Shootout Racer Thrown From Pontoon, Fireboats Stop Circling Vessel With Water Cannons [VIDEO]

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. — Shootout racing ended on a dramatic note Sunday, after a racer fell out of a pontoon, causing the unmanned vessel to circle for 10 minutes as a thunderstorm hit the race course. 

(More Video of the incident is below.)

After falling out of the pontoon, the racer was quickly rescued by emergency responders and taken to safety. The racer Mark Fargo of Indianola, Iowa, refused treatment and left on his own. After the rescue, the uncontrolled pontoon dangerously circled for 10 minutes, as a thunderstorm hit the racetrack.

Seeing the risk posed by the unmanned pontoon — which circled near a condo breakwater and cliff, but far from the Sunday flotilla — emergency personnel worked to stop the vessel.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol appeared to drag a rope in an attempt to entangle the boat's propellers without success.

A fireboat appeared to make contact with the vessel once, but the boat continued to circle.

In the end, fireboats shot water cannons into the engine compartment of the inboard pontoon's hatch (opened partially to keep the engine cool during racing). Firefighters got lucky when the water hit the throttle (the right direction thankfully), slowing it down. Firefighters finished the job flooding the engines through the open hatch and brought the pontoon to a stop. 

Shootout organizers called the race after the incident at noon due to weather conditions.