Cub for a day: taking part in spring training was a dream come true for Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch.(Know It All)

Michael Barrett, a catcher for the Cubs, steps through the netting into the batting cage. Pitcher Ryan Dempster sets a ball on a tee for the new guy wearing No. 97, a classic beanpole. There's no name on the jersey, so Barrett has no idea who the newbie is.

Until he sees the player's face.

"Holy s--!" Barrett says. "What are you doing here?"

The batter smiles. Yes, he is Kurt Busch, the reigning Nextel Cup champion, and what he's doing here is enjoying the spoils of his title, spending the day hanging out at the Cubs' spring training facility in Mesa, Ariz.

Busch has been a Cubs fan his whole life. Growing up in Las Vegas, he didn't have a local big-league sports team to call his own, so he picked the Cubs because his parents lived in Chicago shortly before he was born.

He has more than embraced his adopted team. In 2003, Busch flew on a private jet to catch some playoff action; ultimately, his Cubs lost Game 7 of the NLCS. "It's a good thing they didn't make it to the World Series," he says, "because I probably would've missed a race."

Busch arrives at HoHoKam Park at midmorning and finds the Cubs are more than expecting him; they are prepared for him. The equipment manager is a racing fan, which explains the 97--his car number--on his jersey.