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AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Kurt Busch spent the lunchtime intermission during Wednesday's open test at Phoenix International Raceway thumbing through his phone. This was no ordinary check of social media, e-mail or texts. This smartphone savvy and Stewart-Haas Racing driver was fixed on a primary goal: acquiring Cubs tickets.
Stock car racing's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs might be in full swing, but baseball's postseason is heating up as well, leaving Busch, a diehard Chicago Cubs fan, hoping to ride the wave in person. Wednesday in Phoenix, Busch was wearing his team pride in between testing runs, donning his blue Cubs hat after the team's victory the previous day in the National League Divisional Series.
Busch was in Pittsburgh on Oct. 7, watching his Cubs nail down a 4-0 victory in the NL Wild Card Game to eliminate the Pirates. His focus now is to watch from Chicago's Wrigley Field next week as the Cubs play in their first National League Championship Series since 2003.
"It's been an incredible ride," Busch said. "It's been a lot of fun with the energy that you can feel from (manager) Joe Maddon and the team. As a longtime fan, you see so many different stars align and then they go dark on you. Our expectation as Cubs fans has always been we love our team no matter what, but there's something special about this year."
On the other side of the garage, Furniture Row Racing crew chief Cole Pearn -- a Canada native -- went about the business of prepping the No. 78 Chevrolet for Martin Truex Jr. in the afternoon session while wearing a Toronto Blue Jays cap. The later session took place all while his fan favorites defeated the Texas Rangers in dramatic fashion to claim an American League Championship Series berth.
"We'll see how the rest of the test goes based on how they do this afternoon," Pearn said before Toronto's stunning victory. "If Kansas City can win, they'll play in Kansas this weekend. That'll be exciting. We'll at least be able to go chirp Kansas City fans, hopefully."
Pearn's Blue Jays open their best-of-seven series against the Royals this weekend, with Game 1 set for Friday and Game 2 scheduled for Saturday. The Royals were also still involved in the postseason during NASCAR's trip to Kansas Speedway last fall, when the home-towners knocked off the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on their way to a World Series appearance.
Clint Bowyer, a Kansas native, undoubtedly remembers this all too well and will be cheering on the Royals during the race weekend in his home state.