Factory Stock Showdown Series (1 Viewer)

MARK PAWUK Driver of the Empaco Equipment Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak ​ Qualified: No. 8 (8.330 E.T. at 164.73 MPH) The Results: E1: 8.345 E.T. at 164.81 MPH defeated Joseph Welch 8.384 E.T. at 162.55 MPH E2: 8.286 E.T. at 165.50 MPH defeated by Aaron Stanfield 8.284 E.T. at 164.37 MPH Race Recap: Former Pro Stock racer Mark Pawuk returned to Denver competition for the first time since 2006, but this time he was behind the wheel of the Empaco Equipment Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak to compete in the Factory Stock Showdown Series’ Denver debut. Pawuk was eighth-quickest during qualifying, setting up a round-one meeting with Joseph Welch. Heading into the matchup, Pawuk and Welch held a tied 1-1 win-loss record against each other, with Pawuk successfully extending his round win count on Sunday by driving his Mopar-powered machine to an 8.345 E.T. versus his opponent’s 8.348-second pass. The quarterfinals found Pawuk lining up next to reigning series champion Aaron Stanfield. ‘The Cowboy’ gave it a ride, keeping pace with his competitor until just ahead of the finish line when Stanfield pulled ahead for the narrow victory. Quotable: “Definitely a better weekend for our Empaco Equipment/Ohio CAT/Ohio Peterbilt/Mr. Heater Dodge Drag Pak. We qualified eighth and made it to the second round. It was a great race, and we were close on the reaction times. We lost on the E.T. by only two-thousandths of a second. We feel that we made huge progress this weekend and we’re very excited about the new members on our team. We’re looking forward to getting back down to sea level and continuing to make progress, and moving the program forward in Topeka. I want to congratulate my teammate Leah Pruett for going to the final. What a great race, and great weekend for Dodge and Don Schumacher Racing.” LEAH PRUETT Driver of the Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak ​ Qualified: No. 4 (8.261 E.T. at 167.24 MPH) The Results: E1: 8.344 E.T. at 166.25 MPH defeated Waldemar Rodriguez 8.502 E.T. at 162.61 MPH E2: 8.290 E.T. at 166.05 MPH defeated John Cerbone; Foul, red light E3: 8.259 E.T. at 166.54 MPH defeated Aaron Stanfield 13.604 E.T. at 63.74 MPH E4: 8.265 E.T. at 166.48 MPH defeated by Stephen Bell 8.259 E.T. at 164.79 MPH Race Recap: For the first time in her career, Leah Pruett pulled double-duty at Bandimere Speedway, as the Factory Stock Showdown Series made its Denver debut during the Dodge//SRT Mile-High NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil. After three sessions of gathering data, crew chief Kevin Helms tuned Pruett to a stout 8.261-second pass in the final session of qualifying, which placed Pruett in the No. 4 starting position to begin race day. Pruett, the 2018 series champion, made two clean passes to defeat Waldemar Rodriguez and John Cerbone, earning a spot in the semifinal round where she faced reigning series champ and current point leader Aaron Stanfield. The two FSS heavyweights had gone head-to-head in competition twice prior with Pruett coming out on top both times. She successfully extended her round-win record to 3-0 on Sunday by driving her new Mopar-powered Dodge Challenger Drag Pak to an 8.259 E.T., advancing to the finals for the first time in 2021. In the final round, Pruett and Stephen Bell were nearly even leaving starting line. The pair charged hard racing neck-and-neck down the Bandimere track with Bell claiming the win with a narrow eight-thousandth of a second margin of victory. Quotable: See Top Fuel quote