www.pokerrunsamerica.com REBIRTH OF VELOCITY SCOTTSCOTT MMccCORMICKCORMICK IS BRINGING PERFORMANCE BACK VISION MARINE SETS ELECTRIC SPEED RECORD 109 MPH TM SUNSATION CELEBRATES 40 YEARS CRAIG BARRIE LEADS DONZIPOKER RUN COVERAGE POKER RUN COVERAGE LAKE OF THE OZARKS SHOOTOUT KUTTAWA CANNONBALL RUN BFD FUN RUN DONZI GETS A NEW HOME MERCURY RACING’S STUART HALLEY TALKS INDUSTRY Cover 25-3 option 2.indd 1Cover 25-3 option 2.indd 12022-09-28 2:18 PM2022-09-28 2:18 PMEliminator.indd 1Eliminator.indd 12022-09-09 3:18 PM2022-09-09 3:18 PMF650.indd 1F650.indd 12022-09-15 12:32 PM2022-09-15 12:32 PMBill Taylor PUBLISHERS NOTE 4 WWW.POKERRUNSAMERICA.COMWWW.POKERRUNSAMERICA.COM VOLUME TWENTY FIVE / NUMBER THREE PUBLISHER William E. Taylor bill@pokerrunsamerica.com EDITOR Gregg Mansfield info@pokerrunsamerica.com TECHNICAL EDITOR Price Turner CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Tim Banse, Zenon Bilas, Bob Brown, Bill Jennings, Bobbye Kenyon, Chris Kourtakis, Mark Rothermal DESIGN ads@pokerrunsamerica.com Tamara Taylor, Giselle Bansal WEB DESIGN Moe Basha mbasha@taylorpublishinggroup.com PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Giselle Bansal giselle@pokerrunsamerica.com VP ADVERTISING & SALES Todd Taylor todd@pokerrunsamerica.com SALES Todd Taylor todd@pokerrunsamerica.com Bill Santes ads@pokerrunsamerica.com FLORIDA SALES Kevin Peterson klpetersonmarketing@gmail.com SPECIAL EVENTS COORDINATORS Nancy Mueller, Melanie Taylor coordinator@pokerrunsamerica.com ADMINISTRATION President William E. Taylor Group Publisher Melanie Taylor-Wallis VP/Special Projects Norm Rosen PHOTOGRAPH/VIDEO Tamara Taylor tmtaylor@taylorpublishinggroup.com Duane C. Adams, Pete Boden, Ken Denardo, Jeff Geradi - Freeze Framevideo.net, Randy Nuzzo, Tim Sharkey- Sharkeys Images EXECUTIVE & EDITORIAL OFFICES New York 777 East Park Drive, Tonawanda, NY 14150 Tel: 1-800-354-9145 • Fax: 905/844-5032 TORONTO 268 - 44 Crawford Crescent, Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0 905/844-8218 • Fax: 905/844-5032 EDITORIAL OFFICES 1-800-354-9145 Subscription inquires call: 1-800-354-9145 Website: www.pokerrunsamerica.com E-mail: info@pokerrunsamerica.com Cover and contents are copyright protected and may not be reproduced in any form without prior written consent from the publisher. Editorial contributions must be accompanied by return postage and will be handled with reasonable care. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photographs, or manuscripts. Poker Runs America reserves the right to refuse any and all advertising and disclaims all responsibilities for claims or statement of facts made by its advertisers or independent columnists Regular subscription rates are 4 issues: $19 US. 8 issues: $32 US. Canadian subscribers add $10. Single copy price is $5.95 US and $8.50 Cdn. POSTMASTER Send all returns to Poker Runs America, 777 East Park Drive, Tonawanda, NY 14150 PRINTED IN USA The incredible growth of poker runs over the past few years shows no signs of slowing down. Not only are more boaters taking advantage of a weekend of fun and camaraderie, there’s been a sizeable increase in the number of poker runs all over North America. While many poker runs invite every conceivable type of boat owner, the emphasis on performance boats is pretty evident, judging from the sleek, fast-forward designs owned by power-hungry participants, some equipped with three - even four - motors and today even electric. One of the reasons behind this craving for power is that more and more poker runnners are itching to race. And, while I must make it clear that poker runs are NOT A RACE, I can’t say that I blame performance boaters for wanting to get out on a course and show their stuff. Boat builders, too, have recognized this growing trend. That’s why many of today’s performance boats are dual-purpose designs. They make excellent poker run boats and, if buyers are so inclined, they can use the same boat for racing. The list of performance boat manufacturers supplying both catamarans and V-bottoms for fun events is pretty extensive, as you will see again at this years Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show, October 26-30, 2022. Can electric and fuel mix? Yes it can, on a weekend of record breaking attempts on water two seperate style power plants, one a battery driven boat and the other with fuel. Vision Marine Technology ran an incredible speed of 109mph with a pair of electric outboards smashing a new world record speed. On the same weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks World Champion John Cosker got behind the wheel of Don Onken’s American Ethanol powered Mystic conquering a new record of 207mph on a 3/4 mile course – and it’s all in this issue. I, for one, certainly feel this is just the tip of the iceberg. In the years to come, I believe there’ll be even more poker runs and more boats and boaters getting into poker runs and racing. LET’S FACE IT, PERFORMANCE BOATERS ARE BORN TO RUN! PRA William E. Taylor, Publisher bill@pokerrunsamerica.com POKER RUNS AMERICA | Volume 25 Number 3 PERFORMANCE BOATERS ARE BORN TO RUN! Pub Page 25-3.indd 4Pub Page 25-3.indd 42022-09-20 1:50 PM2022-09-20 1:50 PMTHE EXCITEMENT COMES STANDARD 227 Power Court Sanford FL 32771 www.velocityboats.com THE ALL NEW 2022 VELOCITY VR1VELOCITY VR1 877-354-1159 We Welcome Dealer Inquires TM With twin Mercury Racing 450R outboards mounted on a Porta Bracket the newly designed VR1 topped out at 115.7 mph in a recent test session at Mercury’s Lake X. Velocity Ad PRA 25-2 new.indd 1Velocity Ad PRA 25-2 new.indd 12022-09-09 3:20 PM2022-09-09 3:20 PM6 POKER RUNS AMERICA | Volume 25 Number 3WWW.POKERRUNSAMERICA.COM FEATURES 26 14 BIG TICKET DEFCO Truck conversion for Ford trucks and a must-have drone. 10 CRAIG BARRIE LEADS DONZI MARINE Fast Facts - News and more! 16 GO FAST OR BUST Velocity Powerboats owner Scott McCormick wants to make go-fast boating great again. 22 LAKE OF THE OZARKS SHOOTOUT American Ethanol wins its eight consecutive Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Top Gun crown. 26 PUTTING ON A SHOW Florida’s Tim and Cyndee Hill are two of the busiest promoters in the marine industry. 30 TIME OUT: CATCHING UP WITH MERCURY RACING’S STUART HALLEY Halley has led the high-performance division since 2018. 36 SUNSATION POWERBOATS CELEBRATES 40 YEARS The builder held a Sun Run that attracted Sunsation owners from around the country. 40 WEATHERING THE STORM The right setup made the difference for offshore teams at Offshore Powerboat Association’s Michigan City, Ind., race. 44 ELECTRIC SPEED RECORD 109 MPH Vision Marine sets new speed record for electric outboards. 48 FROM THE PRA VAULTS: THE THROTTLE KINGS On the offshore race circuit, Bobby Moore and John Tomlinson are two of the world’s winningest masters of motion. 4 PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE 10 FAST FACTS 54 POWER PLAY BFD Fun Run in Lake of the Ozarks 58 POWER PLAY Kuttawa Cannonball Run by Midwest Powerboat 61 POKER RUN & RACE CALENDAR DEPARTMENTS pra vol. 25-3 CONTENTS contents 25-3.indd 6contents 25-3.indd 62022-09-28 2:42 PM2022-09-28 2:42 PM7 Volume 25 Number 3 | POKER RUNS AMERICAWWW.POKERRUNSAMERICA.COM 303644 American Ethanol ran a record 207-mph lap to win its eighth consecutive Lake of the Ozarks Shootout. PHOTO BY JIM DAVIS contents 25-3.indd 7contents 25-3.indd 72022-09-15 12:36 PM2022-09-15 12:36 PMSPEED ZONE 8 POKER RUNS AMERICA | Volume 25 Number 3WWW.POKERRUNSAMERICA.COM contents 25-3.indd 8contents 25-3.indd 82022-09-28 4:12 PM2022-09-28 4:12 PMSTILL SMOKIN' Kris Jeppeson from Newmarket, ON in his Cigarette at the 1000 Islands Poker Run. Photo by: Tamara Taylor / PRA 9 Volume 25 Number 3 | POKER RUNS AMERICAWWW.POKERRUNSAMERICA.COM contents 25-3.indd 9contents 25-3.indd 92022-09-28 4:16 PM2022-09-28 4:16 PMNext >