Not all powerboat enthusiast are offshore racing fans. To assume that is to greatly over-estimate the sport’s appeal even with a presumably—key word—receptive audience.
A healthy portion of those who flock to Key West, Fla., each year for the Offshore World Championships, for example, simply go for the weeklong party. Ask them if they enjoyed the racing and they’ll tell you that, beyond a glance or two at Key West Harbor on competition days, they didn’t see much action. They were busy with other distractions.
Still, the International Hot Rod Association’s pledge to pump $7.2 million into the sport—$2 million of which will take the form of a prize purse according to IHRA president Leah Martin—is significant.
That’s a lot money, more than any single entity has ever pumped into the offshore competition, at least on the domestic side of things. During its hey-days, the Dubai-based Union Internationale Motonautique Class Victory team invested a lot more than that in the sport. But that was for its own benefit.
The IHRA’s investment, on the other hand, ostensibly will benefit the entire sport. The IHRA notion is that the fan and team-sponsorship bases will grow if the product on and off the racecourse improves. Though future growth is tricky at best to forecast, the notion has merit.
Beyond the promises, there are good signs that the investment is real. In November, the IHRA paid $250,000 to competitors in the Key West World Championships as pledged. The organization also purchased the assets of Powerboat P1/ P1 Offshore, which per existing contracts gives IHRA race sites in New Orleans and St. Petersburg, Fla., as well as Monster Energy backing.
And while the IHRA wasn’t able to acquire Race World Offshore, which would have added more sites including the coveted Key West venue to its portfolio, Martin has assured competitors it will have a robust schedule of worthwhile events in 2026.
That offshore racing is coming off its most fractured and contentious season in recent years may actually work in the organization’s favor. Racers and fans were rightly frustrated by the discord and dysfunction of 2026. So they’re eager to see even modest improvement.
It’s going to be intriguing to see how IHRA’s deep dive into offshore racing plays out next season. Growing pains are inevitable, and the organization has a lot of work do between now and the first event of the 2026 season.
But whether you are an optimist or a skeptic, it’s already the biggest story of this one.