Unexpected FASS Team Sets New Dam Challenge Record On Lake Of The Ozarks
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In the News: Unexpected FASS Team Sets New Dam Challenge Record On Lake Of The Ozarks
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Although the 188-mile Dam Challenge record attempt that took place early this morning on Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks was originally going to be tackled by two boats—an MTI 390XR raceboat driven by Taylor Scism alongside her father, Randy Scism, and a Skater Powerboats 368 catamaran owned by Tyler and Lindsey Miller featuring Lindsey as the dock runner, Tyler as the driver and Shane Sherman as the navigator—a third team entered the mix and ended up shattering the record with a time of 1 hour, 39 minutes, 23 seconds. That team was driver Brad Ekstam and throttleman Rusty Williams of Performance Boat Center in Ekstam’s FASS Diesel Fuel Systems 42-foot catamaran that was recently delivered by the Osage Beach, Mo.-based dealership.
Brad Ekstam (third from left) and Rusty Williams (in black shirt with champagne) celebrated alongside fellow Dam Challenge participants Shane Sherman, Lindsey Miller and Tyler Miller, after both teams bested the previous record set in 2014. Photos courtesy Jase Rivera/Hidden Perspective
Averaging 112 mph for the 188-mile endurance run from Bagnell Dam to Truman Dam and back, Ekstam and Williams said they had a lot of fun running the 42-footer that is powered by a pair of Mercury Racing 450R engines—the same outboard engines used to propel all three boats in Monday morning’s “race.” The duo broke the previous record 2 hours, 29 minutes and 49 seconds that was set in September 2014. Since then the Millers have attempted the record twice—once in August 2021 and again this year at the end of July.
This time around, as reported in the early August story, the Millers, who own the M CON Offshore Racing Team, coordinated with the Scisms to attempt the challenge together in the name of two charities to help kick of the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout festivities. So, no matter the outcome, everyone was a winner. At least that’s the way Tyler Miller sees it.
“Congratulations to Brad and Rusty for establishing a new record—very well earned!” Miller said after finishing in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 46 seconds, which equaled an average speed of 84 mph. “After three attempts at the record we were finally able finish under power, which was a great feat for our team. We’ve all put everything we’ve had into completing this run so it was humbling to finally finish. And the best part of the entire event is this time we were able to give back to the children and that is what true teamwork and relationships are about. Our charity of choice, Kids Harbor, and Taylor’s charity of choice, Make-A-Wish, at the end of the day are what truly made this event and finish the most successful and gratifying to date.”
In their third attempt at the Dam Challenge the Millers finally finished the 188-mile endurance run.
While Ekstam, who founded FASS in 2003, didn’t have any charitable ties to his effort as he hadn’t heard about that part of it when he inquired about entering the Dam Challenge Record with the other two boats, he said he is going donate to each team’s charities and point his network of dealers and social media followers to their websites as well.
“We had a blast this morning—it was fun being out there with a little bit of fog and chill on the lake,” Ekstam said. “And running with the Scisms and the Millers made the attempt even more fun. I know debris got the best of the other teams but we were lucky we didn’t see too many logs in the water today. There were a lot of turds in the lake the day we did our practice run.
“Besides a couple of tighter corners where we dropped down into the low 90s, I think we stayed at 105 mph and above almost the entire time,” he added. “At times, it was a little boring actually, but we stayed focused and were happy to finish with the new record.”
The Scisms had to forego their attempt after the boat picked up some debris about halfway into the first leg that caused an engine to overheat.
“We didn’t make it this time around but we still raised money for Make-A-Wish Missouri & Kansas, which is what really matters,” Scism said, adding that people can still donate to her team’s fundraiser. “The Ozarks’ debris got the best of us and shut the fun down.”
All three boats in today’s attempt are going to be on display Wednesday evening at the Shootout On The Strip presented by Waves and Wheels taking place on Bagnell Dam Boulevard from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
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