Fast Friday | Top Fuel Boat Drag Race

Monster Rooster Tail

For Fast Friday, we have a quick minute-long video of Top Fuel drag boats at Lake Havasu. The rooster tails create a massive wall of water. Speeds are probably around 260+ mph!

Video | Lake Havasu Top Fuel Boat Drag Race Awesomeness

Lucas Oil Drag Boat racing is expected to make its return to Lake Lucas in 2020 for the first time since 2018. Top Fuel boats are not on the menu, however. Lake Lucas is the World’s first purpose-built drag boat racing lake located at the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri. Two events are tentatively scheduled for June 13-14 and September 5-6. The Southern Drag Boat Association and Kentucky Drag Boat Association will co-sanction events.

“We are glad to see the drag boats return to Lake Lucas in 2020,” Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager Danny Lorton said in a press release from 2019. “We’ve had a lot of calls and questions asking if we were going to ever bring them back. I’m really pleased that Dan Robinson [Lucas Oil Director of Racing Operations] was able to work with these sanctioning bodies to bring the boats back, with even more events, for 2020.”

Lake Lucas was the world’s first purpose-built drag boat racing lake when built in 2011. The facility played host to drag boat races for eight-straight years until the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Series was discontinued at the conclusion of the 2018 season.

The SDBA and KDBA both are long-established sanctioning bodies for the sport, having been around for more than 40 years. Many of the drivers who competed on the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Series also race on those circuits in classes ranging from the pro divisions to personal watercraft.

“I think everybody is looking forward to coming back there,” KDBA President Barry Salsman said. “Lucas is throwing some money into the purse and I think it’s going to be a good thing. Everybody’s looking forward to it.

“We’ve always ran bracket boats and occasionally ran pro boats. With Lucas getting involved, it gives us a chance to cater to pro boats. We want to give the fans a show. They are a crowd draw.”

David Carroll, President of the SDBA, said his organization has co-sanctioned points races with the Lucas Oil Series at Lake Lucas in the past and is eager to return.

“Lucas did a lot for our sport,” Carroll added. “I’m looking forward to coming out there. It’s an awesome facility. We just had a race with 128 boats. I think I can get 100-plus boats there from the series.

“We don’t have (Top Fuel Hydro) boats right now, but we have the largest Alcohol (Top Alcohol Hydro) class that we’ve had in 7-8 years, a larger one than when Lucas was there. I look to have 9-10 Alcohol boats there next year.”