BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) – Winston Cup regular Michael Waltrip used a slight bump-and-run to knock Ron Hornaday out of his way Friday night and went on to win the Busch Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Waltrip led earlier in the Food City 250, only to lose the spot to Hornaday when he struggled on a restart.

But he was in position to regain it with 34 laps to go as he followed Hornaday around and around the high-banked .533-mile bullring.

As the two cars headed into turn four, Waltrip pulled up on Hornaday’s bumper and tapped him just enough to loosen him up.

Waltrip then slid low and drove past him, holding on for his first Busch Series win of the year and first since last August at Michigan.

Waltrip’s only other Busch Series Bristol win was in April, 1993, two days after Winston Cup champion Alan Kulwicki was killed in a plane crash. He celebrated that win with one of Kulwicki’s trademark “Polish Victory Laps” and repeated it Friday night by circling the track in reverse direction.

“I did that Victory Lap for Alan 10 years ago, and I did it again tonight, so that’s pretty cool,” said Waltrip, who then made a lame attempt at a headstand in Victory Lane.

Hornaday finished second and said he wouldn’t race rough with Waltrip just to win the race.

“I knew he was going to move me over, he had fresher tires and was a little faster than me,” Hornaday said. “I think I could have roughed him up, but that ain’t racing.”

Ted Musgrave finished third, Shane Hmiel was fourth and Kevin Harvick fifth.

Martin Treux Jr., driving Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Busch car, was sixth.

Brian Vickers was seventh, and Tony Raines, Busch Series points leader Scott Riggs and Ashton Lewis Jr. rounded out the top 10.

Bristol is notorious for starting driver feuds, and the fans have come to expect the on-track fighting in the crash-filled events. There were 13 cautions, one short of the event record.

The fans got a small taste of flaring tempers late in the race when Winston Cup rookie Jamie McMurray hit Joey Clanton and sent him into the turn four wall.

Clanton was furious and waited near the apron for McMurray to come by under caution, his helmet poised in his hands as if he was going to through it. But as McMurray circled the track, he dipped his car down low and aimed it straight at Clanton, almost daring him to toss the helmet.

Clanton made a move to throw it, but backed off as McMurray pulled away and back onto the racing surface.

“There is going to be payback,” Clanton vowed.

Matt Kenseth, making a spot Busch Series start, proved why he’s running away with the Winston Cup points title with an incredible save late in the race.

Kenseth was in third on a restart with 50 laps left, trailing Waltrip and Hornaday. But Waltrip struggled on the start, Hornaday got past him and Kenseth followed.

As Kenseth closed in on Hornaday and tried to make a pass for the lead, he and Hornaday bumped slightly and Waltrip was close enough to tap Kenseth from behind. It sent Kenseth into a full spin, thick white smoke pouring out of his car as he locked the brakes and kept the No. 17 Ford from hitting the wall.

He ended the spin without hitting anything and pointed in the right direction, although he had dropped to 16th.

AP-ES-08-22-03 2228EDT