Sonoma, Calif. ? If you call Kasey Kahne’s fan club, his mom answers the phone. If you look up his spotter on a race weekend, you’ll find his cousin. His dad advises him on what to do with all that money he’s earning.

“We’ve always been really close. When I started racing at 14, they were all with me and they still all are, so it’s worked out really nice to have family all around you,” said the 24-year-old Nextel Cup rookie points leader.

“We still act the same as we did five years ago. We’re friends. It’s not like we’ve changed any.”

Kahne began racing in open-wheel events like USAC midgets, Toyota Atlantic and Formula Ford 2000. As soon as he graduated high school, he took his brother and sister on the road to race sprint cars. He worked his way up to the NASCAR Busch series in 2002, then Nextel Cup this season.

Ray Evernham, who owns Kahne’s No. 9 Dodge, has been impressed by Kahne in his first year in NASCAR’s top series, and he applauds his relationship with his family.

“He is very down to earth. He is very close with his family. His mom and dad, his brothers, his cousins — they’ve all worked together as a group for several years,” he said.

Even though he has made the transition from the small dirt ovals to the big-time pavement, Kahne’s dedication to his sport has always included his fans.

While many Cup veterans dodge the spectators who gather at the fence or congregate in the largely off-limits garage area, Kahne gladly spends time shaking hands and signing autographs. He spent over an hour at the fence after winning the pole at Pocono Raceway.

“If the people want me to do that, I’ll do it,” he said. “I’ve signed other drivers’ autograph cards. I’ve signed arms, hands, even a head. Use a Sharpie and it’ll last for a couple of showers.”

Kahne, who has earned more than $2.5 million for his team so far in his rookie year, turns to his father, who owns a logging business in Washington state, for investment advice.

Kasey Kahne sits in his car and chats with a crew member in the garage area July 2 at Daytona International Speedway. Kahne's family supports him both on and off the track.

“He knows a lot about that. I don’t know about that,” he said. “The only thing I spend it on is my sprint car team. A big part of me is having a sprint car team.

“Both my cousins work on the sprint cars. My brother drives my motor home. My cousin does all my spotting on weekends — both Busch and Cup. My sister’s just a big fan.”

His extended family includes Evernham and Bill Elliott, who turned over his ride to the rookie. Both made the long uphill trek to turn 2 at Infineon Raceway last month to guide their protege around the twisting road course.

“He needs a little experience under his belt and I’ve been trying to help him do that,” Elliott said.

Evernham, who coached Jeff Gordon to three championships and 47 victories as his crew chief, is reluctant to compare the two.

“He, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman — they’re just great race drivers,” he said. “They’re a throwback to the old days of Foyt, Andretti and Unser where they jump in an Indy car, they jump in a dirt car, they jump in a road race car, they jump in a stock car and they’re up front.”