grew up around the sport, but as a youngster his older relations took great pains to keep him away from it.

“I remember I was 10, 11 years old,” Jarrett said. “They got me a Go-Kart  probably so I’d stay out of the shop. It wasn’t a racing Go-Kart, just a little one.”

Young Jarrett then turned his attention to baseball.

“I played that for a while,” he said. “It probably was about the time I got my driver’s license I started getting interested in racing. I don’t know why. Maybe when you start driving you want to go faster, and the only way to do that is to go racing.”

Jarrett lists Go-Karting, NASCAR Winston Racing Series and NASCAR Busch Series on his resume, and while his ultimate goal is NASCAR Winston Cup, he’s content in the ARCA RE/MAX Series for now.

Jarrett can’t quantify how much his famous surname has helped him start  and stay  in racing, but he’s sure it hasn’t hurt.

“They were able to give me some financial support,” he said. “They also opened some doors for sponsors. I heard about some of the mistakes my dad made and I didn’t have to go through that, and my granddad’s advice is more personal, how to treat people.

“But they never really pushed me into racing. I’ve taken my own path. But they’re always right there for me. If I called right now and said, ‘Dad, we’re struggling, what kind of spring should I put on,’ he’d help me.

“Some days I might use (pressure) as an excuse, but I’ve never run into a situation where I’d say it was a disadvantage.”

Jarrett, who finished second in the ARCA RE/MAX Series points race last season, enters Saturday’s race in fourth place with 1,060 points. Frank Kimmel, the two-time defending champion and three-time champion in the past four years, leads with 1,300 points.

“We won here last year,” Jarrett said, gesturing out toward Kansas Speedway’s 11/2-mile tri-oval. “We expected to win all the races after that. Now we’re in a little slump, but hopefully we can get it started here again.

“We’re not setting the world on fire, but we haven’t had any major setbacks, either. It just makes you work a little bit harder.”

At least Jarrett hopes he won’t have to worry about tires this year.

Last June, some drivers complained that the Hoosier tires mandated for the race were a bad match for Kansas Speedway’s virgin surface.

Several drivers suffered blowouts; others had to make inconvenient pit stops to change tires.

Hoosier came up with a new tire for this year’s race, and Jarrett had a hand in its development. He tire-tested early in the year, then returned two weeks ago to test again.

“I had about the same problems as everybody else (last year),” Jarrett said. “This was a high-temperature track, and the tires weren’t wearing down. That led to the blistering, and some guys had tires blow. Â That gives me a more confidence. Hopefully we’ll take the tire problem out of the equation.”