Kurt Busch celebrates new sponsorship deal by attending Cubs’ NLCS game

It must have been quite a day for Kurt Busch.

The Las Vegas leadfoot started Wednesday in North Carolina, where he announced his new sponsor deal and contract extension with the Stewart-Haas NASCAR racing team. He finished it at Wrigley Field, watching his beloved Chicago Cubs lose to the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series.

While Busch drives fast, and he had mass quantities of Monster Energy (his new sponsor) at his disposal, one assumes he might have used the same company plane that jetted him back and forth between the 2014 Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600.

The coolest thing about these photos of him and new girlfriend Ashley Van Metre, who is a polo player — other than they appear to be having a great time despite the outcome of the ballgame — is that Busch is wearing a Cubs cap and a Cubs jersey. He's a big-time NASCAR driver, but he's not too proud to dress like a ballpark geek/show his colors.

But he probably didn't have to pay upwards of $300 for the authentic Cubs jersey.

He has thrown out the ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field on more than one occasion, for which they give you a Chicago jersey with your name and number on it. The guy who catches your first pitch — usually a utility infielder or a set-up relief pitcher — shakes your hand and autographs your baseball.

Then you get to chat with Cubs broadcasters Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies on live TV during the seventh inning.

The Cubs must like having Kurt Busch as a fan. They retweeted these photos of him and his girl on their official account. As far as I can tell, they did not retweet a photo of political pundit George Will, who has a new book out about the Cubs, and supposedly also was at the ballpark.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski