Trip to Fontana means a chance to go home

David Gilliland's phone rang off the hook last weekend. Check that -- for the past two weekends.

Gilliland, Mr. Underdog who transformed a part-time Busch Series ride into a full-blown Cup opportunity, won the pole for the Daytona 500 and held his own for the first 18 laps before settling for an eighth-place finish.

This weekend won't be much different when he returns to California, a track he's never driven in a Busch car and a track that's a mere 20 miles from his home in Riverside, Calif.

By the Numbers

There is a limited field in this week's Stater Bros. 300 at California Speedway. Just 40 cars are on the official entry list, making it the smallest field in a Busch Series race since 2001.

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"We got a ton of phone calls from family and friends while we were in Daytona after winning the [Cup] pole, so I'm excited to come home and see everyone," said Gilliland, whose driving the No. 25 Chevrolet for Team Rensi Motorsports. "Most of our friends and our family still live in this area, so it's great to come back and get to see everyone."

Call it one of NASCAR's home games.

Sure, Lowe's Motor Speedway serves as the unofficial home track of a sport with roots deeply embedded in nearby Concord, N.C. But this weekend's trip West to Fontana, Calif., is more than a brush with Hollywood; it's a homecoming for nearly just as many drivers as a trip to North Carolina would be.

In addition to Gilliland, three other Busch Series drivers will be racing near their own backyard, literally, in Saturday's Stater Bros. 300 (7 p.m. ET, ESPN 2).

Jason Leffler is from Long Beach, a 65-mile trip just below Los Angeles.

"I love racing in California," said Leffler, one of three Toyota drivers this weekend. "I grew up in Southern California and have a lot of friends and family out there. The hot-rod industry and the racing industry is so big out there -- it's just really cool. If you're into racecars and cars in general, it is a great part of the country to go to."

Kevin Harvick and Casey Mears are from Bakersfield, 157 miles north of Fontana. (Continued)