Story By: ELON WERNER / FLEXJET FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN – NORWALK, OH – The Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series made the halfway turn on the 2024 season three weeks ago at the Thunder Valley NHRA Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. As the series heads to Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, a handful of drivers are in contention for the world championship. Nestled in the heart of the Midwest, the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals is one of the premier events on the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series schedule drawing the top drivers from across the country including point leader Stephen Bell, most recent winner David Janac, Ohioan Mark Pawuk and over a dozen Chevrolet COPO Camaro, Ford Cobra Jet and Dodge Drag Pak racers.
Qualifying will begin on Friday, June 28 with two sessions, and for point leader and two-time winner in 2024 Bell, the action will heat up as soon as the cars are pulled out of the race trailers. Bell has raced in four final rounds including the previous two leading up to this weekend but his point lead over Janac is barely over three rounds.
“We have had a great season, but so have a lot of other guys,” said Bell, a businessman from Shreveport, La. “You would think with four final rounds and two wins we would have a big lead, but everyone is racing so well we haven’t really pulled away and that is fine. I like racing all these guys and they are my friends. It keeps it interesting for these last four races of the season. I was thrilled to see David (Janac) get his first win in Bristol even if it meant I didn’t get the victory.”
During the Thunder Valley Nationals Janac worked his way through four tough rounds of racing, beating Richard Ingram, Tony Scott Jr., Lee Hartman and eventually Bell in the final. The last win not only gave him the NHRA Wally trophy but also the $1,000 Flexjet Bounty for defeating the most recent race winner. It was Janac’s first Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown national event win.
“I started getting excited about the win when I crossed the finish line and I didn’t see Stephen,” said Janac, from the Bristol Dragway winner’s circle. “That’s when I knew I won, and I couldn’t believe it. I can’t describe the feeling. It’s beyond words. This is an unreal feeling.”
While Bell and Janac sit atop the Flexjet point standings, Ohioan Mark Pawuk would like nothing better than to get back to his winning ways at what he could consider his current home track. Pawuk, a second-generation racer and former NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Pro Stock driver, started his own race team ahead of the 2023 season. He drove his Empaco Equipment Dodge Challenger Drag Pak to the winner’s circle at the season opening Gatornationals and he is currently No. 3 in the point standings.
“I never got to race professionally at Summit Motorsports Park. We were racing at Columbus when I got out of the seat of the Pro Stock car, but I grew up going there, raced there in the 70s. Summit Motorsports Park was the place to go. My dad and I were close with Bill Bader and the Bader family,” Pawuk said. “I’d love nothing more than to get a victory there in front of friends and family, all those great Ohio fans and for our sponsors.”
Flexjet, the name sponsor of the Factory Stock Showdown, is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.
The veteran driver could be looking to pick up his third bounty payday of the season if he can match up with and take out Janac, the Thunder Valley Nationals winner. Pawuk won the bounty at the season opening Gatornationals when he defeated Bell and then secured his second $1,000 bounty when he outran Bell again during the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals. The Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown bounty has become one of the unique features of this competitive class.
“I have done a good job of getting the bounty this season, but I haven’t done a great job of protecting it,” said Bell, a three-time bounty driver in 2024. “Maybe I can get it from David this weekend and then get a streak going. I appreciate everything Flexjet does for this program – from the $1,000 bounty to the series sponsorship to all the little things around the track. The guys racing in the Flexjet Series are all great guys and we have a lot of fun. The racing is super competitive and the fans love it.”
Qualifying for the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series will begin with two sessions on Friday, June 28 followed by a final qualifier on Saturday, June 29. The quickest 16 Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge competitors will race through four rounds of competition looking to collect an iconic Wally trophy as well as the one-of-a-kind Norwalk Ice Cream Scoop trophy at the sixth Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series national event of 2024.