Lucas Oil

Special to The Highlander

The Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce has vowed to reboot the formerly shelved Lakefest Drag Boat Race event for 2020 due to renewed partnerships with an alternative drag boat association and the Marble Falls community, officials said.

By Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

When the announcement came that contract negotiations for LakeFest 2018 had fallen through, speculation was rampant.

The announcements from the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber and the City of Marble Falls were straightforward: “It boiled down to being a business decision.”

That didn't stop people wondering if it boiled down to city parks and recreation construction and related boat ramp changes or the development of the hotel conference center.

For an answer, we turned to Ken Dollar of Meadowlakes, the face of the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Races from 2009 until the first of 2018.

“Development never came into the picture,” he said. “I want to get that across.”

“It was a simple thing,” he continued. “Last year the Lucas corporation people decided it was time to take a look and restructure, not just drag boats, but all their motor sports series; and they own several.

The Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce received notice last week that Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series would be proposing substantial contractual changes for the 2018 LakeFest event.

For that reason, Lucas Oil will not be sanctioning drag boat races on Lake Marble Falls in 2018.

During the negotiations that followed, Lucas Oil and the Chamber were unable to reach an agreement.

“We were aware of the process Lucas Oil began last year with regards to restructuring their drag boat series, but we were hopeful we would be able to continue this long-standing relationship and keep LakeFest a viable option for Lucas. It boiled down to being a business decision,” said Patti Zinsmeyer, Executive Director.