Although 2015 has come and gone, Don Onken said he’s uncertain if the accomplishment of his team’s Top Gun-winning 208-mph top speed at the 27th annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout at the end of August has truly soaked in yet. Not only did Onken’s American Ethanol 51-foot Mystic Powerboats catamaran, which featured Myrick Coil at the wheel and Mystic founder John Cosker on the throttles for the 208-mph run, wow Saturday’s massive on-water crowd, it also tied the Shootout record for fastest non-turbine-powered boat held by multi-time Shootout champion David Scott and throttleman John Tomlinson.
“What does winning the Top Gun title mean to me?” Onken said repeating the question. “I’ve never been asked that before, but I guess the one-word answer is ‘satisfaction.’ We are satisfied with making the boat perform like it should. And we are satisfied with sharing the record for a piston-powered boat with Dave Scott. He paid his dues over the years and brought so much attention to the Shootout. I have a lot of respect for Dave so it was nice to tie him.
“Yeah we are satisfied—we just want to be more satisfied this year,” Onken added. “We won’t feel bad about breaking Dave’s record next time around.”
Although 2015 has come and gone, Don Onken said he’s uncertain if the accomplishment of his team’s Top Gun-winning 208-mph top speed at the 27th annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout at the end of August has truly soaked in yet.
photo by Al Griffin
The soft-spoken 75-year-old Onken, an Illinois farmer who owns Oil Filter Recyclers, Onken Racing and Lightning Performance Group, has participated in the Shootout since the 1990s, although he missed several years because he was busy offshore racing. The last few years he’s brought the super-powered—as in quad-1,700-hp alcohol-burning engines—51-foot Mystic, formerly known as Recycler before being renamed American Ethanol thanks to a partnership inked in time for the 2015 Shootout, and the boat reached 186 mph in 2013 and 188 mph in 2014.
On August 29, 2015, the boat blew past the 200-mph mark with a forceful yet steady 208-mph top speed at the end of the one-mile course. To complement a year of preparation focused on using high-octane ethanol-based fuel (the primary factor in the team’s improvement, according to Onken), the Onken Racing crewmembers—Earl Moorman, Keith Eickert, Dave Bernshausen, Craig Strader and Onken’s sons, JR and JD—appreciated the additional support from the teams at American Ethanol and Ignite Racing Fuel.
“To have a sponsor like American Ethanol that we as farmers can relate to and that is relevant to what we as boat racers do, is about as good as it gets,” Onken said, adding that it was well worth putting a name on the side of the boat. “And it worked out great. A local boat powered by local corn wins the Shootout and proves to people that ethanol isn’t a bad thing for marine engines—sounds like a win-win for all of us.”
Not only does the Ignite fuel used in the Mystic have higher-octane properties than gasoline-based race fuel, it also helps produce more horsepower while keeping the engines cooler. The cooling properties of ethanol—since heat is the enemy of any engine—is a big reason why American Ethanol went as fast as it did.
The American Ethanol team poses for a photo op after winning Top Gun at the 2015 Shootout.
photo by Al Griffin
“Don Onken and his team chose to run on ethanol because the fuel performs better and burns cooler than regular gasoline,” said Kelly Manning, vice president of development for Growth Energy, the trusted voice of the country’s ethanol producers and suppliers. “Not surprisingly, the second-fastest boat at the Shootout (Kenny Mungle’s Gone Again Skater catamaran) also was powered by homegrown American ethanol.
“We weren’t sure what to expect from the Shootout, but we were glad to be part of it with Don and his team,” he continued. “It was such a cool experience. Of course the boats were unbelievable, but getting to spend time with the Onken family was incredible. They’re great people who appreciate agriculture and what ethanol production means to American farmers.”
The first Mystic to be powered with ethanol, Onken’s catamaran was the smoothest 200-mph run Cosker said he’s ever felt—and the owner of the DeLand, Fla., boat company probably has more seat time above 200 mph than anyone in the world.
“I couldn’t be happier for Don and his team,” said Cosker, whose Mystic catamarans have accounted for 10 Top Gun titles since 2005. “I can’t wait to see what they put together for the 2016 Shootout. We were on the rev-limiters during our 208-mph run so I know there’s more left. It’s just a matter of getting there a little faster. During our run, the boat didn’t start pulling hard until 80 or 90 mph. I’m sure Don and the boys have more in store.”
Onken said he believes the boat can go faster, although he admits the Shootout record of 244 mph set by the turbine-powered Qatar Team Mystic in 2014 is probably out of reach. He called a run in the 220-mph range—in line with Bill Tomlinson’s Top Gun-winning 224-mph pass in his turbine-powered Mystic My Way in 2013—a “possibility.”
“We definitely can make more power,” Onken said. “We didn’t have everything perfect for the Shootout. We had some blower belt issues, but we should have a solution that will allow us to run even more boost this year.
“Maybe winning the Top Gun was on my ‘bucket list,’ but it wasn’t something that had to be accomplished,” he continued. “I’m just so happy for our team and my sons, JR and JD, who worked so hard on the boat to get it prepared for the Shootout.”
For now, the unassuming Onken will focus on getting the boat ready for the 2016 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout and, more importantly, on his favorite pastime—his grandkids.
