Story By: ELON WERNER / FLEXJEFT FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN – READING, PA – Mark Pawuk and the Empaco Don Schumacher Memorial Dodge Drag Pak posted the quickest time in qualifying, 7.433 seconds, at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals from Maple Grove Raceway to grab his sixth career No. 1 qualifier.
It was Pawuk’s second No. 1 of the season. Pawuk is followed by Jason Dietsch and Stephen Bell to round out the top three race cars. All three manufacturers are represented with Pawuk’s Dodge, Dietsch’s Mustang and Bell’s Camaro making quick runs all weekend in qualifying. Pawuk will face Doug Hamp in the first round with the winner facing either Scott Libersher or Ricky Hord.
“Right now, every point matters for this Flexjet championship,” said Pawuk. “Every round of eliminations means a lot. I need to go rounds here and rounds in St Louis. David Janac, Stephen Bell have been very tough competitors all year, and you even put Libersher in the mix. Nobody’s out of it (the championship). I have to have a couple good races and hope that things fall my way, so I have a shot at the championship. I’ve never won a championship. It’s always been in my dreams. And all can do is go out and do the best the I can.”
In the final qualifying session Pawuk jumped the tree and did not have a quality pass to close out qualifying. In the opening qualifying session point leader Pawuk ran his Empaco Don Schumacher memorial Dodge Drag Pak to the top spot with a strong 7.743 second, 173.07 mph pass. Dietsch, 7.753 seconds, and Bell, 7.799 seconds, landed right behind Pawuk in the No. 2 and No. 3 provisional qualifying spots in their Mustang and Camaro, respectively.
“I didn’t get down this last session, it was driver error,” said Pawuk. “That’s going to affect what we do here for first and or the second round. I just have to go out and race my race. Hopefully the win lights come out in my lane.”
The biggest jump of the second qualifying session was championship contender Janac jumping up to the No. 5 spot from the bottom of the field. His second run of 7.818 seconds at 175.30 mph put his Mustang Cobra Jet in the top half of the field. Throughout the day on Saturday in front packed grandstands Pawuk and the rest of the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series competitors made solid runs but did not shuffle the field.
“This was always one of my favorite places to race back in the day when the Lewis family owned it, and now, obviously, with the Koretskys,” said Pawuk. “The fans up this way love these factory stock cars. They love Pro Stock. They always have. I never got a Wally from here.”
“This race has been great because you see the fans fill the grandstands and the support that we had from sponsors like Ohio CAD, Mr. Heater, Summit Racing, and Red Line Oil. This the home of Barton Racing Engines and David Barton who works on this car,” added Pawuk.
The elimination ladder is set and Jason Dietsch, the U.S. Nationals No. 1 qualifier will carry the Flexjet $1,000 Bounty. The two U.S. Nationals finalists Kevin Skinner and Raymond Nash were not able to attend the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals due to car issues following the biggest face of the season. Dietsch will face Anthony Troyer in the first round looking to hold onto the Flexjet Bounty.
First Round Match-ups
No. 1 Mark Pawuk vs. No. 12 Doug Hamp
No. 2 Jason Dietsch vs. 11 Anthony Troyer
No. 3 Stephen Bell vs. No. 10 Pete Gasko Jr.
No. 4 Jonathan Allegrucci vs. No. 9 Lee Hartman
No. 5 David Janac vs. No. 8 AJ Berge
No. 6 Scott Libersher vs. No. 7 Ricky Hord