Pawuk can’t resist chance to return to drag racing after 13-year hiatus

by Laura Straub

After retiring from Pro Stock NHRA drag racing in October 2006, Mark “The Cowboy” Pawuk is back in the driver’s seat for his second season in the new Factory Stock class, where cars are running 7.7 seconds at almost 180 miles per hour.

As a member of Don Schumacher’s renowned team, Pawuk competed in the 2018 SAM Tech NHRA Factory Stock Showdown and NMCA Muscle Car Nationals, going to three finals and winning the NMCA All-American Nationals event in Norwalk.

“He’s a great friend of mine. He, his kids and his wife, Bonnie, are kind of like family to us,” Schumacher said. “He’s an awesome, awesome driver and he’s done a great job, and he held a world record last year.”

Pawuk intends to run in the Factory Stock Showdown seven-race series, along with some NMCA races again this year. He finished as runnerup in the NMCA Muscle Car Mayhem event in Bradenton, Fla. in March.

“When I first came back last year, the number of people that reached out to me with comments welcoming me back was overwhelming,” said Pawuk. “It made me really feel proud of what I accomplished in my previous racing career.”

That previous racing career began when Pawuk was just 16 and working at Ken Carnis Transmission in Broadview Heights. Both the owner and his partner had drag cars, including a 1968 Dodge Charger, which Pawuk drove in his first race.

“I took the car and ended up winning the race, so I bought it,” he said.

When Pawuk started in the NHRA circuit, he bracket raced and ran a class called Super Gas. He switched to professional racing in 1985.

During that time, Pawuk coined a nickname that he still carries, and it all started when he tried to pick a C.B. radio handle.

“I was one of the only guys from Ohio that listened to country music and wore cowboy hats and boots,” Pawuk said.

And with that the “Cowboy’’ was born. He started putting the nickname on his cars, and the moniker stuck.

“People all over the place still see me and say, ‘Aren’t you The Cowboy?’” he said. “They don’t know me as Mark Pawuk, they know me as The Cowboy.”

During his 20 years of professional racing, The Cowboy set two national records and won six national events in an extremely competitive class.

“The class that I raced in at the time was the most competitive class in all of drag racing,” Pawuk said. “There were 30-plus cars showing up for 16 spots.”

But Pawuk was ready to compete, from his first win in Houston in 1992, to his most memorable win at a “hometown race” on Father’s Day 2000 in Columbus. However, not all of Pawuk’s career highlights were behind the wheel.

“I ended up doing a skit with Jay Leno in 1995 out in California,” he said. “We did a toupee test. Which holds toupees on better, glue or tape? He ended up driving my car, and I went to his garage. The night of the show, I was invited up on stage.”

Although racing provided Pawuk with priceless experiences, he began struggling to balance it with family and work commitments.

“I was gone about 30 weekends a year, my kids were getting older, my parents’ health was starting to decline, and I needed to spend more time on my business,” he said.

So in 2006, Pawuk retired to devote more time to running Empaco Corporation, founded by his father, Emil, in 1959. The company has become an industry leader in the installation and service of underground fuel tanks. Empaco provides equipment for several aspects of petroleum marketing and auto service and operates a landscape supply division as a distributor for Unilock pavers.

In addition, Empaco owns and manages a couple of hundred acres in the area of Brecksville, Stonegate and Congress Parkway roads. In 2018, the Division of Cleveland Water announced it would purchase six of the acres west of Brecksville Road in Richfield to construct a 210-foot water tower.

This time around, Pawuk will race in the Factory Stock division, and he will be able to fly to a race then leave. His children, Kassandra and Kyle, were two of his biggest supporters, when he decided to return to drag racing.

“My daughter is doing an internship with Schumacher Racing,” Pawuk said. “My son has always loved racing and has been urging me to get back into it.”

Pawuk also checked with his Empaco staff before turning on the ignition. With a strong base of long-tenured employees – some having worked at the company for 39 years – to hold down the fort, Pawuk entered the circuit with renewed energy. He even hosted Empaco weekend at a race last year.

“It’s almost like it’s come full circle,” Pawuk said. “This new class called Factory Stock – they represent what Pro Stock was in the 70s.”

Even Pawuk’s Empaco Equipment MOPAR Dodge Challenger Drag Pak has a 70s style paint scheme, inspired by racing legends Sox and Martin.

“I told my dad my dream was to run one of those cars,” Pawuk said.

And this is his way of achieving that dream.

Featured image photo caption: Empaco CEO Mark Pawuk rejoins the auto racing circuit in the Factory Stock class, balancing his corporate executive responsi­bilities with his passion for racing. Photo courtesy of Dodge Garage