Tomlinson Out for the Shootout

Ace offshore racing throttleman and longtime Lake of the Ozarks Shootout participant John Tomlinson won’t be running in the Central Missouri speed contest this year. Tomlinson, who operates TNT Custom Marine in Miami with Mike Thomas, the powerboat rigging, service and storage facility’s co-founder, said prior obligations will keep him out of the liquid-mile top speed event at the end of the month.

Last year, Tomlinson throttled Jon Roth’s open-cockpit Skater Powerboats 388 catamaran with a pair of 1,700-hp supercharged engines to a remarkable 197-mph run during the Shootout. The mark stands as the fastest speed ever posted in the event in an open-cockpit powerboat.

Time constraints will keep Tomlinson from backing up the 197-mph run he made in Roth’s 38-foot Skater cat during the 2014 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout. Photo courtesy/copyright Jay Nichols/Naples Image

In 2010, Tomlinson and Lake of the Ozarks Shoot Hall of Famer Dave Scott took the Top Gun trophy with a run of 208 mph in Nauti Marine, Scott’s 50-foot Mystic Powerboats catamaran.

“With running the business, my obligations for Dubai in Class 1 and my commitments to the CMS offshore racing team in the States, I just couldn’t do it this year,” Tomlinson said. “Jon Roth asked me if I’d like to run the boat again this year, but between work and some vacation plans with my family I had to say no.”

Related story: Coverage of the 2015 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout