American Ethanol made a 221-mph pass at the 2024 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout on Saturday, smashing the old record that stood for eight years.
Under morning clouds, driver Tony Battiato and throttleman John Cosker pulled out on the course in the 51’ Mystic to take advantage of the cooler temperatures. The duo went for broke on the first run, establishing the record for the 3/4-mile course, which was implemented in 2017. American Ethanol’s previous top speed of 217 mph was set on 1-mile course in 2016.
“The launch wasn’t great, but I think we can get a better launch. We still had room before the rev-limiters on the top end,” Cosker said. “I wouldn’t say there’s 10 (mph) in it but there might be a few more.”
With an estimated 10,000 horsepower in the engine compartment, the black and yellow catamaran looked in perfect form running down the course. After the 217-mph run was announced, team owner Don Onken pumped his fist in the air.
“It’s been a while since I’ve done that,” Onken said.
Thunderstorms limited the number of runs on Saturday at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout. After the lighting and rain passed in the early afternoon, the boats from V-bottoms to pontoons ran the course just off Captain Ron’s that hosts the event. The speed runs will continue Sunday.
Despite winning the Top Gun title in 2023 with a 214-mph run, the team had a frustrating event due to blower belt issues. Over the past year, Onken worked with ProCharger Superchargers to improve the reliability of the engines Oken describes as “hot rod” Mercury engines. ProCharger developed a new charger for the team that has paid early dividends.
“We 214 (mph) last year and lost the blowers three-quarters down the track,” Onken said. “We didn’t realize it would happen that quickly, so we knew we had to do something.”
Despite the shortened schedule on Saturday, participants got in more than 100 runs.
Other racers making their mark including Myrick Coil, who put up a 199-mph speed in Dirty Duck. Jim Schultz in Factor Billet, a 51’ Outerlimits catamaran, dropped an impressive 186 mph run, topping last year’s run by 17 mph.
Kyle Folwer ran 131 mph in his 50’ Skater, while Kory Perog also posted a 131-mph speed run. DCB Performance Marine’s Tony Chiaramonte had three runs with his best run of 128 mph on the 3/4-mile course.
