Once the father-and-duo of Dennis and Jason Parvey bowed out of Lake of the Ozarks Shootout competition in 2024 after a remarkable 23-year run that included a 165-mph pass in their 43-foot open-cockpit Black Thunder V-bottom, Factory Billet team owner Jim Schultz found himself fresh out of consistent competition. But the Parveys and Schultz, who ran his Outerlimits alongside engine builder Mike Faucher to 186 mph last year in the Central Missouri top-speed contest, were more than rivals. They were friends. They shared mutual respect.
They even shared a few trade secrets and technology.
Off the racecourse, Schultz is an intensely private guy. In the interest of full disclosure, I count him as one of my more-engaging, funny and scary-smart friends.
During a video shoot for one of two Scrapyard Media/Speed On The Water YouTube videos chronicling the Shootout achievements of Factory Billet, Schultz made me promise I would put Factory Billet on the cover of the next Speed On The Water Year In Review magazine if the boat ran the boat to 190 mph. I said I would and we shook hands on the deal.
On Saturday, at least if his current plans hold, we’ll all find out if I have to “pay up” with the 2026 issue cover. Again in the interest of full disclosure, I hope I do. It’s a promise I’ll be delighted to keep.
But the only thing I really care about is my friend’s survival. That and only that.
Schultz called me a few nights back. Despite that Faucher has a leg injury that will keep him out of the cockpit on Saturday—the only day Factory Billet will run as Schultz’s oldest daughter will be five years old this Sunday and he will be there to celebrate it—he was in fine spirits. While Faucher has long-shared the cockpit with him, Schultz has always driven and throttled the boat himself.
“I don’t know who I am going to run with,” he said, then laughed.
For a very brief moment, I was afraid—OK, terrified— he was going to ask me. He didn’t
Which is good because I hate saying no to a friend. But no would have been my answer.
Can Schultz run 190 mph on Saturday? I suspect he can and will. And I don’t care. I just want my friend to be safe. That’s all that matters—hat and only that.
I might just put Factory Billet on the cover, regardless.