SUNRISE BEACH, Mo. - Poplar Bluff's favorite powerboat racer has raised his own bar, winning the Top Gun award and setting a new water-speed record in his class last weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout.
Slug Hefner piloted Don Onken's American Ethanol Mystic catamaran to victory on Aug. 27 with a record-breaking speed of 217 mph in the one-mile offshore class. While turbine engine boats have reached 244 mph at the event, Hefner's 217-mph run marks for fastest for any piston driven boat in the race's 24-year history.
"We thought we would win the Top Gun Award, but I think the key is they wanted to break the record. The boat was tied with another boat at 208 mph, so it didn't really have the record for fastest piston-driven boat. So now they've got the record and everybody's happy," Hefner said.
However, that victory was for a time in doubt. The run originally was disqualified for a fast start - boats are required to be traveling near 40 mph - but a video review and some discussion by the judges rescinded that decision and the run stood.
"One set of start people gave us a green flag, one set didn't, but they never waved the black flag so we couldn't be disqualified. They got all the officials together and about 8-9 o'clock Saturday night, we got the message we were right. They dropped the green flag and the 217 mph stands," Hefner said.
Hefner, who took Top Piston at Grand Lake 'o the Cherokee's Performance Boat Shootout just last month, said the course at Sunrise Beach and the water conditions on Saturday were slightly more complicated than the one in Oklahoma.
"To me Lake of the Ozarks is a little trickier. You've got some cliffs and dips in the shoreline, we had a little bit of a crosswind and if you went by a low spot it had a tendency to push the boat over. They are very susceptible to crosswinds.
"Even though they are 51-feet long and 16,000 pounds, they are riding on air and a side wind can turn you just a little bit," he said.
Hefner said Don Onken's team, Earl Moorman and crew made a few modifications to the boat prior to Saturday's race, deepening the bustle and raising the air intake scoops to promote better airflow to the American Ethanol Mystic's four V-8 engines.
"When I saw that I knew it would affect the handling because the aerodynamics totally changed. The boat floated more, it walked a little bit, so it was a little bit more difficult to drive the boat. There was very little of the boat in the water. We were actually riding on a cushion of air," he said. ​The American Ethanol boat is fueled by E90 ethanol provided by Ignite Racing Fuels. Ethanol is a corn based alcohol, basically moonshine.​
John Cosker, who built the American Ethanol Mystic and who Hefner called "the best on water," served as throttle man during the winning run. Communication between the two controllers during the race is largely non-existent as the roar of the engines and sheer adrenaline of 200-plus mph speeds leaves little room for chit-chat.
"The more time you spend with somebody, you bond a little bit. You have to read his mind and he has to read yours. We didn't say a lot. You don't talk. I have a comfort level with John, and I hope he has the same with me, but I wasn't worried about what he was doing. I was just paying attention to what I was doing and I think he was the same way," Hefner said.
Hefner says the Lake of the Ozark's Shootout is one of the biggest in the sport. The event is now in its 24th year, is considered the biggest unsanctioned race in the Midwest and draws up to 100,000 spectators.
"The Lake of the Ozarks Shootout is the holy grail of powerboat racing," he said. "People bring their boats from all over the world. A sheik from Qatar won the Top Gun award one year. People from Australia and England and all over come in. It's a world-wide event."