Aug 30, 2015
By Nathan Bechtold
LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. — With acclaimed drivers Myrick Coil and John Cosker in the cockpit, Don Onken’s 50-foot Mystic American Ethanol is this year’s Shootout champion. Onken’s yellow and black catamaran hit 208 mph on the first day of the two-day race, running the traditional one-mile stretch past tens of thousands of crowds who lined the race course in a miles-long flotilla.
The Mystic sports four engines that burn pure ethanol and put out more than 1,700 HP apiece. That puts American Ethanol at around 7,000 HP.
Shootout fans have seen this boat before: it was formerly dubbed Recycler, a tribute to Onken's highly successful oil filter recycling business.
Onken is a boat racer at heart. He drove the Mr. Goodwrench boat for several years in the 1990s, and then stepped out of the cockpit and into the role of entrepreneur. Having built a successful oil filter recycling business in Illinois, Onken brought gear-head Keith Eickert’s Lightning Performance line into his family of companies. And that partnership has propelled Lightning Performance Group to the top of the powerboating world.
Recycler raced at the Shootout in 2013 and 2014, but topped out well below 200 mph.
This year, the rebooted American Recycler came ready to race, and now Coil, Cosker, Onken and the bright yellow Mystic have secured their place in Shootout history.
Read the original story here : 'American Ethanol' Is Shootout Top Gun With 208 Mph