Mark Pawuk checked off a bucket list item that the veteran drag racer has been chasing since the mid-1970s. Today he won at Summit Motorsports Park, his life-long hometown track, capturing the Wally and a one-of-a-kind commemorative ice cream scoop for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Pawuk started the day as the No. 2 qualifier, a position he earned in the final qualifying session and raced to his second consecutive Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown win of the season and fourth of his career.
“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.”
Through two days of qualifying Pawuk was battling tricky track conditions. On Saturday the schedule was shuffled multiple times with the final session of qualifying moved to the end of the day. Pawuk was first down the track and he jumped from the No. 19 spot to the No. 2 position.
“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.”
In the opening round of race day today Pawuk outran fellow Dodge Challenger driver David Davies II. Pawuk crossed the finish line with a winning time of 7.833 seconds at 175.98 mph. In the second round Pawuk almost duplicated his winning time outrunning Kevin Skinner with a time of 7.848 seconds at 176.30 mph.
Pawuk faced another serious challenge in the semifinals when he faced fellow championship contender Lee Hartman and his Dodge Challenger Drag Pak. Pawuk was first off the line and never trailed in the drag race. His winning time was another solid 7.826 second pass that gave him lane choice heading to the final against Scott Libersher and his COPO Camaro.
The final round was Pawuk’s toughest race of the day as Libersher got the jump off the starting line with a .034 second reaction time to Pawuk’s .050 second jump off the line. As the Factory Stock cars charged down their respective lanes Pawuk kept his tires hooked up and Libersher overpowered his lane. He was forced to watch as Pawuk cruised to an easy victory.
“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.”
With four round wins today Pawuk held off all competitors holding onto the Flexjet bounty. The $1,000 bounty will now double to $2,000 for any driver who can defeat Pawuk at the U.S. Nationals. Pawuk and his Dodge Challenger Drag Pak now have an eight-round win-streak heading into the biggest race of the season.
“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.”
For Pawuk the win in Norwalk was one of the last significant wins of his Hall of Fame career. Only the Cornwell Tools 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.
This story was originally published on June 30, 2025. 
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