Sunday, September 7th, 2008 5hp Gas Stocker Karting at Galletta’s:

On SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4th, 2008, we ran another Twin-Features Event at the John J. Galletta Memorial Yard Karting Speedway. The first 35-Lapper went to Matt Stevens in his Galletta’s #3 Gas Stocker. The second 30-Lapper went to Gary Miller Jr. in the Galletta’s #6 Gas Stocker; his first ever win! However, the event was marred when Chris Stevens (yours truly) took a wild flip driving the Galletta’s #7 and got a bit shaken and bruised up during the 1st feature, and elected not to compete in the 2nd. He’s alright, and will be ready to go for the next race – which may be the 13th Annual Galletta’s Klassic 200.

Our next race will likely be be either Friday, September 12, OR Saturday, the 13th at GALLETTA’S KARTING SPEEDWAY. Call for exact timing. We’ll run one even if only a couple of drivers show (we used to race weekly with just two karts eighteen years ago), so be there if you want to keep your standings in the points or need tune-ups before our Galletta’s Klassic. What?! Yes, that’s right… consider this a tune-up race because the Sunday, September 21st, 2008 is the probable date for the 13th Annual Galletta’s Kart Klassic 200!!! (Date is subject to change based on regular driver attendance and weather! Vote HERE ON THIS MESSAGE BOARD POLL if you prefer a certain day.) We are open to a different date if enough people contact us and arrange it. Otherwise, we’ll just run it on that date. See you here!

 

The first 35-Lap feature, was won by Matt Stevens in the Galletta’s #3, which is the original and still  winningest of all Galletta’s Go-Karts (AND it was one of the three potent Galletta’s Team Karts that was left sitting idle and un-rented at the Oswego Kartway Classic. The others being the Galletta’s #0 and #5, all of which have won many races each. Matt or Chris could have piloted them to a top 3 spot, but local karters pass on the rides. Oh well. Maybe that says something about the weak faith in their skills). Early leader Russ Hockey again led for a large portion of the race and fended off Matt for countless laps (often racing side-by-side through most of the track),. But again, bad luck struck Russ, and he accidentally flicked his kill-switch for a split second, which cut the motor enough for Matt to execute the pass and collect a win.

Chris”Chrusher” Stevens Gets Crushed… but JUST off-screen!
One negative occurred when Chris was in the Galletta’s #7 and tried to go 3-wide going into turn 3 and hit the inside wall/burn. Unfortunately, it is off-camera, but you can see immediately before and immediately after it happened. If we had a 2nd camera out there in the 3rd & 4th turns, it would’ve been an AMAZING video. Trust me… it was me… it was fast, violent, and it didn’t feel too good:

In the below video, you can see Chris (in the Galletta’s #7) and Gary Miller Sr. (in the Galletta’s #0) try to lap Larry Phillips (L&K Small Engine #04) and went 3-wide into turn 3. Gary went high over Larry, while Chris tried to pass both via going under them both. Chris had the right idea until Larry sensed Gary high (but didn’t notice Chris down low) and steered down, which pinched off Chris’s pass attempt and put him into the burn and a rimmed automobile tire. The #7 flipped head-first violently slamming Chris hard onto the track (on his forearm, chest and leg), as the kart crashed down on him.

The kart flipped extremely fast and hard, leaving Chris stunned numb, a bit bruised and sore, but otherwise okay. The Galletta’s #7 is one of the few karts that needs to be lowered, as it flipped because it sits too high. It’s fast, but the 1990s design is outdated and needs to be dropped for our modern era of faster hybrid karting.

Galletta’s September 7th, 2008 Twin 35 #1 – Final Order of Finish:
1st: Matt Stevens (Galletta’s #3)
2nd: Russ Hockey (Hockey #00)
3rd: Gary Miller Jr. (Miller #24)
4th: Gary Miller Sr. (Galletta’s #0)
5th: Melissa Gabel (Galletta’s #80)
6th: Chris Stevens (Galletta’s #5/#7/#8 – Did Not Finish)
7th: Larry Phillips (Phillips #04 – Did Not Finish)

 

The second 30-lapper was won by Gary Miller Jr. (in the Galletta’s #6) after he passed early-leader Melissa Gabel (Galletta’s #80) and never looked back. Matt ran well in the re-built Galletta’s #2, but it has a tired motor and Matt is rebuilding a new motor for it so it will be faster for the Galletta’s Klassic. Melissa Gabel was running strong in her Galletta’s #80 until a chain blew. She then passed people in the Galletta’s #3 and came up through the field to challenge Matt for several laps. This race was thought to be 30 laps, but due to incompetent flag-man Wesley “Ogre” Stevens counting laps, we ran 35.

Galletta’s September 7th, 2008 Twin 35 #2 – Final Order of Finish:
1st: Gary Miller Jr. (Galletta’s #6)
2nd: Matt Stevens (Galletta’s #2)
3rd: Melissa Gabel (Galletta’s #80/#3)
4th: Larry Phillips (Phillips #04)
5th: Gary Miller Sr. (Galletta’s #24 – Did Not Finish)
6th: Russ Hockey (Hockey #00 – Did Not Finish)
7th: Chris Stevens (Did Not Start – Injury)
Galletta's 9/7/2008 winners: Gary Miller Jr & Matt Stevens

2008 5hp Gas Stocker Kart Point Standings at Galletta’s Speedway  

After 8 events at Galletta’s Greenhouse Racing-Yard Karting Speedway from 6/8/2007 -thru- 9/7/2008:

Rank

Name & Karts Piloted

Total Points (Place)

Average Points Per Event

Events

Heat Wins

Feature Wins

1

Matt Stevens Profile“Mighty” Matt Stevens
(Galletta’s #33, 3, 1, 2)

1387.50

173.44

8

0

4

2

Chris Stevens ProfileChris “Chrusher” Stevens
(Galletta’s #8, 4, 5, 7)

1300.50

162.56

8

2

2

3

Melissa Gabel profileMelissa “Low-Groove ” Gabel
(Galletta’s #3, 80, 4)

1040.00

130.00

8

0

0

4

Russ Hockey profileRuss Hockey
(Hockey #00, Galletta’s #5, 9)

1022.50

146.07

7

2

0

5

Buddy Cottom profileBuddy Cottom
(Galletta’s #6, 7, 1, 0, Phillips #04)

942.50

157.08

6

1

2

6

Gary Miller's profileGary Miller Sr.
(Miller #24, Galletta’s #0, 9)

896.00

128.00

7

1

0

7

Ryan Coleman profileRyan Coleman
(Galletta’s #9, 7, Miller #24)

743.50

148.70

5

2

2

8

Tricky Nicky Dann's profileNick Dann
(Dann #68, 86, Galletta’s #5, 1, Miller #24)

631.50

126.30

5

1

0

9

JPJohn “JP” Stepien
(Galletta’s #0)

587.50

146.88

4

1

0

10

Dick Dann profileDick Dann
(Dann #86)

537.38

134.38

4

0

0

11

Larry PhillipsLarry Phillips
(Phillips #04, Galletta’s #9, 7)

512.00

128.00

4

0

0

12

Mike MC Howell profileMike “MC” Howell
(Galletta’s #5)

399.00

133.00

3

1

0

13

Gary Miller Jr. in his dad's #24Gary Miller Jr.
(Miller #24, Galletta’s #6)

366.50

183.25

2

0

1

14

AJ Russell (Galletta's #6)AJ Russell
(Galletta’s #6)

142.00

142.00

1

1

0

15

Jeff Tetro (Galletta's #2)Jeff Tetro
(Galletta’s #2)

124.00

124.00

1

0

0

16

Fred Collins bioFlippin’ Fred Collins
(Galletta’s #2)

119.50

119.50

1

0

0

17

Rob Clarke (Galletta's #6)Rob Clarke
(Galletta’s #6)

113.00

113.00

1

0

0

WHEN IS OUR NEXT RACE? EASY! JUST LOOK AT….
THE 2008 OSWEGO GAS STOCKER KARTS CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE:
1. OSWEGO: Thursday, May 8th, 2008: 25-Lap Race (Winner: Matt Stevens in 5hp).
2. OSWEGO: Thursday, May 15th, 2008: 25-Lap Race (Winner: Joe Hayden in 6.5hp).
3. OSWEGO: Thursday, May 22nd, 2008: Regular Race (Rained out)
4. OSWEGO: Friday, May 30th, 2008: 35-Lap MONEY RACE! (Winner: Matt Stevens in 5hp).
5. GALLETTA’S: Sunday, June 1st-June8th, 2008. Clay track Maintenance week. More.
6. OSWEGO: Thursday, June 5th, 2008: 20-Lap Race (Winner: Dave Melfi in 6.5hp).
7. GALLETTA’S: Sunday, June 8th, 2008. 45-Lap Race (Winner: Matt Stevens in 5hp).
8. OSWEGO: Thursday, June 12th, 2008: 25-Lap Race (Winner: Joe Hayden in 6.5hp).
9. GALLETTA’S: Sunday, June 15th, 2008. 50-Lap Race (Winner: Matt Stevens in 5hp+).
10. OSWEGO: Thursday, June 19th, 2008: 40-Lap Race (Winner: Dave Melfi in 6.5hp).
11. GALLETTA’S: Sunday, June 22nd, 2008. Twin-30s (Winners: Matt Stevens in 5hp & Ryan Coleman in 5hp+).
12. OSWEGO: Thursday, June 26th, 2008: Cancelled: Track Conditions.
13. OSWEGO: Saturday, June 28th, 2008: Cancelled: Track Conditions.

14. GALLETTA’S: Sunday, June 29th, 2008. Cancelled: Rained out.
15. OSWEGO: Friday, July 4th, 2008: 25-Lap Money Race (Winner: Nick Dann in 5hp+).
16. GALLETTA’S: Sunday, July 6th, 2008. Independence Day 50 (Winner: Ryan Coleman in 5hp+).
17. OSWEGO: Thursday, July 10th, 2008: Regular Race (Winner: Chris Stevens in 5hp).
18. GALLETTA’S: Sunday, July 13th, 2008: Cancelled: Rain Out. 
19. OSWEGO: Thursday, July 17th, 2008: 5hp gas stockers cancelled (not enough drivers).
20. GALLETTA’S: Friday, July 18th, 2008. 45-Lap Race (Winner: Chris Stevens in 5hp).
GALLETTA’S: Sunday, July 20th race: Rained Out. Held the Friday, 7/18 instead.
21. OSWEGO: Thursday, July 24th, 2008: Rained Out.
22. GALLETTA’S: Sunday, July 27th, 2008. Post-Harborfest Race (cancelled: wet track conditions and not enough helpers and drivers.)
23. OSWEGO: Thursday, July 31st, 2008: Practice for Friday Show.
24. OSWEGO: Friday, August 1st, 2008: 40-Lap Money Race (Winner: Matt Stevens x2 in 5hp vs. 5hp and vs. 6.5hp)!
25. GALLETTA’S: Sunday, August 3rd, 2008. 55-Lap Race (Winner: Buddy Cottom in 5hp).
26. OSWEGO: Thursday, August 7th, 2008: 30-Lap Race.
27. GALLETTA’S: Sunday, August 10th, 2008. HAIL/RAINED OUT.
28. OSWEGO: Thursday, August 14th, 2008: 30-Lap Race: Winner: Matt Stevens in 5hp.
29. GALLETTA’S: Sunday, August 17th, 2008. Twin-30s Winners: Buddy Cottom & Chris Stevens in 5hps.
30. OSWEGO: Thursday, August 21st, 2008: 30 Laps: Winner: Wes Stevens in 5hp.
31. GALLETTA’S: August 23rd-27th, 2008. Kart Preparation for Oswego Classic week.
32. OSWEGO: Thursday, August 28th, 2008: 2nd ANNUAL OSWEGO SPEEDWAY DIRT TRACK CLASSIC TIME TRIALS!!! 
–.  GALLETTA’S: LABOR DAY WEEKEND: Off for Classic Weekend/NY State Fair.
33. 
OSWEGO: Thursday, September 4th, 2008: 2nd ANNUAL OSWEGO SPEEDWAY DIRT TRACK CLASSIC!!! Winners: Top three trophy spots go to Wes, Matt, and Chris Stevens!
34. GALLETTA’S: Sunday, September 7th, 2008: Twin 35s won by Matt Stevens & Gary Miller Jr.
35. GALLETTA’S: September 8th-20th, 2008. Klassic Preparation!
36. GALLETTA’S: Sunday, September 21st, 2008. The 13th Annual Galletta’s Kart Klassic 200 laps!!
37-up. OPEN DATES/RAIN DATES/FALL CHALLENGE SERIES after this date.

Galletta's Go-Kart News & Message Board! Key:
GALLETTA’S = Race located at John J. Galletta Memorial Gas Stocker Kartway (BehindGalletta’s Greenhouse in the Town of Oswego, NY).
OSWEGO = Race located at Oswego Kartway (Behind Oswego Speedway
 )

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Welcome! We are a Karting Club that invented and races extremely affordable 5hp, Single Wheel Drive “Gas stocker” go-karts for a Points championship every summer at Galletta’s Greenhouse Karting Speedway and a Gas Stocker division at Oswego Speedway‘s Clay Kartway. We also record weekly dirt karting classes in the Oswego area and make them available on DVD! Join us racing by either building your own or renting one of our team backup karts. Or just watch in person, or by buying our DVDs. Please read on and learn more about our extremely affordable brand of highly competitive racing!

Our basic info pageOur "Away" track: Oswego Kartway!The Galletta’s Go-Karting Club was founded by brothers Matt and Chris Stevens in the early 1990s when they modified yard karts for racing purposes. They are the inventors of “Single Wheel Drive 5hp flathead gas stocker kart” racing, and have a 13-kart race team that includes several backup karts available to be rented and raced at both Galletta’s and Oswego Speedway all summer. Invented with specifically “gas stock Briggs and Stratton 5hp motor” rules so that a person doesn’t have to spend thousands of dollars to race in extremely competitive racing events, the class grows in talent and competition every single year. Some mock us for going clockwise, which we do because we are single wheel drive and corner better. Join us by building your own kart for around $500 or rent one of our team karts on Summer Thursdays or Summer Sundays in Oswego, NY!

John J. Galletta Memorial Kartway Oswego Speedway's Kartway
The Oswego Gas Stocker Kart Club races at Galletta’s Greenhouse Kartway & Oswego SpeedwayKartway.

Click Here for Facts, Questions & Answers.

Click here for Basic rules, regulations, and prices.

Our karting club’s home track is located in back of:
Galletta's Greenhouse of Oswego NY (Official website)
Galletta’s Greenhouses
60 County Route 20
Oswego, NY 13126-6512
(315) 343-0879 or (315) 343-4281

Need directions? Here they are!


Chris’s Post-race blog: 
Again, 2008 has been our lowest driver attendance year since possibly 2001. Odd, considering more people know about now than ever before. Race at our Galletta’s Klassic people! The hybrid Galletta’s Gas Stocker kart is probably the most affordable motor racing vehicle known to man. If you are a racer of another type of racing or wanna-be racer, you can (1) build your own for a few hundred dollars, or (2) rent a potent Galletta’s Team Kart, all of which have won features and can win features if a competent driver is in them. So… this means that if you are a karter or wanna-be racer, there are only three reasons for missing it. (1) inability to make the show because of prior commitments, (2) snobbery, or (3) or cowardice. Why?

There are legitimate reasons. Some people work or relax when we race. Some people live too far away to attend on a regular basis. Some have scheduling conflicts. And then there are just flat out many people who have absolutely zero interest in racing of any kind. These are legitimate reasons. However, here are some illegitimate reasons listed below:

Snobbery of our karts: Some local karters use the excuse of “yard karts?!” or “but they go the wrong way!” and mockingly turn away. We see it in person and also hear it second hand. Odd considering we respect the amount of money they spend on their more expensive brands of karts, but we do not respect their unwarranted snobby attitude. Just because we instituted rules to keep prices down, race with inexpensive single-wheel-drive setups, and have built (or rebuilt) most of the karts 100% from scratch, some karters believe that their pre-fabricated, expensively-maintained WKA-rules methanol motored cookie cutter karts are all the $#it. We have a lot of respect for that brand of racing, and consider racing them in the future, but for the most part, we have more fun and especially more AFFORDABLE fun in our specialized brand of karting then they do. They spend several times more money on their karts than we do, but just go a little faster than us on the average karting track. Plus, they cannot navigate a slightly bumpy track. Yet we all, no matter what class, can only win VERY little prizes or money in any local karting class (far less than the average WKA-rules karter spends). Finally, we have twelve operational karts, while they have only one or two. So who is the one who looks foolish or should look snobby towards the other? Try building your kart from scratch – no, excuse me, TWELVE karts from scratch – and race them every week before you mock us, slick.

Snobbery against us as racers: Many of the regular racers in the Galletta’s Karting club are good drivers, and would be better if they simply raced more often. Look at our past points standings and our history. We have many good drivers who have raced with us in the past, and although there are a few here or there who complain, the vast majority of them have fun,  respect us and our racing league. Look no further however, at one of our favorite Galletta’s Kart Club alum: Kyle Reuter. He’s a great driver, and especially with his dad’s expertise with motors, flat out near unbeatable in anything he’s raced – Quarter Midgets, WKA karts, whatever. Usually the only way he’d lose is if his vehicle died on him. He raced with us for over a year and had a great time, and he can tell you for a fact that we are good drivers with simply our own brand of inexpensive racing. So don’t look down on us when a guy who beat you on a regular basis raced with us and knows how tough it is to win in our class.

Cowardice against losing: Yes. Many people of other racing classes, especially other karting classes, fear racing us. The fact of the matter is, very few local karters have more experience (or wins) than Matt and his brother Chris Stevens; probably very few anywhere when you combine the two. They have been racing on a weekly basis every summer-through-fall since the early 1990s. And nobody has ever beat Matt and Chris in a points standings, nor has anybody but Matt, Chris, and Wes Stevens won a “Championship Classic” race in our over-a-decade history of racing them at Galletta’s, and our two-year history of racing them at Oswego. But the fact of the matter is, most of our regulars get disrespected unfairly as well, as most people couldn’t beat them either. Usually, the only way they ever do is to cheat and break our motor rules.

Cowardice against getting injured: Galletta’s Karts have been racing on a weekly basis all Summer and Fall since 1990. In that period of time, with hundreds of races and hundreds of drivers racing thousands of laps, we’ve only had ONE time where a driver broke a bone (last season, in a freak-luck accident where a kart flipped onto him after awkwardly hitting a tire wall). Every crash, collision or fall in any sport will have minor scrapes and bruises. Most have more significant injuries than than us. So, don’t be afraid of getting hurt. We’ve made the karts safer in the past year, and are constantly working more safety features in one thing at a time.

Belief that we “fix” or “rig” our events and cheat:  This one is easy to disprove. In fact, Matt works very hard to make all of his karts as fast as he can make them. Sometimes one or two get a bit beat up from being raced by inexperienced or wreck-prone rental drivers, or the motors get tired from so many races, but they only need a little TLC. Matt proves this time and time again by hopping into any of the karts – no matter how crappy or slow people think they are – and not only time-trial them faster than anybody else, and often win or place high in any race he races them in. Chris also does this, but not to the frequency that Matt does it with. So, our backup karts that we rent out are good karts, but if they aren’t quite as nice as the starter karts, that only means that renters have been crashing them and wearing their motors and parts out, NOT because we are rigging them to be slow. Countless experienced drivers scoring wins in them should prove that.

Belief that they are “too heavy” to win: This used to be a big problem for us. We used to have no way to make a driver over 200 lbs. have a chance in hell of winning. All of our winners weighed between 135-190lbs. between 1990 and 2004. That was when every motor was an absolutely equal box-stock 5hp flathead Briggs. We now make certain allowances for drivers over 200 lbs, such as lighter karts, allowing certain Dyno racing cams, more shaved heads, and/or racing headers or pipes. And for drivers over 250 lbs., we now allow Raptor carburetors. We used to allow 5.5hp-6.5hp OHV motors, but some people took them too far and began putting racing parts in them, which was unfair overkill against the spirit of good sportsmanship and talked-to-death in past pages of this website.

So, do not fear. Grow a set. No matter your age, weight, or racing experience, you can race and have fun racing in the Galletta’s Karting Club. No, it will NOT be easy to get a win, but certainly not impossible. You will be given a sporting chance for very little money. But you get bang for your buck and you will have to out-race VERY talented drivers. There is no better or cheaper motor sport competition ANYWHERE. Stop being a snob. Stop being a coward. Stop being such a whiny loser. Come on out and try!

↓ Transcript
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4th, 2008 - Twin-Features at the John J. Galletta Memorial Karting Speedway, won by Matt Stevens & Gary Miller Jr., his 1st win! However, the event was marred when Chris Stevens (yours truly) took a wild flip driving the Galletta's #7 and got a bit shaken and bruised up during the 1st feature, and elected not to compete in the 2nd. He's alright, and will be ready to go for the next race - which may be the 13th Annual Galletta's Klassic 200.