Oh-So-Close, But Not Close Enough!
Pawuk Misses The Cut In Seattle

RICHFIELD, OH 7/24/06 Mark “Cowboy” Pawuk’s first stop on his abbreviated West Coast Swing didn’t go as planned as his new Pro Stock Pontiac GTO failed to qualify for eliminations by the slimmest of margins. It took an elapsed time of 6.740 seconds to make the field, with Pawuk’s best being a 6.751 second effort that left him listed 17th in the 16-car starting field.

“We’re obviously disappointed in not making the show,” he said from the offices of Empaco Equipment Corporation in Richfield, OH on Monday morning. “We made three good runs during qualifying when we needed to make four. It’s as simple as that.

“I don’t believe in offering excuses, so I won’t do that. We just didn’t run quick enough to make the field, so what else is there to say?

“If we hope to make the field at the Fram Autolite Nationals this coming weekend in Sonoma, CA we’re just going to have to run better than we did in Seattle.

“There’s not enough time to bring the car back to our shop, so any improvement is going to have to come from our trackside tune-up and from subtle chassis adjustments. I have every confidence in crew chief Marcus Bowen and mechanics Craig Hankinson and Robert Morrow, and I’ll even provide a little input of my own, and if that isn’t enough, we’ll fall back and punt!”

Pawuk’s newly liveried GTO debuted a few weeks back in St. Louis sans lettering and graphics, but arrived in Washington in show winning condition. Now the goal it to have performances match that sharp appearance.

Results:
Qualifying:
Session #1: 6.817/203.31 #14 (6.837 Bump)
Session #2: 6.776/203.98 #15 (6.776 Bump, position determined by Speed)
Session #3: 6.751/204.85 #17 (6.740 Bump)
Session #4: 6.798/203.74 #17 (6.740 Bump)

Next: NHRA Fram Autolite Nationals, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA, July 28-30