@nascarcasm: Is California the hotbed of NASCAR talent?

NASCAR was founded in Daytona Beach, Florida. Its Hall of Fame is in Charlotte, North Carolina. And today I will argue that regardless, one must travel clear across the country to the Golden State to visit the sport's premiere producer of top-notch drivers and talent. That's right -- California is the hotbed of NASCAR. There, I said it. And I come with proof.

EXHIBIT A -- JIMMIE JOHNSON: Realistically, this is the only evidence one needs. This gallery could just be seven slides of El Cajon, California's Johnson holding his seven championship trophies. You know the accomplishments -- seven championships, five of which were consecutive from 2006 through 2010. His seventh in 2016 tied him with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty for most career championships. Tied for sixth on the all-time wins list with 83. Two Daytona 500 wins. First-ballot Hall of Famer and probably didn't even need the ballot to begin with. Perfectly shaped facial hair. The epitome of California cool. Would have made a convincing teacher on "Saved By The Bell."

EXHIBIT B -- JEFF GORDON: Gordon may have cut his teeth behind the wheel while he lived in Indiana during his formative years, but his birth certificate reads "Vallejo, California." Like Jimmie, his accolades are many -- four championships and 93 wins, which puts him third on the all-time wins list. Three Daytona 500 wins. But Jeff truly transcended NASCAR. He was the fresh face that became a household name. Folks who hadn't watched a race in their lives still knew his name. He even hosted "SNL." He was as prominent off the track as he was on it. He can also breakdance.

EXHIBIT C -- KEVIN HARVICK: You may recall that among Harvick's 86 nicknames was "The Bakersfield Basher," as in Bakersfield, California. The recently retired Harvick enjoyed a Hall of Fame-worthy career himself. He's the 2014 Cup Series champion, and a two-time Xfinity Series champion. He's won the Daytona 500, and retired with 60 Cup Series wins. He had a fiery attitude on track and feared no one. He is tied with Rick Mears and the band KoRn for Bakersfield, California's favorite sons.

EXHIBIT D -- KYLE LARSON: Have you heard the name? The California-born driver who can hop into any vehicle with four wheels and pilot it to the front on a race track covered in asphalt, concrete or dirt? The fellow who already has one Cup Series championship and wheels race cars with such skill that we ran out of words to describe them and just call them "Kyle Larson things" now? Our theory is that Kyle Larson can win in any style of race car -- he just hasn't had the chance to get into all of them yet. V8 Supercar on a track covered in thumbtacks? He'll figure it out in a couple of laps.

EXHIBIT E -- TYLER REDDICK: Corning, California is a small little town north of Sacramento. Every fall, there's the delightful Corning Olive Festival -- an homage to the town's largest industry. It's also the birthplace of Tyler Reddick. This energetic little ginger has quite the resume -- at only 28 years old, he has two Xfinity Series championships and six Cup Series wins. We expect many more, as we hear team co-owner Michael Jordan likes to win things.

EXHIBIT F: RON HORNADAY JR.: Craftsman Truck Series domination, thy name is Hornaday. Feast your eyes on the rugged ruler of the trucks -- four-time series champion and Palmdale, California's own Ron Hornaday Jr. Those four championships -- the most for any driver, mind you -- were the product of his 51 series wins. He is in the same fraternity as Petty, Earnhardt, Johnson, Gordon et al as one of a handful of driver to have four or more national series championships to their name. He’s enshrined in the NASCAR Hall Of Fame also. Any day’s a good day when it’s a Hornaday.

EXHIBIT G: MATT CRAFTON: Tulare, California's Matt Crafton has been a Craftsman Truck Series mainstay for years now, and his three series championships put him only one behind Ron Hornaday Jr. -- the brawny fellow from the slide above. He's run 25 seasons -- 25! -- in the series and shows no signs of slowing down. He's the boomer that shows up and teaches these young pipsqueaks a lesson.

EXHIBIT H: COLE CUSTER: Stone Cold Custard hails from Ladera Ranch, California. He wears the big hats with the straight bill, like they do in California (pictured above: the one time he didn't). He's also this past season's Xfinity Series champion -- a series where he currently has 13 wins. And don't you forget he won a Cup Series race in 2020. CALIFORNIA COLE.

EXHIBIT I: SHELDON CREED: We appreciate Alpine, California's Sheldon Creed for many reasons. For one, he's the 2020 Craftsman Truck Series Champion and has eight wins in the series. Two, he's kept his cool in many notable tense situations. Third, he looks like a recurring character on "The Big Bang Theory." We appreciate him immensely.

EXHIBIT J: ZANE SMITH: That's 2022 Craftsman Truck Series Champion Zane Smith, by the way -- a series in which he made a huge splash with aforementioned championship and nine wins to back it up. He's young, talented and way, way more than just a dude that looks like Justin Bieber.

EXHIBIT K: MIKE SKINNER: GOOD OL' MIKE, who hails from Susanville, California and still has a mustache game that would posterize Tom Selleck, was the very first champion in the Craftsman Truck Series. A true badass.