Hard as it is to believe, the 37th annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout is now two weekends behind us. The buzz around the Central Missouri starts building months in advance. But like the competitors on the three-quarter-mile course, it always goes by too quickly. At least for our taste.
So this week we’re going to revisit our favorite Shootout moments. Every day through Friday, we’ll take a brief look back at something that caught our attention.
Of course, we have to start with the groundbreaking performance by Darryl Cuttell and Steve Curtis shattered the three-quarter-mile course record at the 2025 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout with a 242-mph top speed in Cuttell’s turbine-powered 50-foot Mystic Powerboats catamaran dubbed Darana Hybrid. Under different ownership but with Curtis on the throttles in 2014, the 50-footer ran just two miles per hour on a course that was a quarter-mile longer.
That electrical problems sidelined the team from Saturday’s competition made the accomplishment that much more dramatic and impressive.
“There’s probably a little bit left in the bag, but we felt like 242 mph was good enough for this year,” Cuttell said after the run. “This was no easy task, especially with the issues we encountered yesterday that prevented us from running. It was a little overwhelming getting the boat ready so this feels wonderful. I feel like I can breathe again.”
Added Curtis, “It felt great. I do think 250 mph is possible on the three quarter mile after going that fast.”