Into the Vault: Vintage Shootout Guides From the Beginning

Throwback Edition

By Christy Wagner, Editor

Guide Photocopies Courtesy of george denny photography © & Retired Osage Beach Fire Protection District Chief Jeff Dorhauer

The year was 1992 and it was the Lake of the Ozarks 4th Annual Shootout at Carm Natoli’s Shooters 21. Although the Shootout had taken place since 1989, it was also the first year that a printed “Official Shootout Program Guide” was published and distributed for fundraising and informational purposes. Although the 1992 Shootout Guide’s 38 pages were mostly filled with commercial advertisements, there were also staple features which can be seen in the Shootout Guides of today, including the schedule of events, race classifications, and past winners. A welcome statement has also always been made on behalf of the Shootout Board of Directors, host location, and race committee.

Starting with the front inside cover, the 1992 Shootout Guide featured full-page advertisements for an Osage Beach phone station and stereo depot, a local bank, and it included an alphabetized list of Lake of the Ozarks Marine Dealers Association (LOMDA) members. In 32 years, LOMDA’s members have nearly doubled from 45 in 1992 to 81 in 2023—a handful of which are still in business with active memberships more than three decades later. One noticeable attribute within this program guide is that all phone numbers began with 314 area codes, which we now associate with the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Area. Missouri’s central and southeastern regions’ present-day 573 area code, which encompasses the Lake of the Ozarks’ tri-county area, was not established until 1996.

The 4th Annual Shootout’s two-day event schedule included a full day of timed trial runs and then, finally, the highly anticipated races took place over the course of six hours on Sunday. As is customary practice today, an awards ceremony followed the culmination of the final day’s runs at the host location. 1992’s 12 classes were categorized based on hull, length, and number of motors (for comparison, the classes of 2023 entailed 13 Top Gun winners with an additional 62 class winners ranging in speed from 62 to 184 miles per hour). 1991’s Top Gun was listed as the late Bob Morgan, Founder of Big Thunder Marine and namesake of the yearly Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame induction ceremony, in his 32-foot multi-engine catamaran at 102.7 miles per hour. That year’s “Cat Shot” winner was listed as David Raber operating a 27 to 31-foot catamaran with a twin-big-block engine at the same exact speed as Morgan.

Boasting top speeds of over 100 miles per hour, this was an era of fire department officiation and fundraising. Firefighters from Osage Beach, Lake Ozark, and Sunrise Beach were responsible for their own advertising sales, and they often collected money in tin cans and boots at gas stations and grocery stores. In what was referred to in the early 1990s as the Midwest’s largest inland boating competition, the Shootout has since evolved into the largest unsanctioned boat race in the world. Even at the time, the Shootout’s volunteers and first responders were in the forefront of receiving credit for ensuring a secure, fun, and successful event. A series of 17 rules were listed to promote safe and acceptable boundaries at the event, such as using common sense, obeying all boating laws, limiting one individual per boat, banning alcoholic beverages, wearing a personal floatation device, and et cetera.

From the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Association’s event coordination, safety, start, inspection, rescue, score, registration, and volunteer committees, it took a small village of volunteers to make the 1990’s version of the Shootout possible, just as they do today. The growth of today necessitates the aid of hundreds upon hundreds of volunteers, but more hands make for less work. Special thanks were also given to the local fire protection districts, water rescue and safety patrol, law enforcement, Central Bank employees (who possibly helped with volunteer duties or aided with sponsorships), and the spectators, neighbors, and employees of Natoli’s Shooters 21.

Although some advertisements were for local businesses in Osage Beach or the surrounding area, many were also for St. Louis-based companies, which is a testament to the sheer growth of the Lake of the Ozarks in the past 30+ years. Ads ranged from election flyers to engineering, restaurant, swimwear, vehicle, golf, and animal care services. The 36th Annual Shootout Guide works in a similar fashion; in that it sells advertisements to raise funds for the Shootout while serving to inform the public about the event. In the past 36 years, the Shootout’s Official Program Guide has grown from mostly advertising to staple features and equal ad-to-content ratio with freelance articles. As always, the Shootout Guide is free to the general public.

It might seem obvious to some, but fireboats across the Lake of the Ozarks utilize lake water to help extinguish fires in the most efficient way possible—by using resources directly at their disposal. It is also sometimes much faster for emergency personnel to respond to a call for service by water than land. Shootout donations to local first responders have been used to purchase fire apparatuses and boats, which is oftentimes crucial to underfunded or remote, volunteer-based fire jurisdictions.

As the Shootout’s title sponsors at the time, Budweiser and Natoli’s Shooters 21 Complex wished racers the best of luck with their full-page advertisements while providing event location and beneficiary information. The racecourse map, which took place at the 21-mile mark of the Main Channel, worked in a different manner than today’s course and spanned one mile versus the current 3/4-mile stretch. Today’s host location, Captain Ron’s Bar & Grill, serves in a similar manner and provides docks for mooring boats, a restaurant for vendors, spectators, and racers alike, and an overall excitable environment.

Similar to recent Official Shootout Program Guides, the past year’s Top Gun, or the fastest overall vessel, is typically displayed on the front cover (i.e., American Ethanol, Miss Budweiser, and Callan Marine). Get ready to dive into nostalgia with this year’s 2024 LOTO Race Guide cover! Imagine a throwback into the thrilling history of powerboat races at the breathtaking Lake of the Ozarks. It will be a blast from the past that’s sure to get your adrenaline pumping. Stay tuned!