Auto Imagery/Gary Nastase

Mark Pawuk’s racing resume is packed with plenty of highlights and amazing wins, but his Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown victory at Summit Motorsports Park could be the biggest one of them all. The win at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals came after a lot of hard work and earned him the coveted commemorative ice cream scoop that only national event winners receive.

“This is my home track, I started here in 70s, racing, believe it or not,” said an emotional 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 us on. We came into yesterday afternoon, and we weren’t in the show. We got in and wound up winning the race. I’ve wanted this ice cream scoop all my life, since I started racing. It was on my bucket list. I got it done. If you look at the scoreboards here you see Ohio CAT and Summit, two of my original sponsors going back to when I was racing Pro Stock. They are still with me and this is so great.”

Pawuk, driving his Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, entered race day as the number two qualifier after a dramatic turnaround in Saturday’s final qualifying session. Battling changing conditions and schedule delays throughout the weekend, Pawuk jumped from 19th to second on the ladder with a critical late run that secured his position in the field.

“The final session kept getting delayed all day,” said Pawuk. “We got moved about four times, and the track started going away. I was very concerned I wasn’t going to get in. In Columbus, in 2000 when I was racing Pro Stock, it was a Summit Racing sponsored race and we weren’t going into the last session on Saturday. There was rain all over but we got a chance to run and we qualified ninth and won the race. We kind of did the same thing today.”

From there, he delivered a series of strong performances. In round one, he defeated David Davies II with a 7.833-second pass at 175.98 mph. Pawuk followed that with a 7.848 at 176.30 mph win over Kevin Skinner in round two. His semifinal matchup against title contender Lee Hartman proved pivotal, and Pawuk responded with a strong reaction time and a 7.826-second run to earn lane choice for the final.

Facing Scott Libersher and his COPO Camaro in the final round, Pawuk overcame a starting line deficit (.050 to Libersher’s .034) as Libersher overpowered the track and lost traction. Pawuk stayed hooked up and powered through to a smooth and symbolic victory — one that he has long chased.

“I thought it would be my year this year when we rolled in. Last year I made it to the final and I did a big wheel stand against Stephen Bell and lost the race. I have so many sponsors from this area to thank. I’ve been with Summit Racing, Ohio CAT, Mr. Heater, Red Line Oil, E3 spark plugs, Mickey Thompson tires, Ohio Company and so many more. I am just so lucky.”

The win was also Pawuk’s eighth consecutive round victory, allowing him to retain the Flexjet bounty, which now doubles to $2,000 for any driver who can defeat him at the upcoming U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

Auto Imagery/Gary Nastase

Pawuk credited his success to a team effort and key technical support from Ray and David Barton on the tuning side. He also paid tribute to Dodge, a brand he’s proudly represented throughout his Factory Stock career.

“It’s an honor for me to represent Dodge,” said Pawuk. “Last year I ran a tribute to Don Schumacher. I rewrapped the car again this year and this is just a special win. I have to thank Ray Barton and David Barton for tuning our car. It’s just awesome that I can represent a brand like Dodge. I won the world championship last year. My wife questioned whether I would come back or not, and I told her I wanted to try to repeat after a slow start in Gainesville. We are doing OK and have some momentum.”

The final big win Pawuk wants to add to his resume is the U.S. Nationals. Pawuk will have his chance to score a “Big GO” win Labor Day weekend when the  Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series returns at Lucas Oil Raceway Park.