Complete 2019 SSRA N3OCS Championship Top 10 Rundown & Other News!

 

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2019, 11:17 pm.....

 

   With the 15th anniversary 2019 SSRA N3OCS season now in the record books, here is a rundown of the top 10 in the final 2019 SSRA N3OCS drivers standings, some info about their seasons, their prospects for 2020 and where possible some comments from the drivers on their seasons.

 

    2019 SSRA N3OCS Champion, 2019 Triple Crown 500 Champion & 2019 Bud Pole Champion- “Big” Gregg Rauscher- Hot off his 6th straight championship in 2018, Gregg Rauscher entered the 2019 season as the odds on favorite to claim his 7th championship. After starting the season off with a bang by winning at the Daytona Beach Road Course, Rauscher never relinquished the points lead enroute to record setting season and his 7th championship. He won 15 of the 22 races, which beat the previous record of 13 wins in a season set by Joshua Stephens in 2011. In the 7 races he didn't win Rauscher had two 2nds, a 3rd, three 4ths and a 5th place finish. The Port Colborne, On driver also won the Bud Pole championship for the 4th time in his career by earning 10 poles and added his 3rd Triple Crown 500 championship as well. Another impressive stat is that Rauscher won every race held on a track less than 1 mile in 2019. Despite all his success this past season there were a few struggles along the way including once again being unable to win at Daytona International Speedway (Rauscher is 0 for 15 at DIS) and being unable to win on a road course for the 3rd straight season, although he did finish a fighting 2nd at the Daytona RC to Matt Yeager.

 

    As expected Gregg Rauscher will be back for his 16th season in 2020 and while he will likely continue to pad his impressive career stats (he is the all-time leader in wins, top 5's and starts), but winning an 8th straight title might not be a given, as the abbreviated 5 race mini season will feature only 2 short track races and the only double points race will be at DIS a track that he's never won at.

 

    In his own words, "Being the last season of the traditional SSRA format, I put more effort into 2019 than probably any other season. We won every short track race which isn't an easy feat considering the competition and winning at 141 for the first time meant a lot. But the road courses were a let down. At the Daytona RC I needed 5 more laps to close the deal, at Long Beach & Brands Hatch I needed Matt and Chris to have bad luck, which didn't happen and at Heartland I was really off the pace. The biggest let down though was at Daytona. I really thought we'd be a factor for the win but once again we came up short. Overall though, I don't think I could have asked for a much better season and I had a great time at all the races. I want to thank all my competitors for providing such great competition, especially Matt and Steven, you guys make me a better driver. Merry Christmas & God Bless. See you in the new year."

 

    Runner-Up- Steven Hyde- After being the championship runner-up the past 5 seasons Steven Hyde was hoping to win his first title in 2019. However despite once again finishing 2nd in the standings, overall Hyde's 2019 season was disappointment, at least by his standards. His only win of the season came at Pocono in June, he did not win a pole and the 109 point deficit to the champion was the most points he finished out of the championship lead since 2012. Despite having his share of struggles Hyde still recorded a healthy tally of 14 top 5 finishes which included five runner-up finishes to go along with the Pocono win. As in previous season's the #92 Chevrolet struggled the most on the road courses, with a 6th place at the Daytona RC being Hyde's best showing on the "twisties".

 

    Returning for his 12th season in 2020, Steven Hyde will undoubtedly be in the thick of the championship fight, but it remains to be seen if he can up his game to new levels and whether or not the new SSRA format will benefit him. Regardless, a fighting runner-up finish in the season finale at Stockton shows he still has the pace to run up front in 2020.

 

    In His Own Words, "It was a good season but certainly not my best. I would've liked to gain a pole and a couple more wins along the way. I will be looking forward to the winter heat series."

 

    3rd Place- "Downtown" David Williard- The third most experienced driver in SSRA N3OCS history arguably had his best ever season. Although he didn't win a race in 2020, the British Columbia racer was as high as 2nd in the standings early in the season and wound up only 14 points out of 2nd at season's end. Williard scored 6 second place finishes and a total of 13 top 5 finishes in an ultra consistent season where his worst result was 7th. As in past seasons, Williard's best results came on the short tracks and biggest struggles came on the big tracks where he finished no better than 5th on any of the ovals 1 mile or larger.

 

     David Williard announced that he will likely not be competing full-time in 2020, but anytime he decides to show up at the track expect him to be a solid top 5 finisher if not a contender for the win, especially if it's on a short track.

 

    In His Own Words, "This season was pretty good for me. I'm pleased with the consistency I had and to be honest with just a bit more luck I could have been 2nd with 2 or 3 wins. I decided in the summer that 2019 will be my last season, at least for now. I want to thank Gregg for running the series and everyone who's helped me over the years, especially my teammates at Pr1mo Racing. I love you all thanks for the 15 years of memories."

 

   4th Place- "Chicago" Chris Primerano- After a career season in 2018 in which Chris Primerano finished 3rd in points and collected 14 top 5 finishes, 2019 might be considered a bit of a disappointment for the 14 year veteran, but the senior member of Pr1mo Racing still had a very respectable season. Primerano ended the 2019 season with a solid 4th place points standing on the strength of 9 top 5 finishes including a win at Brands Hatch in the second last race of the season. That win, which came from the pole position, put him in an exclusive group with Gregg Rauscher and Matt Yeager as the only drivers to win both a pole and a race in 2019. One of the SSRA's best road racers "Chicago" finished each of 4 road course races on the podium and also scored podium finishes on the sands of Daytona Beach and on the dirt at Cayuga County.

 

    Chris Primerano will be back again for his 15th season in 2020. It will be interesting to see if the SSRA's new format will benefit him, but don't be surprised if he picks up a win and finishes solidly in the top 3 in the standings.

 

    In His Own Words, "2019 was an up and down season for me. I was fast enough to have won a few races but there were too many mid pack finishes, so I'd say 4th is pretty representative of my season. Cayuga (County finishing 2nd) and of course winning both the race and the pole at Brands Hatch were my proudest moments. I hope with some luck to be a championship contender in 2020."

 

    5th Place- Todd "Primo" Primerano- The third member of the Pr1mo Racing team to finish in the top 5 in points, 2012 roty Todd Primerano finished 5th for the second straight year. Having arguably the most inconsistent season of any driver in 2019, "Primo" had his share of solid runs including winning the pole at 141 speedway, finishing 2nd in the series' return to Lake Erie Speedway and scoring a total of 9 top 5 finishes of which 6 were on the podium, but on the flip-side he had many finishes at the bottom of the top 10, often the result of crashes and struggled mightily on the speedways and road courses. He only scored one top 5 finish on a speedway or road course in 2019, which was a 4th place at Darlington.

 

    Returning full-time again in 2020 Todd Primerano will be hoping for a breakthrough season. If he can find more speed and consistency on the road courses and speedways Primerano definitely has the ability to be a serious top 3 points contender, if not it could be another year of finishing in the middle of the top 10 in the standings.

 

    In His Own Words- "This season was a bit of a letdown for me. Not winning a race sucks and I struggled a bit at some tracks, especially when I was rushing but it could have been worse. I want to thank my teammates for all their help this year and I look forward to running better in 2020.

 

   6th Place- Eddie Sedlacek- One of the SSRA's founding drivers Eddie Sedlacek decided to run his first full season in 2019 after years of running limited schedules and sometimes sitting out entire seasons. Although rarely among the fastest cars Sedlacek used consistency to his advantage, moving ahead of Randy Cowen late in the season to finish 6th. Despite only scoring 3 top 5 finishes (a trio of 5th place efforts), he was able to finish every race on the lead lap and won all but one of his individual races.

 

    Although his plans are unknown at this point, if he shows up expect Eddie Sedlacek to have another consistent season. However, if he expects to contend for wins he'll need to improve his set-ups.

 

    In His Own Words- "Thank you for running the league. I had a lot of fun this past season and I'm fairly pleased to be 6th place. I wish i could have been quicker but I never really had time to tinker with setups."

 

    7th Place- "Rocket" Randy Cowen- Having won 3 races in 2018, Randy Cowen was hoping for even better 2019, but it's safe to say this season was disappointment for the Golden State racer. Cowen's early season was fairly strong, producing consistent results, including at 3rd place at DIS (where he is a 4-time race winner), as well as a pole position at North Wilkesboro. After that however, his season was pretty disappointing, producing only 3 other top 5 finishes and having multiple back of the pack finishes due to crashes and start and parks. Cowen ended the season with five top 5 finishes, with his best result being the 3rd place run at Daytona.

 

    2008 IDEAL ROTY Randy Cowen will return for another full campaign in 2020 as he hopes to return to victory lane and become the N3OCS's oldest race winner in the process. Probably the driver who will benefit most from the abbreviated schedule  that makes up the 2020 season, don't be surprised to see Cowen get a win and finish solidly in the top 5 in points.

 

    In His Own Words- "The season was disappointing. It was embarrassing. I have to do better and I can do better."

 

    8th Place- Ghostface Racer- Originally planning to run only the 3 Triple Crown 500 races, Ghostface Racer ended up not only running those events (and coming up only 2 points shy of the triple crown title), but he also ran 6 of the final 7 races of the season enroute to 8th place in the championship, which is his 15th straight top 10 points finish. The only driver in the top 10 to not run a full season, Ghost picked up a victory at Springfield in August and throughout the course of his season, only had one finish out of the top 5, a 6th place at Gold Pan. Of his 8 top 5 finishes only 2 weren't on the podium.

 

    After running a limited schedule the past 2 seasons, Ghostface Racer will likely run all 5 races in 2020. Given his performance the past few seasons, expect him to be a championship contender, but it remains to be seen if he can regularly visit victory lane and challenge perennial favorites like Gregg Rauscher and Steven Hyde.

 

    In His Own Words- "I'd say this was my best season ever. I came oh-so-close to winning the Triple Crown which made me happy and and frustrated me at the same time. Because I wanted to keep my top 10 points streak intact I decided to run more races, which worked out good winning at the IL State Fair and having a lot of other good runs. I'm going to run all the races next year with the goal of winning the championship. Merry Christmas to everyone in the SSRA"

 

    9th Place- Dusterman- The winner of this year's unofficial most improved driver Dusterman scored what is the perhaps the biggest upset ever when he won this year's Neil Bonnett/ Dale Earnhardt Memorial 150 at Daytona International Speedway. Although that was by the far the biggest highlight of his season, Dusterman was also strong on the dirt tracks, finishing 4th at both Eldora and Brewerton. Throughout the course of the season the 2014 roty scored three top 5 finishes, which is a new career high for him. Despite having more success than in previous seasons Dusterman also had 5 dnf's and multiple races where he was off the pace, often the result of a lack of practice time.

 

    Dusterman has stated he is looking forward to running a full SSRA N3OCS schedule for the 7th straight season. The SSRA's new "winter heat" format could benefit him perhaps more than any other competitor, especially considering he is the defending DIS winner and that race awards double points. With that factored in don't be surprised to see Dusterman contend for his first top 5 points finish.

 

    10th Place- Roger Nebelsick- After running only 3 races in 2018, Roger Nebelsick returned to a full schedule for the third time in his career, in 2019. Although Nebelsick racked up a career best 6 top 5 finishes throughout the season, he led the series with 8 start and parks. That coupled with a dq in the 2nd Jukasa race prevented the 2013 IDEAL ROTY from contending for a top 5 points finish despite showing he has the speed to regularly finish in the top 5. Nebelsick's best results of the year were a pair of 3rd place finishes, coming early in the season at Long Beach and Eldora.

 

    Tentatively scheduled to run all 5 races in 2020, Roger Nebelsick will be a serious contender for a top 5 points finish and possibly even his first career win if he has the time to put a serious effort into all the events. If not it could be another trying season at the bottom of the top 10.

 

    The Rest Of The Field- Missing out on a top 10 points finish by only 11 markers, 11th place the "Qualifying Machine" Matt Yeager arguably had the second strongest season of any driver in 2019. Winning at both Long Beach and the Daytona RC, as well as scoring 9 pole positions (bringing his career total to 54) Yeager finished in the top 5 in seven of his ten starts. Former roty Tony Plumadore Jr. ran 14 races, producing 4 top 5 finishes including a 2nd place at Eldora in April and a 3rd place at Stockton to close out the year, to earn the 12th spot. 13th place went to Todd Primerano's father Jeff Primerano, who returned to SSRA competition after a 4 year hiatus and showed no signs of rust as he scored 5 top 5 finishes (in the 7 starts he made) including his first career win at Heartland Park Topeka. Canadian driver Jeff Hill finished 14th in points making 4 starts highlighted by a 2nd place finish in the Gray Tools 50 at Jukasa. Newcomer Jason Ross ran the first 4 races of the season scoring a best finish of 9th at North Wilkesboro enroute to 15th in the standings. Finishing in 16th and last place was Aidan Nebelsick, who ran 3 races as a teammate to his dad Roger, with a best result of 11th in the IDEAL Brake Parts 50 at Jukasa.

 

    In 2019 there were 5 different pole winners, 7 different race winners and 14 of the 16 drivers who have competed this season had at least one top 5 finish. 9 drivers have started all 22 races held during the 15th anniversary SSRA N3OCS schedule.

 

    This write-up puts an official wrap on the 2019 season. Congratulations to the top 10 points finishers and a big thanks to all 16 drivers that competed throughout the course of the season. In the next couple weeks, I hope to update the all-time career stats page and also post the schedule for the 2020 season, which will take place in January and February. So be on the look out for that. Thanks again for everybody's support.

 

Gregg :-)

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