Anger management classes might be in order after Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Kurt Busch banged Matt Kenseth from behind with four laps to go and went on to win the Nextel Cup race at the half-mile track. Kenseth was leading the race but had to slow down for a slower car when the incident happened.

Kevin Harvick was able to pass Kenseth to take second place while Kenseth hung on for the third spot.

Kenseth drew the ire of Jeff Gordon, who took a bump from the winner late in the race, sending Gordon back in the pack. After the race Gordon ran over to the Kenseth pit and gave the driver a shove. Gordon was prepared to do battle as he never took off his helmet and HANS device.

Only 21 of the 43 cars that started the race finished on the lead lap.

With Sunday's win, Kenseth takes over the points lead with Kasey Kahne second, just eight points behind. Jimmie Johnson dropped from first to third in the standings.

More than 100 of the 500 laps were run under the caution, which is typical for a Bristol race.

Another short track, Martinsville Speedway, is on the Nextel Cup calendar Sunday.

Jeff Gordon won both scheduled races at Martinsville in 2005.

Martinsville opened in 1947 with 750 seats and is the only original NASCAR-sanctioned track still running Nextel Cup events.

Lernerville SpeedwayLernerville is scheduled to open the 2006 season Friday night with a Fab 4 program consisting of Late Models, Sprints, Big Block Modifieds and Pure Stocks;The weather forecast is predicting a high of 70 degrees Friday, which should make for a pleasant evening.Gates open at 5 p.m., racing begins at 7:30.The World of Outlaws Late Model Series will be featured April 7.Sad news out of Lernerville. Ralph Spithaler Sr., father of Sprint car driver Ralph Spithaler Jr., died recently. He is survived by his wife Dorothy and Ralph Jr."Pappy" Spithaler was a pleasant man who always had a smile and a warm handshake when greeted. Despite his diminutive stature, the elder Spithaler was a giant among men. He will be greatly missed by family and the racing community.

Inside the Loops• Mercer Raceway Park had to postpone its opening night last Saturday because of the cold weather. The track will open the 2006 season Saturday with Sprint cars, Modifieds, Stock Cars, Strictly Stocks and a special appearance by the E-Mods. Gates open at 4:30 p.m., racing at 7.• Brett Hearn won the Advance Auto Parts Dirt 100 Modified race at Hagerstown, Md., Saturday night. Area drivers Kevin Bolland and Del Rougeu Jr. made the trip to Hagerstown but failed to make the feature.• IndyCar Series driver Paul Dana lost his life in a violent crash while running a warm-up lap at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida over the weekend. He crashed into a stopped car driven by Ed Carpenter. Dana was driving a car owned by the Rahal Letterman team.Jim Lokhaiser is the racing columnist for the Butler Eagle.