Story By: ELON WERNER / FLEXJET FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN SERIES – BRAINERD, MN – The Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series has raced at NHRA tracks across the country and this weekend, during the Lucas Oil Nationals, the class comprised of Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Ford Cobra Jets and Dodge Drag Paks will make its debut at Brainerd International Raceway.
Just a two-hour drive north of Minneapolis, Minn., Brainerd International Raceway is one of the most dynamic facilities on the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series, hosting drag racing national events, road course events and snowmobile racing. The inclusion of Brainerd in the Factory Stock schedule was a welcome addition for point leader Stephen Bell.
“I have heard Brainerd is a lot of fun and great track,” said Bell, 2023 championship runner-up. “I have never raced there but from talking with guys, they say it reminds them of one of the old traditional racetracks. We don’t have any notes or data for when we get on the track on Friday for qualifying it will be a brand-new experience for us.”
Bell is entering the Lucas Oil Nationals with the Flexjet Bounty following his win at the Norwalk Nationals in June. Bell has raced his Chevrolet COPO Camaro to five final rounds in six races collecting three wins this season. He has a nearly 100-point lead of Mark Pawuk, driver of the Empaco Dodge Drag Pak but the businessman from Shreveport, La., is not losing his competitive focus.
“I know I have the points lead and I have the bounty for this race but honestly I have been so busy I haven’t thought about those two things as distractions,” said Bell. “Since the start of the season we have taken the mindset of just keep doing what we are doing. It has been working out, so we are just going to keep on this path. There are a lot of great racers out here and we just need to keep our focus on what we can control. Hopefully this weekend we will have some fun and make some good runs.”
For Pawuk, who opened the season with a win at the NHRA Gatornationals, the next four races are his chance to reel in Bell and try to win his first Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown world championship. The track will be a new experience for Pawuk behind the wheel of his Dodge Drag Pak, but he has experience in a variety of other classes to fall back on.
“Heading to Brainerd will be cool because it is off the beaten path and they love to see cars like our Factory Stock Showdown race cars,” said Mark Pawuk. “I went to my first final in Super Gas in 1981 at Brainerd and I have great memories of racing in Brainerd. They have The Zoo campground which has changed a lot over the years, but it is still awesome to go out there with all those fans and see what they have built to enjoy the race weekend.”
The competition level of the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series has also kept Pawuk and his Empaco team on their toes. The veteran driver knows that he will need to be at the top of his game, and he will also need some breaks to go his way this weekend in Brainerd and over the final three races after this weekend.
“Stephen (Bell) has been almost flawless, so we are going to have to step up if we want to catch him,” said Pawuk. “I love the fact that there are three manufacturers racing for the championship with Dodge, Chevy and Ford all in the mix. Stephen has been great, but you can’t forget about David Janac or Lee Hartman. David Barton has been working his tail off to give us good engines. There will be points and a half in Indy, but these last four races will be key starting in Brainerd.”
While Bell and Pawuk sit atop the point standings, Lee Hartman is sitting in sixth place looking for his first win of the season. Hartman raced to a runner-up finish in Chicago and has two No. 1 qualifiers to his credit in 2024 – Chicago and Bristol. The opportunity to introduce the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series to new fans also has the racer from Canfield, Ohio, looking forward showing off the performance of his COPO Camaro.
“This will be my first time ever racing at Brainerd International Raceway and I am looking forward to getting there,” said Lee Hartman. “I am excited to see the track and get the full Brainerd experience. I have spent some time racing snowmobiles and that is a big deal in that area too. Our program is coming around and we just need to keep taking every chance to improve. We are looking to get better after every run and the best way to do that is to look for every opportunity to make an improvement. It could be in the engine, in the pits and I have to stay sharp behind the wheel. This is a fun class and we have four more races to keep giving it our best.”
Qualifying will begin on Friday, August 16 with two sessions, and for point leader and three-time 2024 winner Bell, the action will heat up as soon as the cars are pulled out of the race trailers. When eliminations start on Sunday, Bell will be looking to defend the $1,000 Flexjet Bounty for the third time this season.
“I sound like a broken record, but we have done a good job of earning the bounty but a terrible job of holding onto the bounty,” said Bell. “Hopefully, things will go our way on Sunday and we can turn on four win lights and make the bounty $2,000 for the U.S. Nationals.”
Qualifying for the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series will continue with one session on Saturday, August 17. The quickest 16 Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge competitors will race through four rounds of competition looking to collect an iconic Wally trophy at the seventh Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series national event of 2024.
2024 Flexjet Bounty Program
Gatornationals (Gainesville, Fla.)
$1,000 bounty collected by Mark Pawuk, defeated Stephen Bell (Norwalk winner)
Winternationals (Pomona, Calif.)
$1,000 bounty collected by David Davies II, defeated Mark Pawuk (Gatornationals winner)
Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals (Las Vegas, Nev.)
$1,000 bounty collected by Mark Pawuk, defeated Stephen Bell (Winternationals winner)
Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 Nationals (Chicago, Ill.)
$1,000 bounty collected by Lee Hartmand, defeated Ricky Hord (Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals winner)
Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals (Bristol, Tenn.)
$1,000 bounty collected by David Janac, defeated Stephen Bell (Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 Nationals winner)
Summit Racing Equipment Nationals (Norwalk, Ohio)
$1,000 bounty collected by Stephen Bell, defeated David Janac (Thunder Valley Nationals winner)
Lucas Oil Nationals (Brainerd, Minn.)
Stephen Bell has $1,000 bounty
2024 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Results
Gainesville – Mark Pawuk, winner; Stephen Bell, runner-up
Pomona – Stephen Bell, winner; David Davies II, runner-up
Las Vegas1 – Ricky Hord, winner; David Janac, runner-up
Chicago – Stephen Bell, winner; Lee Hartman, runner-up
Bristol – David Janac, winner; Stephen Bell, runner-up
Norwalk – Stephen Bell, winner; Mark Pawuk, runner-up
Brainerd – TBD
Indianapolis – TBD
Reading – TBD
St. Louis – TBD
2024 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Points
Stephen Bell 588
Mark Pawuk 492
David Janac 475
Ricky Hord 366
Scott Libersher 334
Lee Hartman 326
Tony Scott Jr. 279
David Davies III 273
Doug Hamp 257
Anthony Troyer 240
2024 FLEXJET NHRA FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN SCHEDULE
Aug. 28-Sept. 2 70th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis, Ind.
Sept. 12-15 39th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, Reading, Pa.
Sept. 27-29 13th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals, St. Louis, Mo.