Tomlinson, Bull, Sixkiller, Prince, Tagge and Melley: Newest Shootout Hall of Famers

While it’s heartbreaking that three members of the 2017 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Hall of Fame class are being inducted posthumously, it’s also uplifting that three other deserving longtime event participants are going to be enshrined in the Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame during a dinner ceremony on Tuesday, Aug. 22 at the Stables at Cannon Smoked Saloon in Gravois Mills, Mo.

Bob Bull, the owner of the CMS Offshore Racing Team, is being inducted into the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Hall of Fame next month for his longstanding contributions both on and off the racecourse. Photo by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

Part-time Lake of the Ozarks resident Bob Bull, a world champion offshore racer and longtime “do-whatever-the-Shootout-asks” participant, is going to be inducted alongside his fellow world champion racer and oftentimes teammate, John Tomlinson—the throttleman who joined Hall of Fame driver Dave Scott for Scott’s Top Gun-winning runs—and one of the best and longest ambassadors for the Shootout, Carrie Sixkiller of Kansas.

The fifth class to be inducted into the Hall of Fame also includes Louisiana’s Richie Prince, who died following an accident on the lake the evening before last year’s Shootout opening ceremony, and the notable team of Jim Melley and Garth Tagge of Georgia, who died in an accident at a top-speed shootout in Maryland last October.

According to Ron Duggan, the lead organizer of the Shootout and the owner of Captain Ron’s, the host location for the event in Sunrise Beach, Mo., Melley and Tagge will be inducted as a team since that’s how they were recognized at the event and because that’s how they left this earth. Prince, a loyal MTI customer and offshore racer, has been a mainstay at the Shootout for several years and participated in the Shootout many times.

Check out the slideshow above for images of all six Hall of Fame inductees.

Duggan said the other inductees, Bull, Sixkiller and Tomlinson, were appreciative of the recognition, but none more than Sixkiller.

“Obviously Bob Bull is a tremendous supporter of the Shootout; he’s been so gracious and done anything we’ve asked—race a plane, do a drag race, donate a ride to raise money for charity, you name it, he does it,” Duggan said. “And everyone knows John Tomlinson’s career is legendary. He doesn’t own the boats that run here so he doesn’t always get the credit, but JT has throttled some of the fastest boats in Shootout history.

“Carrie, of course, epitomizes what the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout is all about—that anyone can compete,” he continued. “For more than 10 years, Carrie has been a great ambassador for this event because she’s the perfect example that the Shootout is for everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman or if you have stock power single-engine boat or a twin-turbine-powered boat that runs 200 mph. This event has always been about the average boaters just as much as the Top Guns.”

Included in the evening’s Hall of Fame festivities is a dinner and an induction ceremony. Doors open at 6 p.m., and a hearty prime rib dinner will be served starting at 7 p.m. The induction ceremony will begin after dinner. Tickets for the evening are $25 each and reservations can be made by calling 573-374-8400.

Tomlinson, Bull, Sixkiller, Prince, Tagge and Melley: Newest Shootout Hall of Famers

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