Mark Pawuk Sweeps NHRA at Midwest Nationals with First Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Victory
October 1, 2023
MADISON, Ill. (Oct. 1, 2023) – Coming into eliminations as the No. 1 qualifier, Mark Pawk and his Empaco Equipment Dodge Drag Pak team picked up their first Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown victory of his career Sunday at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.
On his way to victory, Pawuk, who was the No. 1 qualifier, set the national elapsed time record at 7.583 seconds and won $1,000 in the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Bounty Program by defeating the previous event winner, Aaron Stanfield.
In the finals, Pawuk took on Stephen Bell and his Stanfield Racing Engines Chevrolet COPO Camaro. Pawuk would have the starting line advantage and never trailed for a 7.638-second pass at 180.89 mph bettering Bell’s 7.651 at 179.47.
“It’s been 22 years since we started in Las Vegas. I finally got another Wally and that’s the reason why I came back to this sport. Don Schumacher brought me back to get another win. I’ve been close a lot of times, but I had the car today and I drove good,” Pawuk said. “It was a really great weekend for my entire team. We had a really great hot rod all day. I have to congratulate my entire team and David Barton who has worked so hard on this program and it’s paying off. I drove really good this weekend and it’s just unbelievable. It’s pretty cool.”
En route to the finals, Pawuk defeated Connor Statler and his Janac Brothers Racing COPO Camaro with a 7.715-second pass at 179.49 mph bettering Statler’s 7.724 at 176.84. The first-round win gave Pawuk a bye in the second where he laid down the national record 7.583-second pass at 182.03 mph.
“We’ve been working so hard, you know, Ray Barton Racing Engines, David Barton, my son Kyle have all contributed,” Pawuk said. “We finally got my hot rod running pretty damn good and I never would have thought that we could have ran as fast as we did this morning.”
In the quarterfinals, Pawuk faced Del Holbrook and put up a 7.630-second pass at 181.40 while Holbrook didn’t complete the win. In a monster match-up in the semifinals, Pawuk faced off with points leader and bounty holder Stanfield. Pawuk would have a 7.665 at 180.38 to defeat Stanfield and his Stanfield Racing Engines COPO’s 7.688 at 178.61.
“I like getting that Flexjet money. Thank you Flexjet for supporting our class. It’s just absolutely awesome. (Flexjet executive) David Davies and I were teammates for a few years and he’s a great guy,” Pawuk said. “It’s just so nice for them to continue to support this class because this is a really cool class. It’s one that fans can relate to. You know, you got Dodges, you got Chevys and you got Fords.”
Bell, who has a win this year in Norwalk, Ohio, had a bye into the final round after defeating Anthony Berge, Lee Hartman and Nick Shirley in earlier rounds.
Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown competition will continue with the second-to-last race of the season at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas just outside of Dallas for the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals Oct. 12-15.
Flexjet Bounty Program
Gatornationals (Gainesville, FL)
$1,000 bounty collected by Joe Welch, defeated Aaron Stanfield, Dallas winner
Four-Wide Nationals (Charlotte, N.C.)
$1,000 bounty collected by Lenny Lottig, defeated Joe Welch, Gainesville winner
Route 66 Nationals (Chicago)
Bounty not collected
Thunder Valley Nationals (Bristol)
$2,000 bounty collected by Lee Hartman, defeated Lenny Lottig, Charlotte and Chicago winner
Summit Racing Equipment Nationals (Norwalk, Ohio)
$1,000 bounty collected by Stephen Bell, defeated Aaron Stanfield, Bristol winner
U.S. Nationals (Indianapolis)
$1,000 bounty collected by Jesse Alexandra, defeated Stephen Bell, Norwalk winner
Pep Boys NHRA Nationals (Reading)
$1,000 bounty collected by David Davies, defeated Jesse Alexandra, Indianapolis Winner
Midwest Nationals (St. Louis)
$1,000 bounty collected by Mark Pawuk, defeated Aaron Stanfield, Reading Winner
2023 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown
Results
Gainesville – Joe Welch, winner; Aaron Stanfield, runner-up
Charlotte – Lenny Lottig, winner; Aaron Stanfield, runner-up
Chicago – Lenny Lottig, winner; Doug Hamp, runner-up
Bristol – Aaron Stanfield, winner; Del Holbrook, runner-up
Norwalk – Stephen Bell, winner; Lee Hartman, runner-up
Indianapolis – Jesse Alexandra, winner; Stephen Bell, runner-up
Reading – Aaron Stanfield, winner; Del Holbrook, runner-up
St. Louis – Mark Pawuk, winner; Stephen Bell, runner-up
Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Top Ten Points Standings
1. Aaron Stanfield — 779
2. Stephen Bell — 667
3. Mark Pawuk — 542
4. Lenny Lottig — 521
5. Jesse Alexandra — 502
6. Del Holbrook — 484
7. David Janac — 423
8. Lee Hartman — 422
9. David Davies II — 413
10. Anthony Berge — 401
About Flexjet
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Flexjet, Inc., a global leader in subscription-based private aviation, first entered the fractional jet ownership market in 1995. Flexjet offers fractional jet ownership and leasing and is the first in the world to be recognized as achieving the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s Industry Audit Standard, is the first and only company to be honored with 24 FAA Diamond Awards for Excellence, upholds an ARG/US Platinum Safety Rating, a 4AIR Bronze Sustainable Rating and is IS-BAO compliant at Level 2. Red Label by Flexjet, a market differentiator, which features the most modern fleet in the industry, flight crews dedicated to a single aircraft and the LXi Cabin Collection of interiors. To date there are more than 40 different interior designs across its fleet, which includes the Embraer Phenom 300 and Praetor 500, Bombardier Challenger 350, the Gulfstream G450 and G650. Flexjet’s European fleet includes the Embraer Praetor 600 and the Gulfstream G650. Flexjet’s helicopter division sells fractional, lease, and on-demand charter access to its fleet of owned, operated and maintained Sikorsky S-76 helicopters which boast 55,000 hours of safe flying certified by Wyvern and ARG/US and serving locations throughout the northeastern United States, United Kingdom, and southern Florida. Flexjet is a member of the Directional Aviation family of companies. For more details on innovative programs and flexible offerings, visit www.flexjet.com or follow us on Instagram @FlexjetInc.
Media Contact:
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