Record attempts may be useless in most minds as marketing tools, if it were not for the efforts of those in the industry to raise the bar, and push the envelope would the industry be where it is today? It could be Mercury Marine developing more horsepower, or V and Cat designers making faster and more efficent hulls, to prop manufactures improving age old designs, on shape and blade configuration.
10 years ago 100 mph boats were rare, unless it was a stripped down race boat. Now they are fairly common. The industry has grown due to manufacturers pushing each other, whether its a speed record, endurance record, or racing title. Did anything useful come out of Outerlimits, Cigarette, and Fountains record attempts that was applied to their customers products? I'm sure they learned something. Did it change the products? who knows.
If they didnt continue to raise the bar, we would all still be running around thinking 70 mph on the water was fast.