Who said that the Southeast was the absolute, ultimate hotbed of top NASCAR talent? Following Kurt Busch's recent win at Pocono and a move into the top 12 of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series standings, five of the drivers currently slated to qualify for the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup hail from the western United States. And with that trend, NASCAR fans from Phoenix and other western outposts are smiling.

For years, the listing of origins for NASCAR's best was dominated by states in the southeastern portion of the United States, as drivers from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida ruled the racing landscape. Now, as NASCAR's schedule has branched out to include the entire nation with significant swings in the West at the beginning and end of each season, drivers from the other side of the Rocky Mountains are making some of the loudest noise.

Currently in 12th place and clinging on to the final spot in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, Kurt Busch is a native of Las Vegas, Nevada. Of course, the driver of the No. 2 Dodge calls North Carolina home these days, but the West is where the 2004 series champ originally learned to race.

Also from Las Vegas is Kurt's brother Kyle, currently eighth in the standings. Before actually getting the chance to drive at PIR - where he won in November 2005 - the then-nine-year-old Busch sat just a few hours away from his hometown in PIR's grandstands, where he took a glimpse into what would become his future fortune.

"The first Cup race I ever saw as a fan was at Phoenix (in 1994). Ironically, Terry Labonte was the winner in the No. 5 Chevrolet. Every time I drive into that race track, I think back to that day, and it made winning there even cooler because I put the same car in the winner's circle," Kyle Busch said.

Kevin Harvick won both NEXTEL Cup races at PIR in 2006. Was the No. 29 Chevrolet really that good, or was Harvick just feeling a home-track advantage? A Bakersfield, California native, Harvick raced at nearby PIR in Southwest and West Series action before becoming the first (and so far, only) driver to win on the one-mile oval in all three of NASCAR's premier series.

Local connections don't stop with the Busch brothers and Harvick, however. Defending NEXTEL Cup champion Jimmie Johnson is a native of California, calling El Cajon his hometown. The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet counts wins at California and Las Vegas to his credit already, but there's little doubt that Johnson would like to knock off a PIR win in the Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil on November 11 to complete the Southwest sweep.

Lastly, who can forget points leader Jeff Gordon? Sure, the four-time Cup champ and the winner of PIR's spring race spent his formative years racing karts in Indiana, but that was after a move from his birthplace and original hometown, Vallejo, California. Gordon and the No. 24 Chevrolet team will come back to the West and ride into PIR in November, looking to take a page out of Harvick's 2006 playbook with a Phoenix sweep.

The numbers don't lie. Drivers from the West have made incredible advances to rise to the top in NASCAR's top series, and with the NEXTEL Cup Series' best coming to PIR on November 11, what is scheduled to be a homecoming for some might just turn into a huge celebration for one skilled West-born driver.