The Show-Stopping Shootout on the Strip

Whether it’s the Boyne Thunder Poker Run in Michigan, the Texas Outlaw Challenge, the Desert Storm Poker Run in Arizona or the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in Missouri, the one thing that never ceases to amaze me when it comes to the various open-to-the-community performance boat displays at all of those events and more is the effort put forth by the boat owners, dealers, manufacturers, engine builders and beyond to showcase their products.

New Jersey’s Elmer Morgan brought his Wicked Addiction Skater—one of several boats tied in to the Waves and Wheels display—to the Shootout on the Strip. Photo by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

This year’s Shootout on the Strip, which stretched more than a mile along Bagnell Dam Boulevard in Lake Ozark, Mo., was no different. In fact, the Waves and Wheels-sponsored event might have been the most impressive one I’ve attended in terms of support from all across the country. Boat owners from New Jersey to California brought their toys to display, and builders from the likes of Cigarette Racing Team, DCB Performance Boats, MTI, Mystic Powerboats, Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats, Sunsation Boats and more poured their resources into showcasing their latest and greatest boats.

“I think the turnout for this year’s Shootout on the Strip was amazing,” said Justin Wagner, owner of Waves and Wheels in Osage Beach. “There was a huge crowd of spectators on hand, and for good reason. The lineup of boats of all shapes and sizes—there were 52-foot catamarans from MTI all the way down to drag boats and personal watercraft—was incredible. Not only did we have an amazing DJ, Justin Farrell, playing music through a sound system connected to several boats, we organized a charity raffle that raised more than $1,200.

Read more: The Show-Stopping Shootout on the Strip

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