Longtime drag racer Mark ‘The Cowboy’ Pawuk drove his Challenger Drag Pak to a decisive Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) victory during the recent Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. After struggling through the first two qualifying sessions and sitting on the outside in the 19th spot trying to get into the 16-car FSS field, it was on Saturday’s final session when Mark finally got down the hot, greasy track, where the surface temp exceeded 120 degrees Fahrenheit. With the final qualifying time slot being moved many times, NHRA decided to hold it at the end of the day when the air and track improved slightly. On the final session, Mark was first down the drag strip, and everything came together as his Drag Pak ran a stout 7.873 ET at over 174 mph and shot to the number two qualified spot.
Going into the last qualifying session on the outside, it adds stress to the driver and the team. For Mark, it brought memories from 25 years ago when he faced the same hurdles. “The final qualifying session kept getting delayed all day,” said Mark Pawuk. “We got moved about four times, and the track started going away. I was very concerned I wasn’t going to get in. Back in 2000, I was racing Pro Stock at the NHRA Springnationals. It was a Summit Racing-sponsored race, and we weren’t going into the last qualifying session on Saturday. There was rain on and off all day, but we got a chance to run, and we qualified ninth and won the race. We kind of did the same thing at Norwalk this past weekend.”
Now solidly in the field, Mark and crew were able to focus on eliminations and prepare their Drag Pak for battle. In the opening round, Mark squared off against fellow Drag Pak competitor David Davies II. With a winning time of 7.833 seconds, Mark advanced to the next round and outran Kevin Skinner’s Mustang Cobra Jet as the Drag Pak marched down the track with a 7.848 ET. Going into the semifinals, Pawuk’s deadly Dodge Challenger was improving on every run. Here was facing Lee Hartman’s Drag Pak, which was also running strong. Hartman, a former champion, is a serious contender and knows how to cut a good light and get his car down a tricky track. As the Christmas Tree flickered green, Mark’s Drag Pak was out first on Hartman’s machine and never looked back. With an impressive 7.826-second run, Pawuk was heading to the FSS finals, where he would face Scott Libersher’s COPO Camaro.
The final round was Mark’s toughest race of the day as Libersher got the jump off the starting line with an impressive .034 second reaction time to Pawuk’s .050 second reaction time. As the Drag Pak and COPO charged down the track, Libersher’s COPO began to spin its tires, and all the Chevy driver could do was watch as Pawuk pulled away. Mark Pawuk cruised to an easy victory, and his second consecutive victory this season. More importantly, he finally got a victory at his home track. “This is my home track. I started racing here in the 1970s, believe it or not,” said an emotional Mark Pawuk, in front of the packed grandstands. “I loved (track owner) Bill Bader Sr. dearly, and I love Bill Jr., and Bobbie. They have the best facility in the country. I have so many friends and family rooting for us. We came into yesterday afternoon, and we weren’t in the show. We got in and wound up winning the race.”
“It’s also an honor for me to represent Dodge,” said Mark. “Last year I ran a tribute paint scheme to Don Schumacher. This season, I rewrapped the car again. This is a special win. I have to thank Ray Barton and David Barton for tuning our car. It’s just awesome that I can represent the Dodge brand. I won the FSS World Championship last year and my wife questioned whether I would come back or not. I told her I wanted to try to repeat after a slow start in Gainesville. We are doing OK and have some momentum.”
For Pawuk, the win in Norwalk was a significant victory in his Hall of Fame career. Only the Cornwell Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals remains on his “must-win” list. The reigning world champion will have his chance to secure that victory Labor Day weekend, when the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series returns to action at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indianapolis, August 29 – September 1, 2025.
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