READING, PA (September 14, 2024) —- 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.

 Mark Pawuk raced to his second Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown No. 1 of the season at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, photo credit Auto Imagery/Gary Nastase

“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
 
2024 FLEXJET NHRA FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN SCHEDULE
Sept. 27-29                  13th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals, St. Louis


About Flexjet
If maintaining performance vehicles is your passion – translate those skills into becoming a Flexjet aircraft maintenance technician (AMT). Explore a career with the world-class Flexjet Maintenance group today.
Flexjet, Inc., a global leader in subscription-based private aviation, first entered the fractional jet ownership market in 1995. Flexjet offers fractional jet ownership and leasing and is the first in the world to be recognized as achieving the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s Industry Audit Standard, is the first and only company to be honored with 25 FAA Diamond Awards for Excellence, upholds an ARG/US Platinum Safety Rating, a 4AIR Bronze Sustainable Rating and is IS-BAO compliant at Level 2. Red Label by Flexjet™, a market differentiator, which features the most modern fleet in the industry, flight crews dedicated to a single aircraft and the LXi Cabin Collection of interiors. To date there are nearly 50 different interior designs across its fleet, which includes the Embraer Phenom 300 and Praetor 500, Bombardier Challenger 350, the Gulfstream G450 and G650. Flexjet’s European fleet includes the Embraer Praetor 600 and the Gulfstream G650. Flexjet’s helicopter division sells fractional, lease and on-demand charter access to its fleet of owned, operated and maintained Sikorsky S-76 helicopters which boast 55,000 hours of safe flying certified by Wyvern and ARG/US and serving locations throughout the northeastern United States, United Kingdom and southern Florida. Flexjet is a member of the Directional Aviation family of companies. For more details on innovative programs and flexible offerings, visit www.flexjet.com or follow us on Instagram @FlexjetInc.