Lake Race 2021 At Lake Of The Ozarks: Drama, Surprise Results, & Action Shots

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. — It was a day of excitement and drama on the water at Lake Race 2021 on Saturday, June 5.

The race is the second in the eight-race Offshore Powerboat Association series, and after Lake Race 2020 was cancelled due to fears of the coronavirus, 2021’s race was met with special excitement from racers and spectators alike. And for the first time, NGK Formula-1 Racing and Invitational Offshore Powerboat Racing participated in the same event.

Formula-1 #77 - Lake Race — photo by Jeff Helmkamp

"For us, we run about 20 boats per race and we usually run a lot smaller courses. Usually lap times are 37 seconds, 30 to 40 seconds," said Dylan Anderson, a Formula-1 racer who drives No. 17, "It’s just a lot tighter racing, a lot closer together, racing harder too. It’s a heck of a ride.”

Formula-1 races also saw the most dramatic action at this year's Lake Race. 47-year-old Jimmy Kerr flipped his boat, No. 71, during the first heat, and Dylan Anderson flipped No. 17 and the boat partly sank. Both drivers were uninjured.

For a play-by-play of this year's races and official results, keep reading!

Deception - Lake Race — photo by Jeff Helmkamp

Class 6 was a close battle between Rum Runner and Deception. Rum Runner was biting at Deception’s ankles for most of the race, but in the final lap Rum Runner pulled ahead and appeared to take the top spot. However, when final results came out and judges' penalties were taken into account, we saw Rum Runner topple into last place, a long fall from their success at Cocoa Beach. Reindl Powerboats took second place after an impressive outmaneuver against Punchin’ Hulls midway through the race. Class 6 has a top speed of 70MPH.

Class 6 Official Results:

1st - Deception

2nd - Reindl Powerboats

3rd - Punchin’ Hulls

Jackhammer - Lake Race — photo by Jeff Helmkamp

Punisher & Ella's Nightmare - Lake Race — photo by Jeff Helmkamp

In Class 7, Jackhammer maintained a decent lead for almost the entirety of the race with Ella’s Nightmare coming in second. Class 7 has a top speed of 60MPH.

Class 7 Official Results:

1st - Jackhammer

2nd - Ella’s Nightmare

3rd - Goofin Around

4th - The Punisher

Old School - Lake Race — photo by Jeff Helmkamp

With Old School and GNS Motorsports taking early leads on the race course in Class 4, GNS Motorsports pulled sideways at a buoy and lost the lead. It was thought that GNS Motorsports has broken a scag midway through the race, and they never returned to the front of the pack. Old School retained their lead and was followed at a distance by Predator. However, when judges' penalties were taken into consideration, the lineup tells a very different story. GNS ftw! Class 4 has a top speed of 85MPH.

Class 4 Official Results:

1st - GNS Motorsports

2nd - Throttle Therapy

3rd - Burning Man

4th - Old School

5th - Predator

Class 3 had only one entry: Team Woody.

Team Woody & Bulletproof - Lake Race — photo by Jeff Helmkamp

In Class 5, Shoreline Plumbing and Team Woody vied for first and second place respectively, but Team Woody never made up the distance. Team Woody appeared to finish in second with Bulletproof taking third. However, when judges' penalties were taken into consideration, Shoreline Plumbing fell to third. Class 5 has a top speed of 75MPH.

Class 5 Official Results:

1st - Team Woody

2nd - Bulletproof

3rd - Shoreline Plumbing

4th - Reindl Powerboats

At the start of Class 2, the popular Batman boat seemed to have no trouble keeping a lead, but when it encountered technical problems, Team Woody took the lead and, after a brief resurgence to second, Batman fell to the bottom spot. Team Woody continued to have a strong lead for the rest of the race. Class 2 has a top speed of 100MPH.

Class 2 Official Results:

1st - Team Woody

2nd - We On Top

3rd - Batman

Factory Stock, had only one entry: Marine Technology

Vee Extreme, had only one entry: Knucklehead Racing

Modified Vee, had only one entry: Boatfloater.com

Stock Vee, had only one entry: Relentless

For the final race of the day, the order of the Superstock’s winners were established early and remained for the rest of the race with CMR first, Performance Boat Center second and CR Racing in a distant third. Performance made a good effort to pull around CMRoofing in the final lap but was not successful. Superstock has an unlimited top speed.