This past weekend, the National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) headed to Summit Raceway Park in scenic Norwalk, Ohio for the All-American Nationals and it was a great weekend for the Dodge Challenger Drag Pak teams in the Holley EFI Super Cars class. That class, which had a full field of 16 competitors for eliminations, was comprised of seven Chevrolet COPO Camaros, four Ford Mustang Cobra Jets and five Dodge Challenger Drag Paks, but when the final pair lined up – it was all about Hemi power.
The Dodge Challenger Drag Pak teams came out hard in qualifying, with Mark Pawuk (above) setting the top time and speed for the class with a 7.664 at 184.75 miles per hour. AJ Berge qualified second in the EFI Super Cars group with a 7.695 at 180.09 and Lindsay Wheelock rounded out the top 5 in her Challenger with a qualifying time of 7.814 at 180.36 miles per hour. The other two Challenger racers in the field – Catherina Kosiba (7.871) and Raymond Nash (7.887) – qualified in the eighth and ninth positions, so Hemi power grabbing five of the top nine spots in qualifying.
Meanwhile, Ford Mustang Cobra Jet racers took the third, fourth and sixth spots in the EFI Super Cars field, leaving the strongest Camaro in qualifying to start in the seventh position. Camaros did account for six of the bottom seven slots in the 16-car field heading into eliminations.
Eliminations
Qualifying for the Dodge Challenger teams at the NMCA All-American Nationals went very well, and that success continued into eliminations. In the first round, Mark Pawuk, AJ Berge (below) and Lindsay Wheelock each stomped a COPO Camaro to advance to E2, but Raymond Nash and Catherine Kosiba went head-to-head, guaranteeing that one of the Challenger Drag Pak teams wouldn’t advance. With a starting line advantage and a quicker elapsed time, Nash took the win and ended Kosiba’s day.
In the second round, AJ Berge continued to beat up on the Camaro drivers as he made short work of Tony Scott while Mark Pawuk beat fellow Dodge driver Raymond Nash in dominating fashion. However, Lindsay Wheelock’s day ended when she lost to Chuck Watson’s Mustang Cobra Jet.
The third round of EFI Super Cars eliminations at the NMCA All-American Nationals saw a pair of Dodge Challenger Drag Paks taking on a pair of Ford Mustang Cobra Jets. Even though Chevy had the biggest field of racers in the class, after being the slowest car in qualifying, they continued to struggle in eliminations – much like the Camaro does when it comes to the modern sales battle. Pawuk grabbed a big starting line advantage and added on a quicker E.T. to get the win over Chuck Watson while Berge trailed against Jonathan Allegrucci on the line, but drove around the Mustang to advance to the finals.
In the all-Dodge final round of the NMCA EFI Super Cars class at the All-American Nationals, Mark Pawuk pulled the better reaction time (.040 to .051) and he would need it, as AJ Berge and his Challenger ran a 7.666 to Pawuk’s 7.672, but with the starting line advantage, Pawuk took the class win.
Mark Pawuk Instagram Images (click for many more)
AJ Berge Instagram Image (click for many more)
