Day One Highlights from the 2016 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout

The first day of the 2016 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in Central Missouri is in the books and boy were there some incredible runs on Saturday. Besides an incident early in the race in which Jeff McCann rolled his Donzi V-bottom (he survived the wreck with a few minor injuries), the rest of the field put on a remarkable show.

While there were more than those listed below, here are some of our highlights from the first day of the 28th annual Shootout. For complete results from today’s event, click here.

Brian Forehand ran 153 mph in Dave Scotto’s amazing 50-foot Outerlimits V-bottom. All photos by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

• Two V-bottoms top 150 mph. Between Brian Forehand’s jaw-dropping 153-mph top speed in Dave Scotto’s Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats 50-footer and Dennis and Jason Parvey’s 151-mph run in their 43-foot Black Thunder, spectators at the event witnessed the two fastest V-bottoms in the history of the event.

• Tagge and Melley eclipses their goal. With a 192-mph run in a Skater Powerboats 36 Classic catamaran, owner and throttleman Garth Tagge and driver Jim Melley hold the fastest speed at the Shootout following Saturday’s competition. Thanks to its 1,500-plus-hp Smith Power engines that were upgraded recently by the ever-talented Carson Brummett, the duo laid down a flawless pass to top their goal of 190 mph on the one-mile course.

• American Ethanol’s 217-mph pass didn’t count. Although the run is officially under protest—organizers aren’t expected to make a ruling until Sunday morning—Don Onken’s American Ethanol Mystic Powerboats catamaran was recorded running through the radar traps at an incredible 217 mph. According to organizer Ron Duggan, there were some questions about the speed in the start box as driver Slug Hefner and throttleman John Cosker, the founder of the DeLand, Fla., took to the course. Speedonthewater.com will keep you posted on the outcome, as the speed is nearly 10 mph faster than the 208-mph top speed the team ran to win the 2015 overall Top Gun award.

Check out some of the best photos from the first day of the Shootout by Pete Boden, Speedonthewater.com’s chief photographer.

• Girl power takes center stage. California’s Summer Richardson, the highly touted female driver of the Dial 911 Skater Powerboats 38-foot catamaran, had some issues with her boat but still managed to lay down a respectable top speed of 153 mph on Saturday. The all-female team of Tristan Garvin and Yvonne Aleman ran 99 mph in Devin Wozencraft’s outboard-powered Skater 30 SS and are vowing to come back and top 100 mph tomorrow.

• DCB’s strong showing. Not only did DCB’s Tony Chiaramonte lay down an amazing 173-mph pass in an M35 Widebody powered by twin Mercury Racing 1550/1350 engines, the company’s boats recorded some impressive speeds. Between Brad Kloepfer’s 162-mph pass in the DCB M35 Lickity Split Racing, Shawn Moe’s incredible 150-mph run in his F29, Mark Schouten’s 149-mph pass in his M41 Widebody and Carlton Bass’ 145-mph run in his M35 Widebody, the Southern California company was well represented in the event.

• Rowland does it again. We can’t forget the gutsy Brad Rowland, who matched his top speed from 2015 when he ran 114 mph in his triple-engine South Bay pontoon Tooned In early in the day.

Related stories
Complete Coverage of the 2016 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout