2020 SSRA N3OCS Top 10 Championship Rundown!

 

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020, 6:52 pm.....

 

   With the 16th anniversary 2020 SSRA N3OCS season now in the record books, here is a rundown of the top 10 in the final 2020 SSRA N3OCS drivers standings, some info about their seasons, their prospects for 2021 and where possible some comments from the drivers on their seasons.

    2020 SSRA N3OCS Champion- “Big” Gregg Rauscher- The record books will show Gregg Rauscher won his 8th straight title, but unlike in 2019 his 2020 season was far from dominant. After runner-up finishes to Matt Yeager in both races at New Smyrna and at the Daytona RC, Rauscher turned the tables at Daytona Beach by besting Yeager and reducing his points deficit to 7 points (behind Yeager) going into the Neil Bonnett/ Dale Earnhardt Memorial 150 at DIS. Although Rauscher was unable to break his Daytona jinx with a win, he did win the pole and finish 2nd to Randy Cowen, which coupled with a back of the pack finish by Yeager, allowed the Port Colborne, ON driver to win his 8th title by 9 markers, the 2nd closest margin in SSRA N3OCS history. Rauscher also added to his long streak of consecutive top 5 finishes which now stands at 140 races, dating back to Jukasa (Cayuga) Motor Speedway in 2013. The all-time career leader in wins, top 5's and starts, Rauscher will be looking for his 9th straight title in 2021, but it's fair to say it's toss-up between him and Matt Yeager on who is the title favorite.

 

    In his own words, "Even though there were only 5 races, I think I ran my best season ever. Even though Matt outran me in the first 3 races I don't feel I left anything on the table. To win at Daytona Beach felt good, I love that track. But not winning at Daytona (International Speedway) again really sucks. Ironically my speed from this year would have been fast enough to win in 2019, but Randy really stepped it up. As a racing history buff winning 8 championships is a big deal to me, in Indycar A.J. won 7, In NASCAR Petty, Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson also won 7 so it was a goal of mine to win #8 and I was lucky enough to pull it off. I want to congratulate Matt on his strong season. He really stepped it up and I feel he might be the favorite in 2021. But I won't make it easy for him and I'm going to do my best to finally win Daytona!"

    Runner-Up & 2020 Bud Pole Champion- "The Qualifying Machine" Matt Yeager- After running limited schedules the past few seasons of his 12 year SSRA career, Matt Yeager returned to full-time competition with a bang. Despite being known for his road racing skills, Yeager defeated short track dominator Gregg Rauscher in both features at New Smyrna, then backed that up with his 4th straight win at the Daytona RC. After finishing 2nd at Daytona Beach, he headed into the season finale at DIS with a 7 point lead. But in the race things went sour, faced with the handicap of not racing with a steering wheel, the French veteran could do no better than 9th place, which handed the title to Rauscher. Despite the title loss Yeager not only had a career season, but more importantly proved he will be a very serious contender for the 2021 title. In addition to his runner-up finish in the championship, Yeager lived up to his nickname, earning his 5th career Bud Pole Championship on the strength of 3 pole positions in the 4 qualifying sessions held in 2020. Yeager leads the league with 58 career poles.

 

     In His Own Words, "Dominating at New Smyrna was a big surprise for me since I had never run there before. I somehow managed to whip up a good setup after all. Daytona RC results were much less of a surprise. At this point of the season, things were looking good for me from an external point of view, but since Gregg finished second in every race so I knew I had to win at Daytona Beach RC in order to maximize the gap in points standings and get a chance at the championship. I made my best effort but unfortunately I was not able to beat Gregg there, and as expected I got terrible results at Daytona Intl. Speedway. So, congrats to Gregg for his eighth championship. I am proud I have given him a hard time this season though."

    3rd Place- Ghostface Racer- The second most experienced driver in SSRA N3OCS history, Ghostface Racer returned to full-time competition after running a limited schedule in 2018 & 2019. And the Buckeye standout picked up where he left off in 2017, by finishing a solid 3rd in the championship. Ghost started the season with respectable 4th and 5th place finishes in the twin 25 lappers at New Smyrna, then scored another 5th place at the Daytona RC. After finishing a season's worst 6th at the 'Beach, Ghost crossed the line in 4th at DIS, besting Todd Primerano by 2 markers to take 3rd place in the championship. Remarkably 2020 was the 16th straight year Ghostface Racer finished in the top 10 in the standings. 2021 will likely be another strong season for Ghost, but if he wants to seriously contend for the title returning to victory is a must.

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    In His Own Words, " I had a pretty consistent season, but 3rd place was more a result of everybody else's struggles rather than me winning races. I hope to change that next year. I think it will take at least 2 or 3 wins to be in title contention. Congratulations to Gregg, Matt and everybody else on their seasons. See everybody in 2021."

    4th Place- Todd "Primo" Primerano- After finishing 5th in the standings the past two seasons, "Primo" stepped up his consistency and continued his climb up the championship ladder by finishing a career high 4th. True to his short track prowess Primerano started the season off with a pair of podium (3rd) place finishes at New Smyrna, then finished 7th at both the Daytona Beach RC and Daytona Beach. Those efforts left him in a tie with Ghostface Racer for 3rd going into the season finale a DIS. Despite his long standing struggles on the SSRA's big tracks, Todd finished a solid 5th in the Neil Bonnett/ Dale Earnhardt Memorial 150, which left him 4th in the final standings, only 2 points out of 3rd. After his career year in 2020, 2021 could be an even better year for Todd Primerano, especially if he can improve on the road courses.

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    In His Own Words, "This season was a pretty good one for me. I didn't really make any mistakes, even though I sucked at the (Daytona) road course and at the beach, but i was happy with the results in the twin 25's and at Daytona. The 2020 season was fun for me and I hope to be back again next season. I want to thank my dad and Uncle Chris for their advice and to David Williard as well for giving me a good set up for Smyrna. Thanks for running the league."

    5th Place- Dusterman- After a career season which included his first career win at Daytona Int'l Speedway in 2019, the SSRA N3OS' favorite journeyman driver Dusterman had an even better 2020, finishing 5th place in the final standings only 5 points out of 3rd. Opening the season at New Smyrna with a 7th and a 4th place in the Winter Heat 25's, then struggling to 8th place finishes at both the Daytona RC and Daytona Beach, Dusterman rebounded with a nice 3rd place finish at DIS to take 5th in the championship. That result was the best points finish of his 7 year career. Once a shoe-in for last place among the full-time drivers, in the past two seasons Dusterman has shown he can be a legitimate contender for both wins and top 5 points finishes. Expect more of the same from the Owensville, MO driver in 2021.

 

    In His Own Words, "I enjoyed the winter format. I was able to practice more, so my times have been improving. I was hoping to repeat my win at Daytona. Don't want to be a Trevor Bayne. I posted a better time than last year, and just hoped it would hold up. Thanks for doing this series, I look forward to next season."

    6th Place- "Chicago" Chris Primerano- After winning both a pole and a race and claiming 4th in last years championship, 2020 can definitely be considered an off year for "Chicago" Chris. Opening the season with a 9th and 7th place at New Smyrna the 2011 IDEAL ROTY then finished a season's best 3rd at the Daytona RC, before ending season with a pair of 6th places at both Daytona Beach and DIS leaving Primerano 6th in the final standings. With a longer season and another road course event to be added to the schedule don't be surprised to see Chris Primerano rebound in 2021 by returning to a to victory lane and contention for a top 3 championship finish.

 

    In His Own Words, "In all honesty 2020 wasn't a good season for me. Family life kept my N3 time to a minimum and I didn't have much luck either. I feel I should have been a top 5 car in most races and been in contention to win a couple races, not finishing sixth or eighth. But there is always next year and I hope to return to previous form if not better. Thanks to my teammates and to Gregg for running the SSRA.

    7th Place- "Rocket" Randy Cowen- Finishing 7th in points for the 3rd straight season "the Rocket" once again struggled with consistency. The first 4 races Randy Cowen's 2020 season ended miserably with off the pace runs resulting in 4 last place finishes. But at DIS Cowen rebounded in a huge way, besting champion Gregg Rauscher to earn his 5th Neil Bonnett/ Dale Earnhardt Memorial 150 win. The win was Cowen's first since Springfield in 2018 and made him the oldest driver to ever win a N3OCS race. Cowen's career, especially in recent seasons has been characterized by occasional shows of speed (sometimes resulting in wins) mixed in with all too frequent back of the pack finishes resulting in bottom half of the top 10 points finishes. 2021 could be more of the same for the likeable Golden State racer unless he can find more consistency.

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    In His Own Words, "I was happy to get back into victory lane this year. I'd like to give a shout out to all the drivers who participated and a Big thanks to "Big" Gregg Rauscher for all the effort he puts into the league. Looking forward to next season!"

    8th Place- Steven Hyde- As the championship runner-up the past 6 seasons, many observers figured 2020 would be the year Steven Hyde would claim his first career title. But unfortunately the Camillus, NY campaigner ended up having his worst season since his rookie year in 2009. Fighting steering issues throughout the season, at New Smyrna Hyde could do no better than a pair of 8th place finishes. In the 3rd race of the season at the Daytona RC he scored his first top 5 of the season crossing the line in 5th, then was able to back that up with a solid 3rd place run at Daytona Beach. As a result, Hyde headed to DIS holding onto 5th in the standings with a realistic chance of moving up to 3rd place if he ran a stellar race. But instead, despite qualifying 2nd, Hyde finished in last place due to ongoing steering problems, dropping him down to 8th in the final championship standings. With a long off-season for Steven Hyde to get his steering issues sorted out, expect him to at the very least to return to victory lane and contend for a top 3 points finish in 2021.

    9th Place- Jeff Primerano- After running 1/3 of the races in 2019 and picking up his first career win at Heartland Park in the process, the third member of Pr1mo Racing had another successful season running a limited schedule. After skipping New Smyrna, the Chicago native had solid 4th place finishes at both the Daytona RC and on the sands of Daytona Beach, before closing out the season with an 8th place at DIS. Those efforts resulted in a 9th place points finish and first among the drivers that ran a limited schedule. If Jeff Primerano runs a substantial number of races in 2021, don't be surprised to see him return to victory lane and record another top 10 points finish.

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    In His Own Words, "Things went pretty good for me other than at Daytona. I always enjoy racing with my family and I had a lot of fun. I'm not sure what I'm going to do next season, but hopefully I'll be able to run at least some races. I seem to do well on road courses and speedways, so I might just run those venues. Congratulations to Gregg and really to all my competitors on their seasons. It's been a blast."

    10th Place- Roger Nebelsick- At the conclusion of the 2019 season (in which he ran all 22 races enroute to a 10th place points finish) Roger Nebelsick was on the fence about his future in the SSRA N3OCS. In 2020 it turns out he elected to compete only at New Smyrna, finishing 6th in both races, which resulted in another 10th place points finish for the Belleville, IL racer.

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    In His Own Words, "I just kinda did my races (at New Smyrna) and figured the chips would fall near the bottom like they usually do. As of now, for 2021 I haven't really thought much about it, and I may upgrade my computer between now and then and that may limit me running n3. So I'm not sure what I'm thinking about doing."

    The Rest of the Field- 2016 roty Tony Plumadore Jr. continued his short track specialization by running both New Smyrna races, finishing a solid 5th in the first 25 lapper and 9th in the second race enroute to a tie for 11th in the final standings with Eddie Sedlacek. Speaking of Eddie Sedlacek, the SSRA N3OCS founding father decided to enter the Neil Bonnett/ Dale Earnhardt 150 at the last minute and was able to bring home a 7th place finish to achieve the tie for 11th.

    In 2020 there were 2 different pole winners, 3 different race winners and 10 of the 12 drivers who competed in 2020 had at least one top 5 finish. 8 drivers have started all 5 races held during the SSRA N3OCS' 16th season.

 

    This write-up puts an official wrap on the 2020 season. Congratulations to the top 10 points finishers and a big thank you to all 12 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 2021 schedule, which kicks off this November (2020). So be on the look out for that. In closing I want to thank everybody for their support of the SSRA N3OCS' new winter format. See everybody at the track in November as we kick off season #17!

 

Gregg :-)

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