EDITOR'S NOTE: Lake Race has been rescheduled due to uncertainty related to Covid-19.
--Original article, published May 1, 2020--
LAKE OZARK, Mo. — Though organizers say the final word about Lake Race scheduling is being reserved until next week, planning for the powerboat racing event scheduled for May 28–30 continues. This week, the Lake of the Ozarks Board of Aldermen approved a Special Event Permit for the meet and greet event dubbed “Thursday Night Thunder” to be held as part of the seventh annual Lake Race.
The meet and greet will be held on The Strip from 4-10 p.m. Thursday, May 28, giving area residents and visitors a chance to see the race boats, show boats and equipment.
Lake Race, formerly hosted near Bagnell Dam in Lake Ozark, is about a month away and plans are being developed to hold the nationally sanctioned event despite challenges from Covid-19. Most Lake Race activities will be held May 28-30 in the area of the 7 Mile Marker near Camden on the Lake and Shady Gators. The actual race will take place Saturday, May 30.
The race is especially important to the City of Lake Ozark this year since race organizers decided to hold the accompanying meet and greet on The Strip. The race was moved from near the dam last year after one of the major sponsoring restaurants, Beavers at the Dam, closed. The city subsequently lost the popular street event that showcases many of the race boats, equipment and other vendors. But that event has returned to the Strip this year.
Tom Abbett, president of the Lake Race Board of Directors, told the board that 43 boats from out of state have already committed to participate, and he expects several local race teams to participate as well. There were 58 boats that competed in varying classes last year.
“We wanted to incorporate Lake Ozark into our plans this year,” Abbett told the board before it voted on the Special Event Permit.
“There’s a lot of pent-up demand from the boating crowd for this to happen.”
Abbett said Lake Race officials have been working with the Lake of the Ozarks Marine Dealers Association so its membership can take advantage of the Thursday Night Thunder to display their boats and accessories. The annual spring LOMDA Boat Show was cancelled due to the coronavirus issues.
Abbett explained to LakeExpo that while some of the racers will be in town and ready to set up for the meet & greet event, some won't, so they're excited to bring more show boats from local dealers to create a hybrid of a racing show and a sales show. However, plans for which dealers will set up are still being finalized.
“This is going to be held in an outside environment, and we’ll certainly try to adhere to the social distancing guidelines,” Abbett said.
He noted that Ozark Distillery in Osage Beach, which recently converted some of its equipment to make hand sanitizer, will have available small bottles of sanitizer for the public.
City Administrator Dave Van Dee recommended that the board of aldermen approve the Special Event application subject to compliance with social distancing guidelines. He added that Lake Race officials might consider making periodic announcements over the public address system encouraging social distancing.
“In a month, we should know if we’re okay with the virus issues, and if we suddenly get an outbreak of new cases then all bets are off,” Mayor Murawski said.
