NHRA

Pomona II: Mark Pawuk final summary

"Wait 'Til Next Year!" Pawuk Promises A "Much Better" 2005 RICHFIELD, OH 11/16/04 "There were a few times during this past season when I actually wondered what we were doing out there," admitted Mark "Cowboy" Pawuk after completing the most ...

Published: Nov 21, 2004, 4:33 PM

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"Wait 'Til Next Year!"
Pawuk Promises A "Much Better" 2005

RICHFIELD, OH 11/16/04 "There were a few times during this past season when I actually wondered what we were doing out there," admitted Mark "Cowboy" Pawuk after completing the most frustrating and difficult season of his Pro Stock career. "What kept us going was the support we received from our fans. It was truly unbelievable, particularly from about mid-summer on. We had a steady stream of people coming by our transporter to offer their encouragement, and that meant a lot to everyone on our team.

"You don't make excuses for the kind of season we had," he added. "You just tighten your belt and dig in a little deeper.

"I'm very lucky in having a good group of people working on our race team, and they're backed by the dynamite team we've put together at Empaco Equipment Corporation. Between all of those folks, no matter how down I might be feeling, they boost me back up, and that's one of the main reason we're going to keep going.

"We've had some major setbacks, as everyone knows, but at the same time we've received exceptional support from some of our sponsors, many of whom will continue to be with us through 2005 and, hopefully, beyond that.

"The bottom line is that we owe it to our fans and supporters to come back strong next season, and we're working towards that goal right now.

"I think you're going to see a very different Mark Pawuk Racing Pontiac team in 2005. Our goals are simple. First, come up with more power and then, get that power to the track so that our Pontiac Grand Am ends up running near the end of every qualifying session because ours is one of the quicker cars. After that the next goal is obvious, and that's to win races.

"We're going to take our loyal supporters right into the winner's circle with us 'cause we owe it to them to do exactly that," Pawuk concluded.

Finding bright spots in the debris of the 2004 season is difficult for Pawuk, although he points to the fact that in just about every race for which he qualified he produced a superior Reaction Time against his opposition. At the Pontiac Excitement Nationals presented by Summit Racing, for example, his first round R.T. of .007 seconds was the quickest of eliminations. Twice during the year Pawuk missed qualifying after matching elapsed times with another competitor, but lost out due to having recorded a slightly slower speed. And finally, at the Lucas Oil Nationals Pawuk notched a career best elapsed time of 6.721 seconds, but as he also noted, that E.T. wasn't quick enough to qualify him for the sport's all-time quickest field.

"There's no doubt that we've got our work cut out for us," he said. "We know what we have to do, so now we've got to get out there and get the job done.

"The Finals was our last race with Summit Racing Equipment, and for twelve years it was a great relationship, but I understand that things change in the world of marketing and promotions. I'd like to thank all of our loyal friends at Summit, who made our relationship enjoyable. I'd also like to congratulate, Greg Anderson, on his championship, as well as Jason Line for winning this year's Road to the Future award.

"We'll see you all at the Winternationals!"

-pr-

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