Long before Gary Stray arrived at MTI in the mid-2000s as the Wentzville, Mo., company’s head-rigger and resident creative genius, he worked for the Dubai-based, Class 1 Victory team. So, too, did MTI founder Randy Scism, a creative powerhouse in his own right, and they got to know each other through the shared Victory team experience.
Stray and Scism parted ways long ago, but not before Stray had added custom MTI creations such as Speed Racer and Mercedes to his rigging-and-build-out resume. Scism continued to build MTI to its current juggernaut status, while Stray returned to offshore raceboat rigging, setup and renovation, as well as team management. He handled that role for the Miss GEICO offshore racing team for more than 10 years ago, and became a member of its ownership group.
The insurance company exited the sport in 2021, but Stray, now 55 years old, never missed a beat. He handled two raceboats during the Powerboat P1-driven Class 1 resurgence for the next several years. And now he manages the Pro Class 1 Alegra Motorsports team of owner/driver Carlos de Quesada and throttleman John Tomlinson.
This week, he’s finishing up the total reinvention of the team’s 45-foot Victory catamaran. Testing begins next week.
Stray and longtime technician Patrick Cleaveland, who worked with him on the Miss GEICO team, have more than 2,500 man-hours in the project. They started in January 2025.
“I’ve done so many raceboat renovations that it feels almost second nature to me,” Stray said, then laughed. “I’m at the point where I can almost do them with my eyes shut, but of course I can’t. I’m still climbing in and out and around these boats every day, and I am working these guys who are 20 years younger than me and still enjoying it.”
Stray paused, then laughed again. “OK, my bones are kind of feeling it,” he continued. “I go home after work and sit on the couch with icepacks on my shoulders. My wife, Lou, just shakes her head and looks at me with this ‘What the hell are you doing to yourself?’ expression.
Though he’s currently working on the renovation/reimagination for a 34-foot Riva pleasure-boat powered by Ferrari automobile engines and equipped with an array custom features, Stray doesn’t “miss” the high-performance pleasure-boat project world.
“The Riva-Ferrari boat is taking a lot longer—and I have a lot more hours in it—than the 45-foot Victory project,” Stray explained. “It’s being painted by David Hunter right now.
“When you’re doing a project like the Ferrari-Riva or the Speed Racer cat, you’re always creating and innovating,” he continued. “It’s not that you don’t create and innovate with the raceboat jobs, but you are a bit more limited by the rules and restrictions of the class.”