Inside news from the offshore racing world—two-time International Hot Rod Association man Tommy Thomassie has joined Offshore Powerboat Association leadership and Super Stock-class racers Shaun Torrente and Cole Leibel bought the Roar Offshore Fort Myers Beach—have made the past two weeks intriguing for fans of the sport. But that all fades into the background this weekend with Shootout Offshore—the fourth event in the IHRA Offshore Series—at the Lake of the Ozarks.
The Lake of the Ozarks is home-water for Jackhammer and several other teams. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
The Central Missouri lake is home-water to a slew of well-known offshore racers including Bill Allen, Myrick Coil, Reese Langheim and Tyler Miller. That makes the event particularly compelling for the competitors and their local fans.
“Racing at home in front of all of your local friends and family means a little bit more,” Coil explained via text message.
Added Langheim, “Shootout Offshore is honestly one of my favorite events and places to race. The water can be tricky, so it’s a much more challenging race than most realize. That mixed with the powerboat community here makes the overall energy just unmatched.”
As of this writing, 54 teams have registered. As usual, the Super Stock class leads the pack with 13 entries. Factory Stock is next with six teams, followed by Pro Class 1 with five teams and Super Cat with four teams. Mod V has four teams signed up so far.
The key words are “so far.” Last-registration is not a rare occurrence in the offshore racing world.
Here is a look at the competition schedule for the weekend:
Saturday, June 13
• 12-12:45 p.m.—Bracket 200, 300, 400 and 500 class acing.
• 12:45-1:30 p.m.—Factory Stock qualifying.
• 2-2:30 p.m.—Pro Class 1 qualifying.
• 2:30-3:15 p.m.—Factory Stock racing.
• 4:30-5 pm.— Pro Class 1 race No. 1.
Sunday, June 14
• 9:15 -10:30 a.m.—Mod V, Super V and Extreme class racing.
• 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.—Super Stock and Super cat qualifying.
• 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.—Bracket 600, 700 and Cat 300 race.
• 12:15-1:pm.—Super Stock race.
• 1:30- 2:15 p.m.—Super Cat race.
• 3-3:5p.m.— Pro Class 1 race No. 2.
Viewers can enjoy all racing on the IHRA YouTube channel and SPEED SPORT1.