Factory Billet Versus The Parveys Returning To The Lake of the Ozarks Shootout
At first blush, the annual head-to-head Lake of the Ozarks Shootout competition between Dennis and Jason Parvey in their 43-foot, open-cockpit Black Thunder pleasure-boat and Jim Schultz and Mike Faucher in Factory Billet, a 51-foot canopied V-bottom from Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats looks like a high-speed powerboat version of “David and Goliath.” Dennis Parvey is a dentist from Minnesota. His son, Jason, sells automated CNC equipment in Texas.
The Factory Billet team of owner/driver Jim Schultz and throtteman/engine-builder Mike Faucher is targeting 170-mph at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout this month. Photos by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.
Schultz, on the other hand, is an engineer turned successful industrialist. He founded Geremarie in Lake Zurich, Ill. The company designs and supplies all billet parts for MasterCraft and other noteworthy clients. Faucher is Schultz’s personal, full-time engine builder. His primary year-round job is getting Factory Billet ready for the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout.
So it’s safe to say that the teams have different operating budgets leading up to the Shootout, the competition portion of which is scheduled for August 26-27 this year.
But the David-vs-Goliath comparison falls apart when you consider that Schultz and Faucher and have become friends with the Parveys and actually help them get ready to compete in the off-season. As you may recall in the Old Testament parable, Goliath didn’t help David find a rock for his sling.
“Mike and Jim have been awesome,” said Jason Parvey. “They helped us with a few items on our engine rebuild over the winter.”
Schultz said he’s been delighted to assist the Parveys during the last few years. He enjoys the friendly competition, and his current 166-mph V-bottom record set on the three-quarter-mile course last year still stands. Schultz and Faucher are, of course, planning to break their own mark.
Rivals on the three-quarter-mile racecourse, the Parvey (above) and Factory Billet teams have become friendly in the off season.
“You know me, I don’t like to make predictions but this year we are going for 170 mph,” Schultz explained. “At least that’s our goal.
“Halfway down the course during last year’s 166-mph run, we lost boost—we went from 30 pounds to six pounds,” he continued. “We lost one of the stepper-motors for the waste-gates of our turbochargers. Obviously, we’ve replaced it. The engines are going into the boat as we speak. We have even more horsepower this year.”
Asked what his goals and plans will be after the 2023 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, Schultz chuckled.
“There may be a new chapter ahead for Factory Billet,” he said. “We’ll talk about it after this year’s Shootout.
“It’s definitely been a blast,” he added.
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