Dirt
Mark Pawuk is
Back in the Saddle
“The Cowboy” returns to race SAM Tech’s Factory Stock Showdown
By Kelly Wade
I
Your last event was the NHRA race in Rich-
mond in 2006; what prompted your departure
from racing?
My kids were growing up and pretty active
in sports, and my parents’ health had started to
decline. I struggled the last few years of my Pro
Stock career trying to finish in the top 10 and
wasn’t able to get that done. The class is com-
petitive now, but it was even more competitive
then with 30 cars racing for 16 spots, and it was
tough. I was growing my business at the time,
and between all of that and my family commit-
ments, it was definitely the right thing for me to
step away. I never actually retired, but I wasn’t
really thinking I would come back.
You’re a well-known Pro Stock racer. What
was the draw to the Factory Stock cars?
The Factory Stock Showdown is very attrac-
tive to me because of the seven-race schedule.
I can still run the business without having to
commit to 24 races a year. All that said, having
the opportunity to be involved with a first-class
racing operation like DSR with a partner like
Leah Pritchett, it just seemed like everything
was falling into place. I decided to give it a shot.
After 11 years away from the driver’s seat, was
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there one final nudge that brought you back?
The final nudge was really the schedule and
where the Factory Stock Showdown races will
take place. I started my career in the ‘70s in Nor-
walk, and I’ve known the Bader family forever.
[Summit Motorsports Park] is my home track,
and I grew up there.
It was disappointing that the year after I
stepped away from Pro Stock, NHRA brought
the national event there, so seeing it on the
schedule for the Factory Stock Showdown was
the final factor in my decision to give this a shot.
Bill Bader Sr. and Bill Jr. do a great job of taking
care of the fans, the spectators, and the racers,
and it’s great for me that I can go to Norwalk
and compete this year.
My wife, Bonnie, thinks I already have too
much on my plate – and she’s probably right –
but my son and daughter are very excited about
it, and I see this as a way that we can all spend
time together as a family.
Don Schumacher has said that your friend-
ship goes back a long way. Where did your
relationship begin?
I met [Schumacher’s son] Tony first. Don had
a house in Florida in the same development as
my parents, and Tony invited us to a cookout.
Don wasn’t there at the time, but through Tony,
I met Don later. My wife and I have become
good friends with Don and his wife, Sarah, since
then. We’ve built a real friendship, and Don is
a great guy.
It’s truly an honor to be asked to be part of this
program and part of an organization like DSR. I
did not want the responsibility of starting a team
on my own again, and this gave me the opportu-
nity to drive and still fulfill the important obliga-
tions I have with the business and customers.
You licensed at zMAX Dragway in Char-
lotte earlier this year. Now that you’ve driven
the Factory Stock car, how does it compare to
Pro Stock?
It got my attention. The Mopar Challenger
Drag Pak is a fast car, and we’re pulling a lot more
weight than we did with our Pro Stock cars. The
power curve is a little bit different, but being
on a 9-inch tire makes it a pretty awesome ride.
I was a nervous wreck the first few runs. I’ve
been away from the sport for over 11 years, and
it’s changed a lot. The basic fundamentals are the
same, but I was shocked. You have a very narrow
window to tune these cars, and a lot of power on
small tires. If you spin the tires on the starting
line, the run is pretty much over. Kevin Helms, my
crew chief, does a great job of getting the cars to
make good, consistent runs, but that’s something
Issue 134
t’s been more than a decade since
veteran drag racer Mark Pawuk has gone
after one of NHRA’s coveted Wally trophies,
but the years since his last race hav e been
full. Pawuk, known to fans as “The Cowboy,” ac-
quired six hard-fought victories in the fiercely
competitive Pro Stock category before stepping
away in 2006 to focus on business and raising
children Kassandra and Kyle with wife Bonnie.
For years, Pawuk shook his head “no” when
asked about a return to the driver’s seat, but
with the encouragement of longtime friend
Don Schumacher, Pawuk is now saying yes. The
Ohio native will join the Don Schumacher Racing
(DSR) team as driver of the Empaco Equipment
Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak for five events
this season, beginning in Bristol. Alongside DSR
teammate and fellow Drag Pak campaigner Leah
Pritchett, Pawuk plans to compete in the 2018
SAM Tech NHRA Factory Stock Showdown Se-
ries (FSXX) with three-time Lucas Oil Sportsman
champion Kevin Helms as crew chief.
Pawuk’s return to the drag strip as a competi-
tor was announced earlier this year at the NHRA
Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, and Drag Il-
lustrated had the opportunity to speak with the
amiable Ohioan before his FSXX debut at Bristol
Dragway’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.