It was an epic battle throughout the rigorous qualifying sessions and intense eliminations but Dodge Challenger Drag Paks dominated the Holley EFI Factory Super Cars class at the NMCA All-American Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. The Drag Paks went up against the fastest COPO Camaros and Cobra Jet Mustangs in the country and despite a supercharger pulley change imposed by both the NHRA and NMCA technical departments to ‘slow them down,’ it was an all Drag Pak final in the Holley EFI Factory Super Cars class. The combatants were Pro Stock veteran Mark Pawuk and tuning guru AJ Berge. Hardcore racers that refuse to back down when they roll up to the line in the 1,500-horsepower supercharged HEMI® engine-powered Challengers. Out of the 16-car field, Pawuk was the number one qualifier but hot on his heels was Berge in the number two spot, both throwing down the gauntlet on every qualifying session much to the dismay of the Mustang Cobra Jet and COPO Camaro drivers. When it came to the final round of eliminations, it was Pawuk and Berge. At the hint of green, both Challengers leapt off the line with the slight reaction time advantage going to Pawuk, but Berge’s Revolution Paradox/Ramchargers sponsored machine was right next to him all the way down the track. When the dust settled, the scoreboards on the top end told the tale – Pawuk’s 7.672 ET beat Berge’s slightly faster 7.666 times. The old veteran of the Pro Stock battles did his job on the starting line with a holeshot, .040 light to Berge’s .051. Just thousands of a second separated the reaction time between these two highly motivated and determined drivers. The racing has always been supertight and very close in the NMCA Factory Super Cars and the NMCA Factory Stock Showdown classes. It’s here that victory can be determined by inches and thousandths of a second. You can go from hero to zero in a blink of an eye.
For Mark Pawuk, his victory at his home track of Norwalk was sweet. He’s been racing at this drag strip for decades and has won at Norwalk twice with his Drag Pak. “It was awesome to win this past weekend as I’ve been racing at Norwalk since the 1970s. I know the Bill Bader Jr. and (Summit Motorsports Park/Norwalk Drag Strip owner) and his family very well. In my opinion, their race track is the best one I have raced at. Also, being in my hometown with my Ohio fans and family makes it extra special,” smiled Pawuk. But this win was really special as it showed the team’s hard work paid off. “We have worked very hard as a team leaving no stone unturned. Ray Barton Racing Engines and especially David Barton have been a big part of our performance gains along with Mike Valerio who has worked alongside David and the Barton team,” said Pawuk. But having enough power and tune-up is never a guarantee that you’ll be in the final as there are a million things that go wrong, along with the competitor in the next lane that’s ready to drop you like stone. “Every round is tough. With these cars, it is very easy to overpower the track. I look at each round and try to cut the best light I can, hoping we get through first gear. We were very consistent all weekend. The tightest race was against AJ Berge in the final. I was also expecting Chuck Watson to run fast. Those Ford Cobra Jet Mustangs are very fast and competitive!”
Now with another NMCA win to his credit, Pawuk and his team are focused on Indy. The NHRA “Big Go”, the granddaddy of drag races. The fact this iconic race is the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals makes it very special for Pawuk. “We’re ready for U.S. Nationals and we’re very happy with the performance and consistency of our Drag Pak. Other than some fine-tuning, we are planning on showing up at Indy the way we left Norwalk. But I could not race at this level without the love and support of my wonderful wife Bonnie and our kids Kassandra and Kyle. We also had the engine-building expertise of Ray and David Barton and they’ve stepped up our program and the help of Scott Libersher who really knows his stuff on these cars.”
For AJ Berge, he was hoping for a repeat win as his Drag Pak was victorious last year at this event, but he came up just short. The tuning guru did win the NMCA season opener at Orlando Speed World earlier this year, just came up short this past weekend at Norwalk. But Berge is the consummate racer and tuner whose been playing Drag Paks for the last few years, and is a serious threat to anyone in the next lane during eliminations. “We’re really happy about how our Drag Pak performed at Norwalk. Maybe it was some of that legendary Ramchargers DNA coming through Candy Stripes on our Revolution Paradox-sponsored Drag Pak, I don’t know. But this team is working hard and we’re getting closer and closer to the level we need to perform at to be consistent at any track at any event. We ran really great and put down a 7.666-second ET in the final against Mark (Pawuk), but he had a slightly better reaction time and beat us with a 7.672 ET,” noted Berge. “Regardless, we’re happy there were two Drag Paks in the finals, and that says a lot about how good these cars are and what a good job the SRT® team did in the design and engineering of this generation of Drag Pak. We’ll use what we learned at Norwalk, review the data, and apply that to our tune-up going into Indy. We really want to win Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals.”
Other Drag Paks also stepped up their game at the NMCA All-American Nationals, such as Lindsey Wheelock running one of her best passes with a 7.81 at over 180 mph to claim the number five spot, and Catherine Kosiba, who put down a 7.87 ET that put her in the eighth position, both Dodge drivers qualifying in the top half of the Holley EFI Factory Super Cars class. Another Drag Pak racer who ran great at Norwalk was Raymond Nash as he laid down a solid 7.88 ET 178 mph. Since its introduction a couple of years ago, the 2021 Challenger Drag Pak is becoming more of a serious threat to the competition so take note you Mustang and Camaro racers: “If you can’t beat them, you can always join them!”
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