I love it when a plan comes together. Ryan Newman and Joey Logano had their little dust-up at the perfect time, because it’s Bristol time.

After the two had their little on-track incident at Michigan last week and the heated words that followed, I can’t wait for the two to get together on the half-mile high banks.

The two had to be separated by NASCAR officials after the lap 148 incident that sent Newman’s car spinning and severely damaged his chances of making the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

A furious Newman didn’t have much to say to reporters post-race other than, “I’m just trying to teach the little kid how to drive,” but the two had plenty of words for each other, with Logano accusing Newman of not giving him enough room, followed by Newman asking Logano, “So you’re not a good enough driver to pass me, is that what you’re saying?”

Logano countered with “Dude, you’re not giving me an inch. I was on the bottom and you doorjambed the (expletive) out of me.”

“I was six lanes up, and I steered up and tried to miss you because you can’t control your damn racecar.”

Logano replied, “Cause I was (expletive) sideways because you were on my (expletive) door.”

During the exchange, Logano’s hands brushed Newman, and Newman gave the Joe Gibbs Racing driver a slight shove, then NASCAR officials stepped in to keep Newman from pounding Logano.

I mean, seriously, Logano maybe goes a buck-twenty. I bet Newman has a full 100 pounds on him. It would have been nasty.

“He races everyone too hard,” Logano said of Newman. “I’m not the only one that complains about it every week. And he just went in there and doorjambed me. I was down there trying to save it. When someone is right on your side it takes your air off. I’m down there hanging on and hanging on.”

Now this is the kind of “have at it, boys” that Robin Pemberton was talking about — tempers flaring with the Bristol night race next on the schedule. This is just the kind of thing that NASCAR needs to market.

Sure, they aren’t huge names. But they are big enough, and a few door-to-door laps between the two at NASCAR’s nastiest track may just be what the doctor ordered.

And if you don’t believe NASCAR would market this type of rivalry and possible melee, then see the ESPN commercial featuring Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski’s transporter drivers — “do me a favor, tell me how my tail lights are working.”

Good racing sells. Rivalries sell. That’s why Bristol is a good place for these storylines to play out.

Contact Andy Cagle by e-mail at andycagle@earthlink.net