Our Cottage Country Lake Racer Shawn Dunbar

Shawn Dunbar is a local guy with his sights set on big wins this season. A resident of one of Cottage Country’s popular lakes Dunbar is a drag boat racer with a need for speed. With an impressive race season under his belt last year winning his first race in the U.S., Shawn has set goals for his team to strive for this season – he aims to win high points this year for ODBA. Currently Shawn sits at first overall in his Lake Racer  and second overall in Super Modified classes and Shawn says his target is to win one of those classes this year.

Earlier in the season Dunbar travelled to the DSRA (Deep South Racing Association) and brought home a number of high ranking placements in all of his races, and with no races happening in Canada this year, Shawn will also be travelling to the U.S. to compete in the SODA (Southern Outlaw Dragboat Association) circuit, as well as ODBA (Outboard Drag Race Association) circuit of 4 races which will be his main circuit this season.

There are some differences between the two classes that Shawn competes in. For the Lake Racer Class boats must weigh between 1425 and 1650lbs depending on their different setups. Typically drivers aim for a time in the high 8 seconds to finish well, and speeds are in the mid 90mph or 150kms per hour. In the other class – Super Modified, drivers aim for a time in the low 8’s (seconds), and boats weigh in anywhere from 1240 to 1440lbs – speeds are in excess of 100mph or 165kms per hour. The races are a length of either 660 feet, or a length of 800 feet.

This year Shawn is racing in a new boat, which was unveiled in Lincoln, Alabama last year at the World Championships.  The new boat is a 19 foot STV River Rocket. It is race ready at 900lbs – which is ultra light. With his gear (helmet, Lifeline lifejacket and neck brace) Shawn adds 200lbs to the setup, and to add more weight the team uses pre-cut and measured horse mats and gym weights which are secured to the boat to add extra weight for specific classes.

Dunbars two boats have had a lot of work done by Kevin Ward from Wards Garage out of Picton, Ontario, along with Davey Jones from Jones Marine Service located in Orange Beach, Alabama; which he is very thankful for. His newest setup was also specially modified by long time boat builder, Wally Lamkin – well known in the racing world – the boat has a custom bottom and Shawn says it is very, very quick. Both boats have been custom rigged specifically for Shawn and his needs. The newest of the two boats took 2 years to get race ready and boasts a Mercury Racing 2.5 litre  280 – about 330 horse motor.

When I asked Shawn what his favourite part of racing was he said, “The adrenaline. Yeah, the adrenaline, the speed is up there for sure; and the competition. When I first started,  I was getting my butt kicked all the time, and you know,  we’ve put a lot of time and lot of work into it to win.”

Dunbar, having always had an interest in high performance boats got into racing when OPBRA (Ontario Power Boat Racing Association) co-founder Brent Valois called him and asked if he wanted to race. At first Shawn said no, but changed his mind and went out to the races held in Peterborough in 2017; and went undefeated the next year in 2018. From there he was hooked, he had great success racing in Ontario and travelled to the World Championships in Tennessee and won a fourth place finish in his first race – he has been travelling to the States to race ever since.

“I’ve got a test track right out in front of my place here, and most of my neighbours are really accepting of me having that. I try not to practice too often – because, the boat’s very loud. But a bunch of them will come out to the dock and watch me while I’m testing. I have a supportive community and because of that, I’m able to keep my skills up,” says Shawn.

OPBRA can’t race in Ontario currently – there has been no racing happening in Ontario since Covid due to insurance limitations – so Shawn is hosting a race in Springfield, Ohio and the members of the OPBRA organization are going to assist with that race. With no racing happening in Ontario Shawn invites Ontarians with nowhere to race to join in the fun of the weekend – hopefully drawing more attention to the sport.

The APBA (American Power Boat Association) hosts their National Championship in Ohio the same weekend in August and Dunbar with assistance from APBA Nationals organizer Dana Potts have the vision to amalgamate F1 Oval Racing with Drag Boat Racing into the same weekend. Dunbar says the event will draw thousands, and encourages anyone in Ontario who wants to get in the Drag Boat Racing game to come out and experience the Mecca of boat racing, August 23-25th, 2024 at Champions Park Lake.

Shawn is very open to answering questions, and offering advice to those looking to race, and says you can always reach out to him via his Facebook page SD Racing.