Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Announces New Host Location For 2025

In an announcement made this afternoon by the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout board of directors, the annual fundraiser and top-speed competition appears to be relocating to a new host venue for the Performance Boat Center-sponsored event, which means a new three-quarter-mile course for the 37th annual event scheduled for August 23-24, 2025.

If the American Ethanol Mystic owned by Don Onken returns in an attempt to win its 11th straight overall Top Gun title at the 2025 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in Central Missouri, it will be on a new course. Photo by Pete Boden/Shoot 2 Thrill Pix

According to the release, the new host location will be Dog Days Bar & Grill in Osage Beach, Mo., while utilizing docks or other completed portions of Oasis & Marriott Resort and Conference Center. “In due course and upon the completion of all ongoing construction, the relationship between Oasis & Marriott Resort and Conference Center and the Shootout will foreseeably evolve into a ‘block host location’ between all establishments,” the release stated.

Located by land off of Jeffries Road, both Dog Days Bar & Grill and future additional host locations are accessible by water at the 19-mile mark of the lake’s main channel. The Shootout’s two-day races, which have taken place at Captain Ron’s Bar & Grill in Sunrise Beach, Mo., since 2008, are expected to take place just south of the Grand Glaize Bridge’s crossing at the 2-mile mark of the Grand Glaize Arm.

“After many long meetings and lengthy discussions in regard to the future of the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout, our board of directors decided that 2025 was the year to take this incredible leap,” said Mark Maasen, president of the Shootout board and an owner of Poly Lift Boat Lifts in Sunrise Beach. “Our biggest concern is and will always be safety, and the new course and host location’s close proximity to Lake Regional Hospital—along with overall boat slip availability and the adjacency of other facilities at no additional cost to the Shootout—helped us make this incredibly difficult but exciting decision.

“Since 2008, Captain Ron’s Bar & Grill has been a great venue, and we are incredibly thankful for their years of dedication to the Lake of the Ozarks’ most profitable fundraiser and the world’s largest unsanctioned boat race,” he added. “Sometimes, amazing opportunities fall into your lap, and they are too great to pass up. This monumental moment is one of those opportunities.”

This depiction of the new course location was provided in the press release from the Shootout Board of Directions today.

Although relocating an event of this magnitude approximately 15 nautical miles downstream is not easy, Maasen said the board of the standalone 501(c)(3) organization is actively working with State of Missouri safety officials to secure its regatta permit, and to finalize the course for next year’s spirited races.

“We are very excited to be moving the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout to a new location on the lake that we believe will be safer for the racers, better for the attendees and vendors, and, most importantly, to help us raise even more funds for lake area charities,” said Taylor Scism, a dedicated board member and vice president of Marine Technology Inc., in Wentzville, Mo. “We have grown exponentially over the last few years, and this new location will be able to grow with us.”

Scism actually had the opportunity to run the new course.

“We ran the new course in an MTI 482 inboard and felt there was ample shutdown time,” she said. “The shutdown time is now a full mile where it was only three-quarters-of-a-mile prior. There is great visibility for the whole course and I think it will keep racers and spectators safer.

“I think it is a great new location,” she added.

The release stated that in addition to an amplified experience for racers, spectators and sponsors, it is the hope of the Shootout to strengthen safety parameters and increase infrastructural support while creating an even greater economic impact on the many tightly knit communities across the Lake of the Ozarks. The ease of access by both land and water, along with the increased potential for raising even more funds for the Shootout’s many charitable organizations and first responders, were also key factors behind this decision.

“I think that this is going to be a great thing for the lake area,” said Osage Beach Police Department Chief Todd Davis. “Of course, the Shootout started here in Osage Beach when it began at Shooters 21, and I think that Dog Days Bar & Grill will be a great location for it to take place next year. Our department is glad to have the Shootout back and I think that the City of Osage Beach is, too. It is labor intensive because of traffic control, but we have handled it before, and we will have even more options in that vicinity once the construction at Oasis is completed. I think it’s going to be a win-win for everyone.”

Shootout board member Taylor Scism of MTI is excited about the changes in store for the charitable event. Photo by Pete Boden.

In line with Davis’ sentiments, Fire Chief Paul Berardi of the Osage Beach Fire Protection District also welcomes the Shootout to his department’s jurisdiction with open arms.

“We are excited to welcome the 2025 Lake of the Ozarks Shootout to our fire district,” Berardi said. “For the past 36 years, the Shootout has been a vital supporter of lake area first responders, and we are honored to be part of this tradition. Next year’s course offers an exceptional location for both spectators and racers, with safety as the top priority. The Osage Beach Fire Protection District, alongside our partners at the Mid-County, Lake Ozark, Sunrise Beach and Gravois Fire Protection Districts, along with hundreds of other volunteers, will be on hand to ensure that the safety requirements of this great event are fully supported. We look forward to another thrilling race!”

Last but not least, Dog Days Bar & Grill co-owner Mark Barrett could not be more excited about what next year will bring.

“We are very excited to be the host location of the 37th annual Lake of the Ozarks Shootout,” Barrett said. “Dog Days will be in its 32nd year, so we have seen the tremendous growth of this event. It’s truly amazing to see the entire lake area come together for the largest charitable fundraiser in the region. We look forward to partnering with the Shootout committee to continue this tradition.”

In addition to Dog Days Bar & Grill, the developer of Oasis & Marriott Resort and Conference Center, Jeff Tegethoff, hopes to further support the present-day and future needs of the Shootout.

“Our original vision for Oasis was to create a world-class, year-round, family-focused entertainment venue that will be the center of gravity for the lake for decades to come,” Tegethoff explained. “Hosting the Shootout will be a great honor and we are thrilled to be a part of the next phase of growth and global recognition for this marquis event. The work that (Shootout executive director) Leah Martin and her team have done to elevate the Shootout aligns perfectly with the vision for Oasis—’Where Moments Become Memories.’”

Reached this afternoon for comment about the news, former board president Ron Duggan, who owns Captain Ron’s, said he was caught off guard. “This is really a sad day for the west side of the Lake of the Ozarks,” he added.

Editor’s note: The Shootout board is expected to host a press conference at a later date to reveal more details on the move and the designated course, which reportedly is still pending approval.

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