Rookie Teen Racer Snags ‘Bad’ Mod V Ride
As the son of longtime Southwest Florida offshore racer Corey Shantry, who currently shares the cockpit of the Bracket 300-class Justice League raceboat with Richard Davis, 19-year-old Austin Shantry has been around the sport for most of his life. His father’s racing career goes back 20 years and includes Super Cat Light and Super V Light competition, as well as working as a crew-member for the Extreme V Twisted Metal, Super Cat Broadco and Super Stock DoubleEdge Motorsports S-111 teams.
“Austin was always a good kid to be around,” said Billy Glueck, the owner of the Sarasota, Fla.-based Twisted Metal team. “He was generally quiet, but you could tell he paid attention to things going on around him and I expect that he probably learned quite a bit from everyone, including his dad.”
Austin Shantry (left) and his father, Corey, have an adventure ahead of them with the Mod V class.
So it’s fair to say that Austin Shantry has a lot more exposure to the sport than the average teenager. And late next month at the Race World Offshore-produced American Power Boat Association Offshore National Championship Series season-opener in Marathon, Fla., he’ll put it all to good use as the rookie driver of Bad, Inc., a 32-foot Phantom running in the Mod V class. Shantry will share the cockpit with throttle Larry Fontecha, a veteran offshore racer who co-owns the team with the rookie racer.
“I have run boats before though I’ve never in one with canopy, so I am a little nervous,” said Shantry. “But I am not super-nervous about getting tossed around out there. I’ve been drift-car racing for a while.”
His father chuckled.
Austin Shantry (left) has been around offshore powerboat racing for most of his young life.
“He had his drift-car before he had his driver’s license,” he said, then laughed again. “Larry is excited to teach Austin how to run a boat. They both can’t wait for the Marathon race.”
Added the Shantry’s mutual friend Glueck, “I look forward to watching Austin compete. I expect he will do well.”
In the meantime, the Bad, Inc., team is prepping the 32-footer, which they purchased from Mod V-class booster Jorge Arellano, for the 2023 season. The boat’s engine currently is being built at a shop in Fort Myers, Fla. In what will be a family-oriented effort, Corey Shantry will be the team’s de facto “crew chief” while his son and Fontecha are on the racecourse, and Serena Shantry—‚Austin’s 17-year-old sister—may also be part of the crew.
According to the senior Shantry and, the team plans to run a full Mod-V schedule this year. Asked why he isn’t joining his son in the cockpit, he laughed again.
“I wanted it to be fun for him,” he said. “And I didn’t think it would be with me yelling at him the whole time.”
As 19 years old, Austin Shantry will be among the youngest competitors—if not the youngest competitor—in the Mod V class.
Related stories
SOTW Exclusive: Single-Engine Offshore V-Bottom Classes Merging
Former Justice League Skater Raceboat Under New Ownership
2022 Key West Poker Run And Offshore World Championships Coverage
Colby Returning To Speedonthewater.Com Offshore Racing Coverage Team
.
