Sportsfrog.com

What a call by me.

Ok, kidding, but Brian Vickers made his fuel last to the end and got Toyota’s first win at Michigan International Speedway (the home race to the troubled three automakers).

Vickers also moves into 13th in the points standings, just 12 points behind 12th place Mark Martin, who ran out of fuel on the last lap and finished 31st, instead of maybe in the top 10.

And the guy that Vickers leapfrogged in the points?

Kyle Busch.

This sets up perfectly for Bristol, a half mile bullring that’s ideal for settling–and creating–disputes on a hot, humid, late August Saturday night.

With any luck, Vickers will be racing Busch for the win late.

Because that could be epic.

If the finish to yesterday’s Busch* race is any indication.

And no, I’m not talking about Brad Keselowski.

If Brian Vickers had more than one Sprint Cup win to his credit–the one where he dumped Jimmie Johnson and Junior–this would be hailed as the second coming of Donnie Allison v. Cale Yarborough.

Vickers is less than two years older than Busch, and like Busch, left/was told to leave Hendrick Motorsports at a very young age. But while Busch found smashing success as soon as he stepped in Joe Gibbs Racing’s Toyotas, Vickers’ Red Bull Toyotas haven’t been consistently fast.

But he’s getting there. Today marks the third straight Michigan race that Vickers has won the pole for. (Busch starts 39th)

And more importantly, with a good finish, Vickers could leap past Busch in the standings.

In all honesty, NASCAR needs Busch and Vickers to hate each other, whether it be on the track or in real life. 10 of the 12 drivers in the top 12 are over 30 (Kasey Kahne is 29, and Denny Hamlin is Busch’s teammate.) and while the Jeff Gordon-Dale Earnhardt rivalry worked among the drivers’ fanbases because of the generational and cultural gaps, it didn’t really happen on the race track.

But like most NASCAR feuds these days, maybe Busch and Vickers will kiss up and declare a truce by next weekend.

I sure hope not.

– Tony Stewart spun Kyle Busch as they headed out of turn four on the last lap of the Coke Zero 400 Saturday night. However, it was Busch’s fault, and I don’t think that can be disputed. Stewart gave him a slight nudge out of the turn, making Busch wiggle just slightly. As Busch blocked to the inside–that’s where Stewart was looking all through three and four–Stewart made his move to the high side, and by the time that Busch attempted to block him again, Stewart was already at his quarterpanel and Busch was in the wall. You can block once on a restrictor plate track, but you can’t block twice, especially if the car behind you has a run.

– After slamming into the wall head-on, Busch got slammed in the read bumper by Kasey Kahne, which jacked Busch’s car almost perpendicular to the ground. And after that happened, Busch’s car got run into on the driver’s side by Joey Logano, who had absolutely nowhere to go once he crossed the start-finish line. Thankfully, Busch was uninjured after the multiple impacts.

– Clint Bowyer won the Busch* Series race which also ended after a big crash in the tri-oval. This one happened with one to go, but since Bowyer had already taken the white flag, the race was over. It was Bowyer’s first win in any event at Daytona.

– A judge lifted Jeremy Mayfield’s drug suspension after Mayfield’s attorneys argued that NASCAR didn’t follow procedure in testing Mayfield’s sample. I don’t even know where to begin on this whole fiasco, as I’ve attempted to follow it, but every time I look away, something even more bizarre and ridiculous happens. Long story short: NASCAR says Mayfield tested positive for meth. Mayfield says he didn’t. Court says Mayfield can race on Saturday.

– Justin Wilson won the IRL Camping World Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. It was Wilson’s second win in as many years in the IndyCar series, and the first win for a driver not from Penske or Ganassi Racing since Wilson’s win at Detroit last year, when he won for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. This year, Wilson was driving for Dale Coyne, who has driven and owned cars in open wheel racing for 25 years; yet Sunday was just Coyne’s first win.

– Joey Logano got his first Sprint Cup win at New Hampshire thanks to a great pit call by crew chief Greg Zipadelli. As the leaders hit pit road for green flag pit stops with a little less than 70 laps to go in the scheduled 301 lap race, Zippy had Logano stay out because thanks to being buried in the back of the pack, Logano had pitted at the tail end of the last caution flag. Just a few laps after Logano inherited the lead, it started to rain and the race was called with 28 laps to go.

– Logano becomes the youngest winner in Sprint Cup history, breaking the previous record by a year and four months. The youngest winner before Logano? That’d be his teammate Kyle Busch, who was approximately 20 years and 5 months when he won at California in September of 2005.

– Speaking of Shrub, he passed Logano with 36 laps to go in Saturday’s Busch* race at New Hampshire. If it wasn’t for fluky mechanical errors and other bad luck, Busch could have 10 wins in the series. But in perhaps the oddest event of the race was when Willie Allen was parked four laps in for not having a crew chief. Allen was driving an obvious start-and-park effort that’s fielded by Brian–Brad’s older brother–Keselowski to fund his underfunded independent operation. But not having a crew chief is a pretty poor attempt at racing, no matter the intentions.

– While we’re on the subject of start-and-parks, Ron Hornaday won the Truck Series event at Memphis Motorsports Park. It was a banner day for the Truck Series, as only seven trucks parked it within the first 30 laps. Rumors swirl about the viability of the series, despite NASCAR’s insistence that all is well. The trucks used to produce some fantastic racing, but with the economic impacts hitting NASCAR’s third-tier series especially hard, the racing has declined as well.

– Scott Dixon tied the IRL career record for victories at 19 with his win at the SunTrust Indy Challenge in Richmond. It was a banner night for Target Chip Ganassi as Dixon’s teammate Mr. Ashley Judd finished second and Team Penske’s Helio Castronevs and Ryan Briscoe finished 17th and 19th respectively.

– The quality of racing was once again a hot topic after the race at the 3/4 mile track, as virtually every driver complained about the single file funeral procession that doubled as a race. Third place Graham Rahal said that he passed two cars all night. This is a sad trend for the IndyCar Series which at one time had some of the best racing of any of America’s top touring series. Some engineering changes are in order, especially if Tony George is willing to follow through on his threat of stopping the series if it isn’t profitable by 2014.

–Tony Stewart made a tank of fuel last 41 laps at the 2.5 mile Pocono Raceway to score his first points paying victory of the year. While other drivers played it conservatively, Stewart had nothing to lose. Leading the points, Stewart had a 317 point cushion to fall back on before he fell below the Chase cutoff, and could aggressively pursue the 10 Chase bonus points for the win. He got those points, and extended his points lead to 73. Not bad. Stewart’s teammate Ryan Newman moved up to fourth in the points standings thanks to a fifth place finish, as now four of the six Hendrick-built cars are in the top four. The lowest driver with Hendrick equipment? Why that would be everyone’s favorite driver in 20th. (But hey, he’s going back this weekend to where he won last year!)

–Helio Castroneves stayed out front after a quick pitstop put him in the lead at the IRL Bombardier Learjet 550K and won his second straight race. His Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe had the best car by far, leading the most laps and even had a 10+ second lead when the IRL threw a NASCAR-esque debris caution. Afterwards, drivers called on the IRL to change the rules to facilitate passing. This year’s race at Texas was a snoozer after previous races have featured two and three-wide racing as the drivers are flat out around the track. Oh, and Danica finished sixth, and is now fifth in the points standings, the top driver not on Team Penske or Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

–Kyle Busch riled up some fans and other people in NASCAR after he rock star style slammed against the concrete the hand-painted guitar that serves as a trophy for the winner of the Busch* race at Nashville. Busch later explained that he wanted to give each crew member a piece of the trophy and that was the easiest–and most fun–way to do it.

–Ashley Force Hood (pictured) lost in the Funny Car finals for the third time this season. Quickly eclipsing her father as the NHRA’s most recognizable driver, Ashley has only won one race this season, but her consistency may win her a season championship as she currently sits third in the points standings, just two points out of second and 60 points out of first.