IT is not perhaps the obvious hobby of choice for a teenage girl but Jarron Amis is following in her family’s footsteps by taking up stock car racing.

The plucky 13-year-old from Potter Heigham recently won her first race at Swaffham Raceway and is one of only a few girls competing on the local circuit.

And it seems racing is in her blood as the Flegg High School student comes from a long line of stock car racers.

Jarron has three sisters, Atlanta, 14, Annalisha, eight, and Kianna, three, who are keen dancers, but she took up the sport after deciding that dancing was not for her.

Her father Anthony Amis, 41, said: “Jarron used to ballroom dance and she was very good.

“Unfortunately she got bored very quickly and she was going through the motions. She said to me ‘dad do I have to do ballroom dancing?’ and I said ‘no you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do’.

“I have been racing since they were little and it was Jarron who has come with me and wanted to be with me.

“I think the signs were there. To be honest I didn’t want any of them to race because I know the commitment you have to have and people spend so much money.

“I said if they did non-contact racing we would let her do it. A couple of weeks later I heard they might be starting junior rods up and I was asked if I would be interested in taking part with my daughter.”

Jarron’s late grandfather Henry Amis raced stock cars in the 1970s and 1980s and her father has been a keen racer for many years, winning the Stock Rods East Anglian championship at Swaffham Raceway in 2008.

Her uncles Andrew, Adrian and Alan Amis have all been involved in racing, while Jarron’s mother Sarah raced through the late 1990s and Mrs Amis’ father Nigel Wells raced throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Earlier this year Jarron was taught to drive by her uncle Darren Wells, 27, who is also a keen racer.

Jarron’s first stock car race was in April and her parents say she is already showing signs of having a successful racing career.

She has aspirations to move on to professional racing as she gets older and the family is appealing for help with sponsorship to fund what is an expensive sport.

Mrs Amis, 33, said: “She has raced once a month, with a big crash back in May which didn’t seem to phase her at all. It only made her more determined to get out there as quick as she could.

“I am a nervous wreck watching her. She is so much braver than I was. She has got no fear at all.”

Jarron said: “It is just my type of thing. I really enjoy it. Dad wanted to keep us away from it, but I love it.”

Asked if she would like to follow in Formula One star Lewis Hamilton’s footsteps in the future, she said: “I would just like to be like my dad really. I would like to follow in his footsteps.”

If any individuals or businesses can help Jarron with sponsorship they should email sezanth@hotmail.com

To see a picture gallery, click on the link on the right hand corner of the page.