No one in the 37-year history of the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout was more overdue for induction into the Central Missouri event’s Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame than Greg Olson. Now living in St. Petersburg, Fla., with his wife, Michelle, the Nebraska native blistered the Shootout’s then-one-mile course with a 192-mph top speed in his Eliminator Boats 33 Daytona in 2012.
Now the soon-to-be Nor-Tech 450 Sport center console owner is a Shootout Hall of Famer.
“The Hall of Fame banquet was quite the deal—we had such a fun night,” Olson said. “It was much nicer than we expected, honestly, and it was amazing to see so many friends and familiar faces and people from the boating world we hadn’t seen in a long time.
“I didn’t realize until I came back here how much I missed all this powerboat stuff—I mean we boat in Florida and in The Bahamas but it’s all outboards and center consoles not big blocks and go-fast cats,” he added and laughed. “I’m thinking I need to start coming back to visit more often. This place has changed so much since we were here last.”
Olson paused for a moment, then continued in his typically humble manner.
“Certainly there were people more deserving than myself within the group there last night, but it’s still a real honor to be part of it,” he said. “I would like to give thanks to all the people in the background who make this competition, this event, this whole week a success. They don’t always get the recognition they deserve, but without them, participants like me wouldn’t even get a chance to race our boats.”