New Shootout Hall-Of-Famer Chiaramonte To Run First 500R Outboard-Powered DCB M37R – Speed on the Water
It’s been a big summer for Tony Chiaramonte, perhaps the biggest ever for the 53-year-old vice-president of DCB Performance Marine. In June, the longtime Southern California-based custom high-performance catamaran company finalized its ownership change and moved to Arizona. Like most of the existing DCB team members, Chiaramonte—a lifelong Californian—relocated to Phoenix with his family.
Just four days after his Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame induction, Tony Chiaramonte will run the first Mercury Racing 500R outboard engine-powered M37R catamaran in the 35th annual event. Photo by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.
A month later, he learned that he was being inducted into the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Bob Morgan Memorial Hall of Fame. That will happen at a dinner celebration Tuesday evening ahead of the 35th annual top-speed contest in Central Missouri.
As chill as they come, Chiaramonte, who has delivered dozens of outstanding performances in DCB creations during the Shootout and is among the most talented drivers ever to run its now three-quarter-mile course. This year, he’ll be running a new DCB M37R catamaran co-owned by Kiran Pinisetti of Indiana and Upstate New York’s Kelly O’Hara. The 37-footer is the first DCB to be powered by Mercury Racing 500R outboard engines.
“I am hoping to run in the 120s,” he said. “We only have 34-inch-pitch propellers for it.”
Quipped Pinisetti, who currently is running the cat in the fourth annual Rock The River Fun Run in Cincinnati, “I’m expecting big things from him. He better come through.”
In 2020, Chiaramonte ran DCB M37R hull No. 1 to 120 mph at the Shootout. Photo by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
Chiaramonte has barely had a moment to let his upcoming Tuesday evening Hall of Fame induction soak in. He leaves for Missouri on Monday.
“The induction hasn’t hit me fully yet,” he said. “It’s pretty cool—and surreal. My wife, Amy, and son, Ashton, are coming with me for that.
“I’ve been so busy and a little overwhelmed with this move,” he added, then laughed. “We’re still unpacking and I need to pack to fly to the Shootout next week.”
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