Galletta's Karting Club

Welcome! We are a Karting Club that invented and races extremely affordable 5hp flathead, Single Wheel Drive “Gas stocker” karts for a Points championship every summer at Galletta’s Greenhouse Karting Speedway and a traveling points show at other local area tracks. Hybrid between a yard kart and a WKA kart and built to race anywhere – the cheapest competitive karting series in the world!  Easy to set up, fun to race, affordable to build, and race weekly all summer. We also have recorded weekly dirt karting classes in the Oswego area and make them available on DVD, except one track that banned us because the operator and his crew were getting big-time shown up by karts that cost just a fraction of the cost of theirs. Weak, lame, and juvenile.

GALLETTA’S BACKYARD GO-KART SPEEDWAY 2009 SCHEDULE:

Card is subject to change. Dates and times are tentative, and based on (1) Weather, (2) Club Member/Regular Driver schedules. Dates can be removed or added based on regular driver work schedules and free time. Changes will be added/corrected as they come. Discuss here.
RAIN DATES: May be any day before or after each scheduled race. Will often be the following Monday or Tuesday. Call 315-343-0879, 315-343-4281 or check here for updates.
EACH PICTURE LINKS TO EACH RACE’S PAGE AND HAS A 2-10 MINUTE YOUTUBE VIDEO!

Race	Date (Subject to change)	Estimated Time (STC)	Event Name/Type (Card is subject to change – dates may move and/or lap totals/heat qualifiers may change – usually based on member votes. Practice is free for rookie-newbies, but call for appointment.)	Heats/ Qualifiers	Feature (Subject to change)
0	1/2009 Offseason News	-:–	Oswego Kartway Bars Our Karting Division from Competition	—	—

1	Sunday, June 7th, 2009	7:00pm	14th Annual Season Opener	10-lap	45-Lap
2	Sunday, June 14th, 2009	7:00pm	Summer Series #2:Twin-30s Interview Night	10-lap for Rookies	Twin-30s
3	Sunday, June 21st, 2009’s Rain-Date: Monday, June 22nd, 2009	6:30pm	Summer Series #3	10-lap	45-lap
	Friday, June 26th, 2009	10:00pm	Matt’s Time-Trial Session #1 (Matt takes all of the karts out and times them. The goal is to get all the karts as-close-as-possible to the same speed, and the slowest karts get some TLC to get them up to par. When you see how close our racing is, this means he is doing a great job.
4	Sunday, June 28th, 2009 and Monday, June 29th, 2009	6:30pm	Regular Summer Series Both days RAINED OUT	10-lap	Twin-30s
5	Sunday, July 5th, 2009	6:00pm	Independence Day: Twin 30s and Powder-puff Race!	10-lapsFor Rookies & Refreshers	Twin-30s
6	Sunday, July 12th, 2009	6:00pm	Anti-Flowerphobe 50	N/A	50-Lap
7	Sunday, July 19th, 2009	6:00pm	The Elders Revenge 45	10-lap	45-lap
8	Sunday, July 26th, 2009 rain date: Monday, July 27th, 2009	6:00pm	Post-Harborfest Twin 30s Night	10-lap	Twin-30s
9	Sunday, August 2nd, 2009 rain date: Monday, August 3rd, 2009	6:00pm	The Shovel-Stalker Didn’t Come 60	N/A	60-lap
10	Sunday, August 9th, 2009	5:30pm	Regular Summer Series #10	N/A	50-Lap
11	Sunday, August 16th, 2009	5:30pm	Night of a Thousand Cautions 45	10-lap	45-lap
12	Sunday, August 23rd, 2009	5:30pm	Galletta’s Family Reunion Cookout Race	10-lap	30/45 Vets
13	Sunday, August 30th, 2009 rain date: Monday, August 31st, 2009	5:30pm	Regular Summer Series #13: Twin 30s Night	10-lap	Twin 30s
14	Monday, September 7th, 2009	5:00pm	Labor Day Special 45	10-lap	45-Lap
15	Sunday, September 13th, 2009	6:00pm	Final Regular Season Summer Series 45	10-lap	45-lap
16	Saturday, September 19th, 2009	4:00pm	The Arrival of Professor Speedmonkey 25	N/A	25-Lap
17	*Friday, September 26th, 2009 *Saturday, September 26th, 2009 *Sunday, September 27th, 2009	N/A	OPEN DATE/ NO SCHEDULED RACES: Friday evening was another tune-up/time-trial session for Matt to get all the karts fast for Klassic. Success: All are VERY close in speed! Also, Matt’s two Karts were NOT the fastest, either.	N/A	N/A
18	Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 KLASSIC IS HERE!	2:00pm	The 14th Annual Galletta’s Go-Karting Klassic 200 Championship Race (& Plate-to-Pass Cookout)	Time Trials/ Rookie B-Main	200-LAP!
19	*Sunday, October 11th, 2009	7:00pm	’09 Fall Bonus Points Series #1	N/A	25-Lap
20	*Sunday, November 8th, 2009	7:00pm	’09 Fall Bonus Points Series #2	N/A	40-Lap
—	Sunday, June 6th, 2010	N/A	Next scheduled race will be our 15th Annual Galletta’s Backyard Karting Speedway Season Opener! See you next Summer!	TBA	TBA

Now… what was the result of all of these splendid races? Now, see that result! Here are the fancy points and wins from those races!

2009 Gas Flathead Dirt Karting World Championship Point Standings: 

After 18 combined events at John J. Galletta Memorial Go-Kart Speedway  from 6/8/2009 -thru-11/8/2009.
Our complete Points Standings from the prior eight seasons are found on this webpage.

Pos.	Name (Go-Karts Piloted)  ~ Colored Border Pics have Profiles ~	Years Pro at Galletta’s	Total Points (Place)	Average Points Per Event	Events	Features	Heat Wins	Feature Wins	Win| Klassic	Feature Win %
1	Chris Stevens (Galletta’s #4, 8, 5, 2)	14th	2,983.5	165.85	18	22	0	3	0|1	17%
2	Matt Stevens (Galletta’s #33, 3, 1, 7)	14th	2,939.5	163.31	18	22	2	8	1|1	36%
3	Russ Hockey (Hockey #00, Galletta’s #9)	3rd	2,571.0	171.40	15	18	4	2	0|1	11%
4	Melissa Stevens (Stevens #19, 80)	3rd	2,421.0	142.41	17	21	2	1	0|1	5%
5	Buddy Cottom (Galletta’s #5, 6, 4, 1, 2)	3rd	1,934.0	138.14	14	18	2	1	0|0	6%
6	Gary Miller Sr. (Miller #24, Galletta’s #0)	5th	1,816.5	121.10	15	19	1	1	0|0	5%
7	Larry Phillips (L&K Small Engine #04)	2nd	1,290.0	117.27	11	14	0	1	0|0	7%
9	Tim Galletta (Galletta’s #7, 9, 2)	1st	1,186.0	169.43	7	8	1	0	0|1	0%
8	Fred Collins (Galletta’s #9)	5th	1,117.0	139.63	8	11	1	2	0|0	11%
11	George Russell (Galletta’s #2)	1st	821.0	273.67	3	4	1	0	0|1	0%
10	Jesse Vivlemore (Galletta’s #0, 5)	3rd	773.0	193.25	4	4	1	0	0|1	0%
12	Shadoe Russell (Russell #26, Galletta’s #1)	1st	624.0	208.00	3	4	0	0	0|1	0%
13	Jason Mills (Galletta’s #2)	9th	482.5	160.83	3	5	1	1	0|0	20%
14	Nick Dann (Galletta’s #7, 4, 0, 1)	4th	460.5	115.13	4	6	0	1	0|0	17%
15	Mike “MC” Howell (Galletta’s #2, Russell #26, Hockey #00)	3rd	443.0	221.50	2	2	0	0	0|0	0%
16	JD Davis (Miller #24)	®	390.0	390.00	1	1	0	0	0|1	0%
17	Kevin Galletta (Galletta’s #9, 0)	1st	370.0	123.33	3	3	0	0	0|0	0%
18	“CM Bigfoot” (Galletta’s N/A)	N/A	360.0	360.00	1	1	0	0	0|1	0%
19	Kelly Miller (Galletta’s #7, 4)	3rd	320.5	106.83	3	5	1	0	0|0	0%
21	Brian Galletta (Galletta’s #5, 4)	4th	309.0	103.00	3	4	0	1	0|0	33%
20	Dick Dann (Dann #68)1 = Methanol	4th	277.5	138.75	2	2	1	1	0|0	50%
22	Kenny Lindsley III (Galletta’s #2, 1)	2nd	240.5	120.25	2	2	0	0	0|0	0%
23	Tony Gonyeau (Galletta’s #1, 7, 0)	®	226.0	113.00	2	3	0	0	0|0	0%
24	RaYzor _______ (Last name withheld via paranoia) (Galletta’s #7, 2)	1st	147.0	73.50	2	2	0	0	0|0	0%
25	Soliman Barakat (Galletta’s #4, 1)	®	144.0	144.00	1	2	0	0	0|0	0%
26	Bob Galletta (Galletta’s #4)	®	139.0	139.00	1	1	0	0	0|0	0%
27	Asaad Al-Hanini (Galletta’s #2, 7, 1)	®	137.0	137.00	1	2	0	0	0|0	0%
28	Todd Sharp (Galletta’s #9)	®	135.0	135.00	1	2	1	0	0|0	0%
29	Jeff Tetro (Galletta’s #6)	1st	132.0	132.00	1	2	0	0	0|0	0%
30	Justin Bonacquisti (Galletta’s #5)	®	130.0	130.00	1	2	0	0	0|0	0%
31	Josh Chetney (Galletta’s #1)	®	124.0	124.00	1	2	0	0	0|0	0%
32	Justin Galletta (Galletta’s #1)	®	123.0	123.00	1	1	0	0	0|0	0%
33	Austin Hicks (Galletta’s #24)	®	118.0	118.00	1	2	0	0	0|0	0%
34	Dan Woodard (Woodard #w5) * = Stock 6.5hp	1st	118.0	118.00	1	1	0	0	0|0	0%
35	Gary Galletta (Galletta’s #6)	®	115.0	115.00	1	1	0	0	0|0	0%
36	Andrew Miller (Galletta’s #0)	®	108.0	108.00	1	1	0	0	0|0	0%
37	Nazeha Al-Hanini (Galletta’s #7)	®	108.0	108.00	1	2	1	0	0|0	0%
38	Terry Miller (Galletta’s #5)	®	106.0	106.00	1	2	0	0	0|0	0%
39	Jesse Newcombe (Galletta’s #4)	®	106.0	106.00	1	2	0	0	0|0	0%
40	Neaiamh Al-Hanini (Galletta’s #1)	®	104.0	104.00	1	2	0	0	0|0	0%
41	Ron Rowe (Galletta’s #2)	®	101.0	101.00	1	1	0	0	0|0	0%
42	Josh Herscha (Galletta’s #0)	1st	100.0	100.00	1	2	0	0	0|0	0%
43	Zack Sawyer (Galletta’s #1)	®	95.0	95.00	1	1	0	0	0|0	0%
44	Eddie Scruton (Galletta’s #6)	1st	93.0	93.00	1	1	1	0	0|0	0%
45	Brian Paul (Galletta’s #1, 7, 2)	®	87.0	87.00	1	1	1	0	0|0	0%
46	Ken Pierce (Galletta’s #7)	®	86.0	86.00	1	1	0	0	0|0	0%
47	Brandon Matott (Galletta’s #0)	®	84.0	84.00	1	1	0	0	0|0	0%
48	“Professor Speedmonkey” (Galletta’s #1)	N/A	73.0	73.00	1	1	0	1	0|0	100%

For the All-Time Points Series — added up after the FINAL Fall race each season — go here.
For the 2009 Summer Season Points Finale — added up after the Klassic — go here. * = Fall Series races are subject to change. As always, they are Saturday afternoons OR substituted with a Sunday-night rain date, and are often subject to change dependent on driver interest/attendance, as it usually wanes after Labor Day (work, school, cold, rain, driver burnout). All Fall races DO NOT COUNT for Annual Track Championships (which are all Summer races concluding with each Klassic 200). However, Fall races DO count for ALL-TIME POINTS totals, which is why they are BONUS POINT races! Summer series dates are fairly firm, although regularly attending drivers can request to have certain times or days.Start times:
1. Veterans should arrive on-time OR LOSE YOUR HANDICAP STARTING POSITION. Summer-race starts are usually around 6:30p.m. every Sunday (weather) for veterans and experienced rookies, or every other Saturday or some Sundays in the Fall. See front page of website weekly.
2. 1st-time rookies with little-or-no experience should arrive at least 30 minutes before start time veterans so they can be signed up and get a practice and a qualifying race in before the veterans get ready to race. This is important! The veterans can run for days with few cautions, but it takes time for newcomers (prior racing experience or not) to get used to the feel of the karts and the fastest grooves on the track (usually takes between 1-10 races to get a good hang of it, and compete to win within a few races to a year of getting the hang of it.)

Mandatory To Race:
1. Helmet (full-faced helmet, shield that can be seen out of. We have a limited amount of spares if you do not have one, but bring your own if you do own one)
2. Full skin coverage (No exposed skin. Pants, long sleeves, gloves, shoes must all be worn)

Strongly Suggested to race:
1. Neck brace (We have one or two spares, but it is advisable to bring your own if you have one, and buy one if you don’t)
3. Padding (Not mandatory, but if you have chest, elbow, and/or knee pads that do not restrict flexibility too much, then they can’t hurt)

Prices:
1. To watch the races: Absolutely free. We aren’t a racing facility, we race for fun in the backyard, and if you want to watch the races, just pick a safe spot away from the racing surface and enjoy! If you’d like to donate, by all means, do so. Matt runs all of these karts out of his own pocket, and the same goes for our visiting kart owners.
2. To bring your own kart: No fee. A $3-5 donation (or gas, or parts, or help) is suggested to help Matt with time and expenses with track work, water, and electricity for lights and welders is a nice tip. ESPECIALLY if there are no “renters” (see 3).
3. To use one of the 12 Galletta’s Racing Karts: There are no standard fees, but a donation of anything between $10-20 is what the karts need to be run on a weekly basis for a regular-season race (usually 45-60 green-flag laps). If you don’t have $15 or so to donate, then the karts don’t get fixed when they need repairs and maintenance, and they don’t get filled with gas. They run 100% on non-profit donations, and no money is made from these donations. Every year, Matt loses money on them, but as long as it comes close to breaking even, we race every week because we love racing, and feel like no other karting club in the world does what we do: super-affordable, fast, competitive, equalized, and fun racing on a weekly basis!
4. To buy a DVD of the races: Usually the master DVD is ready next day after the race, and will be copied-to-order only. Disc plays in any DVD player, and are $5 each disc. We have almost every race dating back years on DVD. Ask Chris.

• KEY & NOTES:
• It is free to attend a Galletta’s Karting Event. There is no charge to watch a Galletta’s race – it is not a public track, although you may attend via request or invitation – the only requirement is, because there is potential for injury,  is to just BE SAFE and sign a waiver ensuring that you will not hold anybody responsible for injuries. You may only race if you are a club member, which is free of charge, and involves signing a waiver and agree to race as many weekends as you can, honor all rules, regulations, and prove that you can race safely. You may enter your own kart (must be a  clockwise gas Briggs & Stratton 5hp engine kart with stock ’90s carb; aka a Galletta’s-type Supermodified Racing Yard Kart), The only cost is if you wish to borrow a backup Team Galletta’s Kart, where there will be a nominal gas & parts donation so that we can prepare the kart for you to race ($10-20 depending on kart/gas usage/damage/laps). We are a private race club in a private backyard raceway, not-for-profit, and not a business nor a professional race facility. 
• THIS IS A TRACK THAT RUNS ON VOLUNTEERS AND DONATIONS AMONGST MEMBERS, MOST OF WHOM ARE CLOSE FRIENDS AND FAMILY. While it is free, you are expected to donate your time, kart parts, tires, lights, cash, or anything that can be used on the track or in the karts. We charge no money and make no money – and whatever kart repairs come out of Matt’s wallet and time of day. Don’t be a freeloader, as the track doesn’t exist without people helping each other and racing! The track exists because friends and family take their time to do it and want to have an extremely affordable way to kart without outrageous prices and dictator-kart-operators found in “organized” kart racing tracks filled with beauty-pageant-dads and people who take it too seriously (it’s just kart racing, folks! If my website offends you, then you just don’t get it!).
• Practice is free for rookie-newbies, but call for appointment. Practice for vets a small tip for Matt’s track work or volunteer to do track work assists  for vets. Small donations to Matt for track work are strongly suggested, as he does not get paid for his efforts. Donations in terms of cash, kart parts, lights, gas, or anything that can be used on the track or karts is welcome, as this is a free kart club run completely by volunteers and no funding.
• The schedule is basic and open, and drivers can request on special shows on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays (must have at least 8-10 regular drivers to create a special event).
• ** = In case you missed it, we are no longer allowed at Oswego Speedway’s “Little O” Dirt Oswego Kartway. The reasons were never given, other than a few weak and demeaning ones, such as Fartgay operator James A. Losurdo personally hated us despite all of the support (brought ourselves and an entire class of 6-15 paying customers per week) and services (free website and word-of-mouth promotion, and weekly complete show $5 race DVDs) and used insurance, Steve Gioia’ s paranoia, and a missed off-season/mid-winter meeting at a bowling alley as an excuse to boot us. In addition, they didn’t want to pay us for the logo (and still haven’t a year later), and apparently,  few of the more prissy and arrogant methanol kart drivers – most of whom we have never met and don’t even know – had a problem with karts costing a quarter of the cost of theirs getting the same amount of track time and putting on every bit the show as–and many times putting on a BETTER and cleaner show than– their expensive karts, so would mock us on public forums. While we initially were peeved, we will be saving large amounts of money (totaling over $2,000 collectively that we could use on our own track and karts, or just save it), and now have hours more free time to actually work... (instead of collecting worker’s comp yet be healthy enough to work on a kart, track, and race, like we’ve heard some of them do.)

Each event will have an order of races:
1. Some special events will be preceded by a cookout
    (drivers/spectators expected to bring food & share, or pay to part & gas fund)
2. Rookie/Newbie Practice (if newbies attend)
3. Rookie/Newbie Qualifier/Heat (s) (if newbies attend)
4. Veteran Qualifier/Heat (s)
5. Rookie/Newbie Feature  (if newbies attend)
6. Main Event Feature (s)NOTE: Rookie/Newbies (drivers with less than 10 races under their belts) can have practice sessions.

Galletta’s Handicap System for regular-season feature and heat:
1. Veterans who have never once won a feature in their careers (ordered via inverted points-per-race)
2. Rookies (with at least a couple completed features; ordered via inverted points-per-race)
3. Veterans who have not won in current season (ordered via inverted points-per-race)
4. Veterans who have won in current season (ordered via inverted [1] Wins, [2] Points-per-race)
5. Rookies (drivers who have either limited or no prior experience, until they can prove to drive clean lines and not spin out.)

Why we do this?: This system usually provides the best-possible scenarios for racing. It gives everybody a great shot at having a competitive race, giving people who are starving for a win a good shot at getting one, and making people who have won have to earn it. Rookies get worked into the system after a few races, usually just after one or two (they must prove they can run clean lines and avoid spins & accidents). We used to allow rookies up front, but we had far too many accidents. It is safer and better racing for everybody this way. It also makes for more different winners and exciting close action than any other handicap system in the world. Bar none.
Why not just draw?: Drawing out of a hat is weak, and it is basically gambling on whether or not it is going to be a good race. And, by the laws of averages, will make for a boring race 99 times out of 100 because some fast guys will be up front, some in back, while some slow guys will be up front, some in back. Besides, it’s anti-str8, not very professional, and used by lazy, stupid race operators.
Why not just invert the heats?: Because then people purposefully lay back in the heat to start up front in the feature. Duh.
I thought you invert some races?: Yes. On Twin-30 nights, the first feature is handicapped via the above formula, the 2nd feature is usually inverted from the finishing order of the 1st feature (minus 1st-timers, still in the back for safety purposes). Nobody lays back in a feature because you’re going for wins and points are at a premium in features.
What about time-trials?: Yes, once per year. The Galletta’s Klassic Championship Race is a marathon event (200 Laps as of 2007), and time-trials will only determine the starting order. Anything and everything can happen in 200 laps (that take 16-17 seconds per lap) , and the most experienced vets pace themselves for a large percentage of the show. The formula for all-time-leading Klassic winner, Matt Stevens, has always been that he times up near the front, drops to the back to save his kart, then pick off beat karts at the end of the race. Chris and Wes, the only other two Galletta’s Klassic winners, have also used this formula to differing degrees, so the start rarely matters in a marathon race, the finish does. It only really matters in a short sprint race (which makes time-trials and drawing even more asinine, unfair, and unprofessional).
Why do you start single file?: We do for regular-season events. Why? Because we race open-wheel AND we want to give people the best chance to hold off a slightly faster/more experienced driver or kart. Double-file starts are not only more likely to have wrecks, but they also reward a faster guy in the back to can easily pick off karts out of the faster groove. We’d only consider doing them if we had at least 15 karts on the track.
Do you ever start double-file?: We do start double-file in the Galletta’s Klassic. Since it is 200 laps, it is a tradition, and tip-of-the-hat to the Oswego Speedway Classic, which inspired our whole race track’s size, shape, handicapping, and “Klassic” starts. Not the Oswego Kiddie-Cookie-Cutter-Cluttered-Clique-Kartway, however – who never had an original thought that they didn’t take from our advice or example – boot us out for no reason, then mock us afterwards. Wannabes. 😛

Index & News Page | Rules Page | Galletta’s Track All-Time Points | Oswego Kartway All-Time Points: Gas Stockers | 2-Track All-Time Points | All-Time Win Stats| 2008 Season | 2007 Season | 2006 Season | 2005 Season | 2004 Season | 2003 Season | 2002 Season | 2001 Season | 2000 Season | 1996-1999 Seasons |Humorous History | Message Board | YouTube Videos | What is a Galletta’s 1-WD Gas Stocker Kart? | DVDs

Want to race in a weekly karting series but can’t afford it? Now you can. We are a homemade and inexpensive alternative to the costly WKA-type karting series. Literally a grass roots karting league invented in the early 1990s essentially as a “Racing Yard Kart” carting league, and running collectively hundreds of drivers in hundreds of races on two tracks every Summer-through-Fall in Central NY. Points standings and online descriptions weekly. Join us racing by either building your own or renting one of our team backup karts. Our karts are not only cheaper than WKA/NKA karts, but also cheaper than “Clone/Box Stock” karts, as the entire class uses “used” 5hp flathead motors, mostly used or homemade frames, ban high-priced racing parts and limit most racing modifications. No “rich” engine builders, no secrets kept – all friends and families racing and having FUN! No fighting and no whining about the rules or rough riders! Clean , affordable racing. Build a kart for a few hundred bucks. Race all season for maybe $10-30 a week. Acquire speeds comparable to karts that cost three to ten times as much. Please read on and learn more about our extremely affordable brand of highly competitive racing! We’re always looking for new racers! Start racing, affordably, today!

YouTube And the complete and high quality races found on this site and YouTube can be purchased in our Galletta’s Go-Kart DVD store! Our race photos hosted by Photobucket.

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Comments, questions, and additional info with Galletta’s Kart Club drivers and officials can be found on our new message boards. ->