Boat breaks world record at LakeFest
MARBLE FALLS — Problem Child lived up to its name for its competitors.
The boat set a world record Aug. 14 at the Marble Falls LakeFest, finishing the 1,000-foot course in 3.39 seconds at 258 mph.
“We broke the record in every run,” owner Eddie Knox said. “There were different variations of it.”
Driver Daryl Ehrlich, who has been racing for Knox for three years, set the old record of 3.488 seconds two weeks ago when he drove Problem Child at the Inaugural General Tire Diamond Drag Boat Nationals in Wheatland, Mo. As a result, the boat was the Top Fuel Hydro winner.
“It takes a special individual for someone to sit in this rocket,” Knox said.
The boat is only a year old, and it’s very difficult to go at the speeds Ehrlich is able to in a short amount of time, Knox said.
“It’s very hard,” he said. “It’s never been done in the history of the sport. No one, obviously, has ever gone that fast.”
The reason is because not all courses are as long as Lake Marble Falls. Just like in a car, the faster a boat goes, the more distance it needs to apply the brakes. Because Lake Marble Falls has so much length, Ehrlich was able to go fast for a longer period of time.
“A lot of the other (courses) couldn’t handle it,” Knox said. “We have three big specially made parachutes.”
Knox said he has participated in LakeFest since 1994 and hasn’t had this kind of success here before Aug. 14.
“To be frank, it was unexpected,” he said. “The heat and humidity don’t translate into horsepower.”