Galletta's Karting Club

 OSWEGO KARTWAY GAS STOCKER KARTING 2008 RACE #1 
~ May 8th, 2008 at Oswego Speedway ~

The Galletta’s Kart Club 2008 Volume #1:
<-Free Preview. This disc contains the complete Oswego Kartway opening show from May 8th, 2008. Disc has one camera angle of all classes and two angles of others. 1 hour & 33 minutes.  Price $6.

 

 
Click for a printable version of this DVD cover.

All below pictures are from the DVD. Also racing at the 5/8/2008 show were:

Flat Karts powered by Raptor Methanol motors. This division gets around the track approximately 2 seconds quicker than the gas stockers.

This picture was from the Methanol Flat Kart Junior Division’s heat. These karts are approximately 1 second faster than the Gas Stockers.

Champ Karts powered by Methanol Animal motors. These karts are approximately 1 second faster than the Gas Stockers. Oswego Kartway is the only track in the area that races Champs regularly. These other classes race without points for now, but thanks to yours truly (Chris Stevens of Team Galletta’s Gas Stockers), here are pictures, descriptions, and points for the Gas Stocker Division:

OSWEGO KARTWAY GAS STOCKER KARTS 2008 WEEK ONE:

Now, most people may not know, but the inventors/founders of the Galletta’s Karting Club (the oldest, largest, and longest-running dirt go-kart racing club in Oswego, NY) live and work at Galletta’s Greenhouse. Operating seasonally for half a century providing the Town of Oswego with – as most of our customers tell us – some of the finest flowers and plants for the lowest prices anywhere. The plants are grown from every February through April, involving a lot of seeding, transplanting, watering, and moving. Then, on May 1st, we open our doors. During the month of May and half of June, the greenhouse is at its busiest, and the plants that sell have to cover the overhead of heating, watering the plants, and repairing/replacing the greenhouses that are in need. This rarely covers our pay, and basically, anything sold after mid-June is our pay. Not much, but we get by. But regardless, Matt (and his fiancee Melissa), Chris (and his wife Aou), and their parents Wes and Mary are usually busy in the greenhouse from winter through summer, and too busy to race. But in 2008, we made a great sacrifice and put off work to heed track operator Jim Losurdo’s demand to help fill the ranks at the (newly re-Christened) Oswego Kartway place work second and racing first, or else we’d be out of the points race (that Chris Stevens tallies, as he is the ONLY one who tallies it for ANY division at Oswego). For the 1st time in history – Galletta’s Karting Club actually raced in May! Take note of this rarity!


The 10-Lap Gas Stocker Heat Lineup drew for the starting grid and had Eric Raponi #83 and Russ Hockey #00 starting front row.

The heat was won by Matt Stevens in the Galletta’s #33 (and scored +20 points) when he used lapped traffic to nip Eric Raponi (+18 points) at the finish line. Third went to Chris Stevens (+16 points) followed by Dick Dann (+14pts.), Gary Miller Sr. (+12 pts.), Nick Dann (+12 pts.), Russ Hockey (+9 pts.), Dave Melfi (+8 pts.). Joe Hayden was running third in the final corner, but finished ninth (scoring +7 pts.) due to wrecking into the lapped Oscar Berry (+6 pts.) right before the finish line.

 
The 25-Lap Feature was started off in handicap order inverted by 2007’s total Oswego Gas Stocker points. Nick Dann #68 and Gary Miller Sr. #24 led the field away.

Spoiler Alert: #83 always spin #8 out.

Early leader and 2007 Gas Stocker Classic Champion Chris Stevens #8 wrecked when Eric Raponi #83 got into his bumper and spun him out in turn one. Also involved in the aftermath was Matt Stevens #33 and Dave Melfi #22. Everyone continued except Eric Raponi whose kart was unable to run. Chris has commissioned an anti-Raponi nerf bar on his right rear, as the #83 continuously gets under the #8’s right rear bumper and dumps him, caught on tape and digital picture two times now.

The Feature was won by 2007’s Defending Oswego Kartway Gas Stocker Points Champion Matt Stevens (which scored him +68 pts.) after he tracked down fast-charging leader Joe Hayden (+65 pts.) in his refurbished kart late in the race. They were followed by Dick Dann (+62 pts.), Chris Stevens (+59 pts.), Gary Miller Sr. (+56 pts.), Dave Melfi (+53 pts.), and Oscar Berry (+50 pts.). Russ Hockey (+47 pts.), Nick Dann (+44 pts.), and Eric Raponi (+41 pts.) did not finish the race due to mechanical problems. Now for…

Welcome! We are a highly competitive Karting Club that races affordable “Clockwise Gas Stocker” karts for a Points championship every summer at Galletta’s Greenhouse Backyard Kartway and a Gas Stocker division at Oswego Speedway‘s Clay Kartway.