WATERFORD – Bruce Thomas Jr. got the jump on Jason Palmer on a restart with seven laps remaining and it was the break he needed.
Thomas cleared Palmer and then went unchallenged the rest of the way to win the 30-lap Late Model feature at Waterford. It was the first victory of the season for Thomas, of Groton.
Palmer, of Berlin, held on for second and Anthony Flannery of East Hampton was third.
Thomas and Palmer put on a show at the front of the field after a restart with 12 laps remaining, going side-by-side for five laps before the caution flew. On the ensuing restart Thomas had the muscle to clear Palmer before the two cars got to turn one.
“I really just couldn’t get enough position on him to get ahead of him,” Thomas said. “I had been restarting this entire year just starting in third gear. I knew I had to do whatever I could do to go into turn one on my own. That last restart I just shifted. I ran it up high and pulled it into gear and she went in and I got position to get ahead of him.
“I don’t think I would have ever got clear [if the caution didn’t come out]. I think it would have been a 10-lap side-by-side battle and it would have come down to the finish line.”
Said Palmer: “I just spun the tires [on the final restart]. My mistake. I should have had them cleaned off better.”
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