Last Year's F1 Powerboat Championship Winner Talks Visiting Alton and Racing the Mississippi

Our Daily Show Interview! Dustin Terry: Ready for the F1 Alton Midwest Nationals

ALTON - Dustin Terry won last year’s Alton Midwest Nationals F1 Powerboat Championship, and he’s returning this year with the goal to do it twice.

The championship is scheduled for July 18–20, 2025, with events and races throughout the weekend that spectators can enjoy from Riverfront Park. Terry races across the country. He noted that Alton was a great experience and he looks forward to returning to the city.

“It ended up being a really, really challenging race, but a fun one,” he remembered. “Alton was my little lucky place. So I’m hoping to come back and repeat.”

Terry grew up watching powerboat races with his father. Now, his own 14-year-old son will also be competing in the Alton Midwest Nationals F1 Powerboat Championship alongside him. He is eager to share the experience with his son and take him around town to see all the exciting things that Alton has to offer.

“Alton was a huge highlight for me. There’s a lot of cities that are like that that can be surprising,” he said. “I’m excited to go back to the town, not only just to do that, but to take my son out into the town and show him those places and get to try some new experiences. It’s just cool. Along the map, you get to say, ‘Man, there’s a great town right here, let’s pull over.’”

While Terry loved visiting Alton, he enjoyed the race itself even more. He explained that there’s nothing like powerboat racing, and he encouraged people to come out and see the race in person to truly experience it.

When he is racing, the boat is “just barely touching the water” because he is going at such an intense speed. He shared that the first few turns of the weekend are dizzying, and it’s not uncommon to be sore for a few days after a race. But he loves the experience and can’t wait to get back on the water.

Terry added that the Alton race was challenging in some ways. It was the first time he had ever raced on the Mississippi River, which presented its own difficulties.

“The Mississippi River is always challenging,” he said. “The current is ripping, so that’s something that just is always unsettling. It makes the boat a little unpredictable when you have to go into turns and the water is pushing at that speed. Hopefully this year there’s a little less debris in the water. But it doesn't matter; we're still going to put on a show no matter what. I really liked it there. The amount of boats that y’all had lining the whole entire outside of the course, it was kind of like, these guys came for a show and we’re going to put on a show for them.”

While Terry loves the racing, he is even more impressed by the community in Alton. He looks forward to returning to the city for the second annual Alton Midwest Nationals F1 Powerboat Championship, with his son beside him, to defend his title and enjoy another weekend of racing.

“It’s like nothing else,” he added. “I think it’s amazing the way that that community is completely behind it. Whenever we see communities that support big events like that, they end up seeing growth year after year.”

For more information about the Alton Midwest Nationals F1 Powerboat Championship, including how to purchase tickets, visit the official webpage at the Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau website.

Print Version