After exiting the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. via a red-light foul in the second round of Constant Aviation Pro Mod competition during the season starter last weekend, Mark Pawuk needed to get back to center in his Don Schumacher Racing Empaco Equipment 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak. He’d been the No. 1 qualifier at that race and really felt the need to make up for his gaffe.
The antidote was earning victory at the NMCA’s first race of the year in Bradenton, just a few hours south of Gainesville a week later.
Competing in the heads-up Holley EFI Factory Super Cars class at NMCA’s Muscle Car Mayhem event, Pawuk had to contend with plenty of competition in order to make his way to the Winner’s Circle. There were other Challenger Drag Pak entries, Chevrolet COPO Camaro’s and Cobra Jet Mustangs on the ground who were looking to win the race.
Another incentive was to secure the new Direct Connection Contingency award that pays $10,000 to a Drag Pak driver who wins in either the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown or in NMCA’s Factory Super Cars categories. This prize is the largest available contingency award from a manufacturer in either of these two classes.
As there were 19 competitors entered in Factory Super Cars, Pawuk landed in the upper half of the field, taking sixth qualifying spot with his effort of 7,898-seconds at more than 178mph. Pawuk then proceeded to show the rest of the field who was boss, with a string of consistent runs on the quarter mile at Bradenton. Meeting Jeff Bragg in the finals, Pawuk’s Challenger Drag Pak hit the lights first and never fell behind, running a 7,80-second pass at 177.67mph in the heat of the day, while his opponent logged a losing 8.20 run.
“We’ve worked hard all winter and the crew has done a great job trying to figure out what these Dodge Challenger Drag Pads want and how to make them go fast. We’re gaining on it,” said Pawuk. “We weren’t the fastest here at Bradenton this weekend, but we got a couple of breaks, the driver did his job when he needed to, and it’s kind of a boost for me after red-lighting by two-thousands in the second elimination round at Gainesville – after we set the national record for the class.
“It’s a great way to come into the second race of the year with a victory, and I’m looking forward to a really good year, as we have a great team together and a real fast hot rod. I can’t wait until our next race at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte next month,” Pawuk said.
Pawuk’s 1,500-horsepower HEMI-powered Challenger Drag Pak is crew chiefs by A.J. Berge and kevin Helms. “Kevin and I have been banging our heads together all winter, collaborating on ways to make these Drag Pads even better and them to the top of the field. It’s starting to pay off,” Berge noted. “W’ere just getting started and we’re not done yet. Kevin and I are chipping away at it and the DSR Drag Pads are going faster and faster.”
In the NHRA’s Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown eight-race series, Pawuk is teamed with David Davies, driver of the D H Davies Racing Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak and Warren Walcher, who wheels a third Challenger. Davies was out after the first round while Walcher won his quarterfinals race. After winning E2, the team discovered a mechanical issue and decided to opt on the side of caution and forfeit E3. The Don Schumacher Racing Factory Stock Showdown team will be in action at the Four-Wide Nationals outside Charlotte, North Carolina on April 29-May 1.
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