Thu, 26 Oct 2000, 01:52 PM Summit to Unveil First Pro Stock Grand Am at SEMA Show

AKRON, Ohio -- Hard on the heels of the announcement by Pontiac Division that the Grand Am will become their "official" vehicle for NHRA Winston series drag racing in 2001 comes the news that Summit Racing Equipment will publicly unveil the first Pro Stock Grand Am during a special ceremony at the upcoming SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Pawuk in the new Grand Am

On Tuesday morning, October 31st GM Drag Racing Marketing Director Fred Simmonds will join Summit Racing Equipment General Manager Ray Tatko, Marketing Manager Jon Hedges, and Mark "Cowboy" Pawuk in unveiling Pawuk's 2001 Grand Am. The unveiling will take place in the main entry hallway of the Las Vegas Convention Center at 11:40 AM. Following a very brief presentation all of the principals involved will be available for one-on-one interviews and photos.

Pawuk, the Pro Stock winner at this year's Pontiac Excitement Nationals presented by Summit Racing at National Trail Raceway in June, and runner-up at the Winston Showdown in Bristol in July, is currently ranked fifth in the NHRA points stands, and is eager to begin evaluating his new car.

"I'm honored to be the one to help debut the new Grand Am to a group of automotive industry people as important as those who will be in Las Vegas for the SEMA Show," Pawuk said. "I've been looking over this Grand Am since the day it was completed, and I know I speak for our whole team when I say we can't wait to start testing.

"This is going to one very fast race car, and I think you're going to see a whole new set of both elapsed time and speed marks set with it once the 2001 NHRA Winston series season begins in February." Fred Simmonds concurs, stating that, "The numbers we've seen in the GM wind tunnel indicate the Grand Am is a superior aerodynamic race car. The Grand Am has a relatively small frontal area, meaning there's a smaller 'box' to push through the air. Race fans will see 200 mile per hour runs as a common occurrence."

The new Grand Am is a significant departure from Pawuk's current machine, a Pontiac Firebird. Built to meet the 2001 NHRA specifications, the Grand Am's body is completely made of carbon fiber as opposed to a combination of fiberglass panels and sheet metal. That means that the new body is both lighter and stronger than current Pro Stocks, and based on the wind tunnel tests Mr. Simmonds referenced, it's considerably "faster" than the Firebird.

Following its display at the SEMA Show the Summit Racing Grand Am will be immediately shipped to Dearborn, Michigan, where it will displayed before the attendees at the annual National Society of Automotive Engineers Motorsports Engineering Conference & Exposition at the Hyatt Regency Hotel November 13-16. Mark Pawuk will make a personal appearance with the car to answer any questions the SAE members might have.

"I've talked with some of the SAE people in the past, and they are all razor sharp. I just hope they don't ask me anything too technical, because while I know the basics, to be an SAE member you've got to be a genius," said Pawuk. "I just hope I can keep up with them!"

The car to be unveiled in Las Vegas was built for Pontiac by Jerry Haas Race Cars, while Pawuk awaits the delivery of a new car from fellow chassis builder Jerry Bickel of St. Louis. "We should have that car in our hands within a few weeks, and the minute we get it our pre-season testing program will begin," he said.



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