LakeFest racers faced wind and waves

Wind whipped up some troubles for racers at LakeFest in Marble Falls on Aug. 7-8, delaying some of the events and canceling others. Bystanders were undaunted by the blustery breezes that ended both days early, enjoying the first drag boat races on Lake Marble Falls in three years.

“The spectators were extremely happy,” said Jarrod Metzger, executive director of the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce, which puts on the event with the Southern Drag Boat Association. “The biggest compliment was so many people saying ‘thank you so much for bringing it back.’” 

Official crowd numbers won’t be known until Tuesday, Aug. 10, as most of the chamber staff spent the day Monday cleaning Lakeside Park, where the event is held. 

“We’ve been working 48 hours straight,” Metzger said, “and it was a very successful boat race. We had an excellent crowd and about 100 boats that were there to race.”

Several hometown racers competed, including Bill Wier of the Alkahaulic Behavior team and Mallori Carroll, who races for her dad’s David Carroll Racing LLC team. Mallori was featured on the cover of the August issue of The Picayune Magazine. 

Carroll finished fifth in Saturday’s qualifying round. On Sunday, she was scheduled to be the first pro boat to go down the course, but the next boat up turned on its side and wind delays forced the race in that class to be canceled. 

She flashed her signature smile — as seen on the magazine cover — anyway. 

“Everyone made us feel so welcomed,” she said. “I’ve never felt like I had so many fans.”

People were asking her to autograph The Picayune Magazine cover during the Friday night Show & Shine in Johnson Park and on both race days. Her celebrity status even followed her to a gas station, where a young girl asked if that was her on the cover. 

“Overall, it went great,” she said. “We are looking forward to coming back next year.”

suzanne@thepicayune.com