NHRA: Mark Pawuk continues to gain confidence and momentum
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
April 4, 2001LAS VEGAS - Mark Pawuk is back in the game.
Pawuk, from Bath, Ohio, recently ended a streak of 183 races without a No. 1 qualifying position when he scored the top spot in Pro Stock at the Mac Tools Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., in the first 200-plus mph field. Despite the elimination rounds of the event being rescheduled due to rain, Pawuk's qualifying effort was a boost of confidence.
Pawuk will continue to build on his early season momentum when he competes in the second annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, April 5-8. The race is the fifth of 24 events in the $50 million NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.
"My guys on this crew are working hard on this Summit Racing Pontiac Grand Am and it's showing," said the 43-year-old Pawuk. "Being the No. 1 qualifier at the Gatornationals is a shot in the arm for this program. We were down after Pomona (first round loss). The team knows we can be good and they know how well this car can perform. I really think from the engine shop on down that something like that pushes everyone to excel even more."
Following his Florida performance, Pawuk and his team made the trip to Houston where they qualified fifth and earned a runner-up finish to five-time Winston champion Warren Johnson. With the finish, Pawuk enters Las Vegas third in the Winston standings, 111 points behind leader Johnson and 45 behind Johnson's son Kurt for second place.
"You never know what's going to happen but I'm glad we've been able to make it to a final this early in the season," said Pawuk. "We've been making the right calls and I've been driving better this year. It is so tight in this class right now that you can be with in a hundredth or two of the top guy and still be able to win."
In 2000 Pawuk ended a five-year winless drought when he sped to the victory at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals in his home state of Ohio. The victory and his improving performance throughout last season propelled Pawuk into tying a career-best fifth place finish in the Winston standings. He has no plans of waiting another five years for his next victory.
"We know we are going in the right direction," said Pawuk. "My confidence level seems to be up this year and I seem to be driving better. Anything can happen on race day, but knowing that we can make consistent runs, and knowing that the car's consistently fast gives us a lot to work with.
"We were real disappointed with the way we ran in Pomona after (pre-season) testing so well in Houston the week before. We seemed to pick up the pace in Phoenix and then went to Gainesville and ran a little better. We think we're moving our whole program forward. The guys have been working a lot of hours and paying close attention to the details. I've got a good team here. They're young, they're hungry and they all work well together. You've got to have that chemistry and this team definitely has that."
Text provided by Anthony Vestal
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