Defending Factory Stock Champion Mark Pawuk Returns to Home Track Seeking Midseason Momentum Shift
By: ABM Communications
RICHFIELD, Ohio (June 23, 2026) – One year ago, Mark Pawuk arrived at Summit Motorsports Park pursuing a victory that had eluded him throughout his NHRA career. After decades of racing at the famed Ohio facility, the longtime fan favorite finally captured his first NHRA national event win at his home track, a triumph that helped propel him to a second consecutive Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown championship. As the series returns to Norwalk this weekend for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Pawuk hopes the place that sparked last season’s title run can help turn the tides on a challenging 2026 campaign.
After enjoying a dominant run spanning the 2024 and ’25 seasons, Pawuk had high hopes for the year, but finds himself entering race No. 5 of eight sitting on the outside of the category’s Top 10. He is hoping a repeat performance in Norwalk will be the much needed boost his Empaco Equipment team needs as they begin the second half of the season.
A lifelong Buckeye State native, Pawuk, who first made a name for himself in the sport while competing in NHRA’s Pro Stock category, has been racing at Summit Motorsports Park since the 1970s. Before achieving his goal of a national event win at his home facility in 2025, Pawuk’s prior Norwalk success included two NMCA triumphs and a final round appearance at the 2024 Summit Racing Equipment Nationals.
“There’s no place I’d rather get things turned around than Norwalk,” said Pawuk. “The fans, the Bader family, all our Ohio-based partners, this race means a lot to me. Last year was one of the highlights of my career. Being able to share the winner’s circle with my wife, Bonnie, and Kassandra and Kyle at our home facility was a true bucket list item for our family. Hopefully we can put together another strong showing this weekend and start building some momentum to be able to close out the season strong.
“It’s been a bit of a learning curve as we continue to fine-tune our new 2026 Dodge Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pak,” added Pawuk, who debuted the next-generation Hemi-powered machine during the series’ season opener in Gainesville, Fla. in March. “It was a brand-new car when we took ownership of it. It had never been driven before in competition. We’ve been going through the growing pains one would expect when making such a huge change to your existing program. We’ve had our battles, but I think we’re moving forward. We qualified third in Bristol and feel like we’re starting to turn the corner. We were hoping for better results this year but we’re focusing on the second half of the season so we can collect some round wins and attempt to climb back up in the points. Right now, I’m in 12th, which is not something our Empaco Equipment team is accustomed to, especially after these last few seasons. I’d really like to get back into the top five.”
Pawuk, a five-time winner and seven-time No. 1 qualifier in the category, continues to draw support from a large contingent of Ohio-based companies, including Empaco Equipment, Emil Pawuk and Associates, Inc., Seabreeze North Corporation, Ohio CAT and Ohio Peterbilt, Mr. Heater and HeatStar, Williams Building Group, Summit Racing Equipment, which has supported Pawuk’s career dating back to his Pro Stock days when he won six events before hanging up his helmet after the 2006 season, Mickey Thompson Tires, First Financial Bank, and Cometic Gasket. Diamond Pistons, PAC Racing Springs, Trend Performance, Dodge, DMPE, Moroso Performance, Red Line Oil, VP Racing Fuels, ARP, Impact, E3 Spark Plugs, and Ray Barton Racing Engines also play a crucial role in keeping Pawuk on the track, while Matco Tools also recently rejoined Pawuk, building on their prior sponsorship.
Pawuk and the Empaco Equipment Dodge Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pak will kick off their quest for a repeat Norwalk victory when qualifying for the Factory Stock Showdown Series gets underway this Friday, June 26, at 12:30 p.m. ET.
