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RICHFIELD, OH 10/18/06 “Mark “Cowboy” Pawuk announced today that his Pro Stock Pontiac team will forego the year’s two remaining races on the NHRA POWERade Series schedule in order to regroup.
“I want to emphasize,” he said from his offices at Empaco Equipment Corporation, “that this is not a retirement announcement. I can’t say that thought hasn’t crossed my mind, but this is strictly a financial and not emotional decision.
“Our race team has struggled for consistency this season, and I’ll be the first to admit that after ending up 17th at eight different races I’ve been incredibly frustrated and, frankly, kind of discouraged. But, the one thing I don’t want to do is quit racing when we’re down. It’s one thing to call it quits after a good year, and quite another to step aside when you’re already down. When I do decide to hang up my helmet I want to be able to do so on my terms, when I decide the time is right, and that time is not now.
“Right now it just doesn’t make financial sense for us to compete in Las Vegas and Pomona, particularly with the way we’ve been struggling to qualify. When you factor in the costs of competing in those two events against our potential returns, the smart decision is for us to get our competitive act together.
“At this moment I’m not sure about the direction I’m going to take for next year. Without a major sponsor I simply can’t afford to keep going. We have some very supportive backers, companies that have been with us for many years, and as appreciative as I am about their support, it’s not enough to keep us out there. I would certainly entertain the idea of taking that supporting sponsorship funding to another team as a driver, but that decision would have to be made by a team owner who believes I can bring something positive to his operation.
“Right now I guess you could say we’re caught in the middle. I can’t keep going without additional backing, yet I’m nowhere near ready to call it quits. We’ll keep digging, and make our ultimate decision about the future as soon as we can.
“Although I’ve done so privately, I’d like to publicly thank our sponsors from Pontiac, Enerco-Mr. Heater, Summit Racing Equipment, Goodyear and Comp Cams for their continued support and understanding about our situation. Next season I hope we can do a better job for them.”
Pawuk To Sit Out Final Races of ‘06
“This is not a retirement announcement,” Says “The Cowboy”
RICHFIELD, OH 10/18/06 “Mark “Cowboy” Pawuk announced today that his Pro Stock Pontiac team will forego the year’s two remaining races on the NHRA POWERade Series schedule in order to regroup.
“I want to emphasize,” he said from his offices at Empaco Equipment Corporation, “that this is not a retirement announcement. I can’t say that thought hasn’t crossed my mind, but this is strictly a financial and not emotional decision.
“Our race team has struggled for consistency this season, and I’ll be the first to admit that after ending up 17th at eight different races I’ve been incredibly frustrated and, frankly, kind of discouraged. But, the one thing I don’t want to do is quit racing when we’re down. It’s one thing to call it quits after a good year, and quite another to step aside when you’re already down. When I do decide to hang up my helmet I want to be able to do so on my terms, when I decide the time is right, and that time is not now.
“Right now it just doesn’t make financial sense for us to compete in Las Vegas and Pomona, particularly with the way we’ve been struggling to qualify. When you factor in the costs of competing in those two events against our potential returns, the smart decision is for us to get our competitive act together.
“At this moment I’m not sure about the direction I’m going to take for next year. Without a major sponsor I simply can’t afford to keep going. We have some very supportive backers, companies that have been with us for many years, and as appreciative as I am about their support, it’s not enough to keep us out there. I would certainly entertain the idea of taking that supporting sponsorship funding to another team as a driver, but that decision would have to be made by a team owner who believes I can bring something positive to his operation.
“Right now I guess you could say we’re caught in the middle. I can’t keep going without additional backing, yet I’m nowhere near ready to call it quits. We’ll keep digging, and make our ultimate decision about the future as soon as we can.
“Although I’ve done so privately, I’d like to publicly thank our sponsors from Pontiac, Enerco-Mr. Heater, Summit Racing Equipment, Goodyear and Comp Cams for their continued support and understanding about our situation. Next season I hope we can do a better job for them.”
