Galletta's Karting Club

Our 25th Points Championship Race season can be watched in its entirety via this above video playlist (from one, two, and sometimes even THREE HD video angles)! And below is the complete week-by-week rundown that had 40 different drivers enter 12 feature races ran on 9 weekends between June 14th, 2020 through October 10th, 2020, making it one of our better seasons despite the COVID-19 lockdowns that shut down small businesses and racetracks round not only our area, and country, but also the world. And always remember, every week’s description and victory photo links to each individual race’s video playlist, pictures, and points. Enjoy!

10/10/2020 – 25th Annual Galletta’s Klassic 200 – In Memory of Brian Galletta [+YouTube]

The 25th Running of the Galletta’s Go-Karts Klassic.

Saturday, October 10th, 2020 – The Galletta’s Greenhouse Go-Karting Klassic began in 1995. The annual running to decide our yearly champion (in both points and the Klassic itself) was modeled after brothers Chris and Matt Stevens’ love of Supermodified racing at Oswego Speedway, with just themselves and their dad in yard karts in the backyard behind Galletta’s Greenhouse, where they lived as kids and now each have homes on the property with kids of their own.

Little did we know that 25 years later, we’d have around 20 karts on hand (although some come and go depending on different owners), hundreds of people would have raced with us over the years, we’d have 12 (sometimes more) drivers on track, and we’d actually run a Klassic when our model — Oswego Speedway — couldn’t run theirs due to the COVID-19 restrictions passed down by the State leadership hundreds of miles away. And nor could we have predicted running one without Brian Galletta — one of the original racers of our club, and 1st cousin of co-founder Chris and Matt and brother to racer Kevin Galletta — whose untimely passing on Christmas 2019 shocked and saddened all who knew and loved him. MORE HERE!

Spoiler Alert: Galletta’s Greenhouse Speedway 2020 Champions

The top 4 finishers in the Klassic (although one had to be force ghosted in, as he left before the pics), also consisted of the top 3 point scorers of 2020. And the Spirt of the Late Brian Galletta stopped by… oh wait, Brian!!! This is a family-friendly site!!!! *sigh*

• 2020 Overall Points Track Champion: Chris Stevens (2nd in Klassic 200)
• 2020 Klassic 200 Champion: Matt Stevens (1st in Klassic)
• 2020 Visitor’s Points Track Champion: Travis Bartlett (4th in Klassic 200)
• 2020 Rookie of the Year: Travis Bartlett (4th in Klassic 200)
• 2020 Top Visiting Finisher in Klassic: David Hartpence Jr.  (3rd in Klassic 200)

…MORE KLASSIC COVERAGE HERE!

2020 Regular Season:

9/6/2020 – Nicolas Olivares Wins 2 Weeks in a Row – a 12-Kart, Labor Day 45-Lapper 70-LAPPER?!

Sunday, September 6th, 2020 – 13-Karts, 45-Laps! No… due to cautions, 69 total laps! CLOSE, competitive, and FUN racing on a track that held up better than it has in MANY years (possibly ever)! BUT… unfortunately… it was also one of those nights with lots of cautions which greatly slowed the otherwise intense, back-and-forth action. But that shouldn’t take away from Nicolas Olivares’ 2nd Feature win in 2 weekends at Galletta’s! NOTE: It’s a busy work week month for the webmaster, so videos and points will come as soon as I have time! 9/23 UPDATE: Points are done and video too! Thanks and see ’em here!

8/30/2020 – Another Twin 25s Night! 15-Karts & Won by Nicolas Olivares and Chris Stevens [+YouTube]!

Sunday, August 30th, 2020 – Nicolas Olivares took the lead on the 1st lap of the 1st 15-driver/14-kart/25-lapper and led the entire race relatively unchallenged for his 2nd career regular feature win at Galletta’s (he also won the makeup point heat race). Chris Stevens then boarded the rocketship #4 and blew away the field in the 2nd 25-lapper (making it 2 for 2 since the engine was rebuilt after a blown rod it suffered during the 2019 Klassic). For full race info and points, go here.

8/16/2020 – A Sudsy 45-Lap Feature Event – The Revenge of the #4! [+YouTube]

Sunday, August 16th, 2020 – After a 2 week hiatus with no racing (one that we took off in order to repair a few karts and fix the track, the 2nd because nobody showed up!) we finally got a race accomplished, this week with 11 karts filled! And it was another good one, with the track and karts holding up well (minus the #2’s motor lost a rod… RIP). But the story was the #4 kart must’ve wanted revenge for a blown rod robbing it for a win in the 2019 Klassic 200, and just rebuilt, it punished all! So fast it was, that Chris himself pondered how unfair it was and didn’t feel great about such an effortless win because of it! :O! (But then, he knows what Matt feels like dominating the rest of the field, so he didn’t feel quite so bad….) Videos and updated points are HERE.

7/26/2020 – 20-Lap B-Main Qualifier & 45-Lap Feature Event! [+YouTube]

Sunday, July 26th, 2020 – Due to a shortage of karts and an abundance of drivers, we had to have a B-Main where the top-3 made the regular 45-Lap feature. The full rundown of drivers, positions, points, and race videos are all here! The above video playlist has the Tower cam footage of the whole event, Helmet cam footage from the 45-Lapper, and the B-Main plus stationary Feature footage from the Rear Camera. Go here for the full updates!

7/19/2020 – A New Winner Emerges in a Rookie-Filled 45-Lapper (And Another HUGE Crash) [+YouTube]

Sunday, January 19th, 2020 – Keith Raymond went from the thrill of victory last weekend, to the agony of defeat–er, crashing this one. Keith assured us he was shaken, not stirred, and was ok. Here are both camera angles of the incident, and if you let the video play, all the action from the Tower and helmet cameras are set to play right behind it!But the night was not all about the crash. Several new drivers joined us — including 2019 Supermodified Classic 200-winner Tyler Thompson — and made for an overall good show despite the track getting rough as the race neared its conclusion. OH… and a first-time winner emerged — the Son of Kelly Miller IN the Kart that Kelly won the 2013 Galletta’s Klassic 200 in — Steven Perez in the Galletta’s Greenhouse Racing Team #7 Kart! More here.

7/12/2020 – The Return of the Barber! Chris Stevens and Keith Raymond win the Twin-25s! [+YouTube]

Sunday, July 12th, 2020 – Good Guys Barbershop’s Keith Raymond makes it to his 1st race since the 2018 Klassic 200 and put the Galletta’s Greenhouse Racing #0 back in victory lane, winning the 2nd of two 25-Lap Features! Chris Stevens put the Galletta’s Greenhouse Racing #8 in Victory Lane in the 1st. The track held up well (Matt Stevens MUST be thanked for his tireless track work during the week, and the rain certainly helped the track hold together as well), and the racing was close, clean and competitive. Enjoy sneak peeks at THREE unedited/unnarrated YouTube videos (Tower, Helmet Camera, and Rear-Turn Cams) here and more info as the week goes on!

7/5/2020 – A Rocky 25th Annual Independence Day 45 Leads to BIG Crash & Matt Stevens Getting an Easy Win! [+YouTube]

Sunday, July 5th, 2020 – Matt Stevens survived to win his 2nd feature of 2020. Even he had to admit, this one kind of fell into his lap, as early leaders Greg Blanchard (spin), Travis Bartlett (lost header pipe) and Chris Stevens (HUGE crash with Steve Sixberry) all ran into problems that led to him inheriting a win. But sometimes that’s how she goes and a win is still a win. Read more and enjoy the Tower camera and Helmet-cam angles of our Independence Day 45 Lapper, seen here!

6/14/2020 – 25th Annual Season Opener: 14 Karts, 45-Laps, Chris & Matt Stevens Survive to Take the Wins! (AKA, “Did We Hit a Bunny!?” Race)

Sunday, June 14th, 2020 – Our 25th Point racing season began — Chris & Matt Stevens outlasted 14 other competitors to win the 25/20 Lappers — but it went far from smoothly! Everything got started late and finished late. And during our twin feature races — particularly the 2nd feature race — the track started eroding and taking its toll on the karts and more and more started dropping out due to breakage, and even a couple of flips. And our camerawoman had to retire to put the kids to bed before the start of the 2nd as well. Just… everything piled on. Even the website coverage was behind due to the late night and errands I had to run for two weeks, myself! But it’s finally done! More here.

COVID-19 & Social Distancing:
Considering that most of the time, we only have 3-10 weekly racers and 0-5 spectators (and have never had more than 16 racers in a single race in our 25 year history despite having around 20 arrive-and-drive karts on hand), we do not anticipate COVID-19 shutdown, and will practice social distancing. Wear a mask if need be, but during the race, we’ll all be wearing our full-face shield helmets and racing in the dust and fumes, so good luck with the virus getting through all that. Spectators may only be allowed if can wear masks and keep social distance. Thanks!

Galletta’s Greenhouse Speedway 2020 FINALIZED Point Standings

All races from 6/14/2020 – 10/10/2020 (POST-Klassic 200):

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12/25/2019 – In Memoriam of Brian J. Galletta

Brian J. Galletta: March 13, 1977 – December 25, 2019

March 13, 1977 – December 25, 2019

With great regret and sadness we wish to pass along the unexpected news that one of the original and longest-running members of our karting class has passed away. Brian Galletta was a 1st cousin to club founders Matt and Chris Stevens, a nephew of current Galletta’s Greenhouse owners Wes and Mary Stevens, a grandson of Galletta’s Greenhouse’s founder John Galletta, and family member and/or friend to many racers and spectators to our races here over the years.

Brian Galletta’s Driver profile, which contains pictures and links to race videos of his triumphant wins and funny crashes — both of which he enjoyed sharing with all who cared to watch.

Brian had medical issues related to kidney disease — including a kidney transplant in his youth along with regular dialysis and seemingly countless related surgeries — throughout most of his life. Despite his health issues, he shook them off like they were nothing, something that always inspired us due to his bravery, cheerfulness, positivity, and unassuming toughness in the face of it. He was one of the 1st people to join our racing club in the early 1990s when it was only 1, 2, or 3 karts large, and basically only his health problems kept him away from racing on a weekly basis for decades like he wanted to.

His brother Kevin Galletta is also a long-time racer as well, and after Brian injured his legs in a fall that sadly forced him to fully retire from racing, he maintained ownership of some of his karts and motors for his sibling to run weekly. Even when he could not race, he often would help flag, count laps, and cheer his brother on (along with occasional heckling of his cousin, yours truly, Chris).

Brian always brought a smile to everyone’s face, as he had a great sense of humor and would always see the bright side of almost any situation. He won a handful of races during his sporadic career, but he was also known for having the misfortune of being in many wrecks that he, himself found humor in and enjoyed showing to everyone — so much so that he requested the site have them all posted in one place. Thus, his driver profile collects links to his victories AND his crashes (nearly all with full race videos) per his request. He really could put a smile on our faces when he would bounce up from a crazy accident with a smile and a joke.

We at Galletta’s share profound grief and overwhelming loss with everyone who knew him — friend and family alike. He is a rare soul, and we have no doubt he is smiling down from heaven with his no worries smirk and make us smile. We will miss him greatly. God bless.

Visitation was Sunday, December 29, 2019, 1-3 PM at Nelson Funeral Home followed by a funeral service at 3-3:30 PM. More info here.

Sincerely,
Chris Stevens

PS – 2020 UPDATE – Brian Galletta Memorial Race:

We will be planning an annual Brian Galletta Memorial race sometime during our 2020 Season. We will be discussing with some relatives and will select a date that works best for as many of them as humanly possible (some do not live in the area and would need to schedule a trip), so please stay tuned, with a midsummer weekend looking like a possibility. The date is not yet set, but there will be one! Brian was a big part of our club and we all will want to pay our respects and race in memory of him!

COMPLETE GALLETTA’S CLUB SEASON RACE AND COMPLETE VIDEO COLLECTION APPENDIX — 1990s-current:

Enjoy each of over two decades worth of our competitive point-racing seasons with these over 200 race pages by clicking on the picture to each season. Each season will have its own list of pictured race descriptions, point standings, driver profiles and complete races on embedded videos to each race (as early as the 2002 Klassic and complete season videos dating back to mid-2005). This is exhaustively done, and I really hope you appreciate the work we put into the site and the hundreds of races we show you for no charge, just… all I ask is please don’t use ad-blockers to help cover the site and server costs (which it never does)! Thanks! -Chris

2019 Season Index

24th Season – 2019: Started slowly due to a lack of weekly drivers, but as the season progressed, three newbie rookies had won features are were taking aim at the 200! In all, 24 different drivers ran in 15 regular features (we had many more “makeup races” which count as mega-point long heats as well), and 9 drivers took at least one feature win (vets Matt Stevens, Chris Stevens, Steve Sixberry, Adam Lytle, Josh Arnold, along with rookies Zach Blanchard, Greg Blanchard, Randy Baldwin, and last but not least — visiting driver track champ AND rookie-of-the year, Nicolas Olivares). When it was all said and done, Chris Stevens spent so many laps in the top 3 all season that he narrowly edged his brother for the ’19 Track Title despite only 1 win, while Matt took a different kart — the #74 that he co-owns with his brother — to win the 24th running of the Galletta’s Klassic Championship race. Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season!

2018 Season Index

23rd Season – 2018: Was a shortened season due to a lack of active weekly competitors. While we had 39 different drivers, due to most of them not racing weekly, we were forced to reduced to the usual 17 feature races to only 8. But after a long season of poor driver attendance, the drivers *finally* came through for the 23rd Annual Galletta’s Go-Kart 200-Lap Klassic Points Championship was held, 10-drivers strong, AND only 5 cautions!

Matt Stevens dominated the season with 5 feature wins (Kevin Galletta, Josh Arnold and Kelly Miller each won 1), but was almost swept in both the Points AND Klassic titles when his winless-in-’18 brother — and decades-long constant rival — Chris Stevens led most of the race stealing a large amount of leader bonus points. However, Matt caught his fuel-conscious brother Chris off-guard in the latter stages to barely block the steal, seal Chris’ technically 1st winless season, and held on to win his 13th Galletta’s Greenhouse Karting Speedway Klassic (His brother Chris has 7, while Wes Stevens, Kyle Reuter, and Kelly Miller each won 1). While Chris technically was winless in points races, he won the exhibition race (between he, Matt and Kelly Miller) held for Oswego Speedway Hall of Famer Doug Didero, but it was not counted for points (in hindsight, seeing how sparse our season was… it should have). The final order of the was also the final order of the point standings as well, with Matt, Chris and impressive rookie-of-the-year Steve Sixberry sweeping the top 3 in each. Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season! Read more about every race of 2018 and watch all of the complete race videos here!

2017 Season Index

22nd Season – 2017: Lasted from June 17th through October 13th, 2017, and was one of ups and downs. It started slowly due in part to weather and inability to get the track ready for our usual opener. After that, we had great difficulty keeping enough drivers on the track on a weekly basis. Half of the season was cancelled due to nothing other than not enough butts in kart seats. In the end, we did have 34 drivers racing in 17 features, but this number was inflated by both double-feature nights and many one-race-and-done racers. Only 4 of 34 drivers raced in every event, 21 of 34 drivers were rookies (most raced only once let alone even half the season), all 14 year record lows. And our 22nd Annual Galletta’s Go-Karts 200-Lap Klassic Championship was postponed after nearly a month of poor driver attendance & lousy weather. But the racing itself–when it happened– was exceptional. The story of the competition was the top 3 in points AND the Klassic as well: Chris Stevens, Matt Stevens, and Josh Arnold 1-2-3 DOMINATED the season, and because several regular veterans quit halfway into the season, 4th place wasn’t even close in either. Of the three who traded wins all year, Chris Stevens–despite not being the fastest kart at any point all season–benefitted by not wrecking a single time and staying in the top-3 all year, holding on to sweep both the Points Title and the Klassic by outlasting every other racer on a single tank of gas during the 200, a feat that he has somewhat made his specialty of late. Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season! Every race, with rundowns, points, and complete race ideos found here!]

2016 Season Index

21st Season – 2016: From from Sunday, June 12th, 2016 through Saturday, September 24th, 2016, 30 drivers racing in 14 feature events won by 7 competitors (Chris Stevens, Matt Stevens, Kelly Miller, Josh Arnold, Keith Raymond, Kevin Galletta and Adam Lytle) for our 21st Points Season at Galletta’s Greenhouse Backyard Karting Speedway. And for the 1st time in history, a driver challenged Chris and Matt Stevens’ vice-grip stranglehold on 1st and 2nd the point standings! Kelly Miller was lap for lap, pass for pass, point for point, win for win dead even with the brothers all season long, and the three leap-frogged each other every week leading up to our 21st Klassic to decide it all. Would Kelly become the 1st visiting driver to ever sweep the Points and Klassic titles? Or would the class-founding brothers retain 1st and 2nd for the 21st straight year? Well, why not see what went with our 200-Lap Klassic! Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season! Here are all the season pages, complete with all of our uploaded YouTube videos!

2015 Season Index

20th Season – 2015: Our 20th Season was a relief from 2014’s barren finish. Due to a few groups of rookies joining, we had 42 different drivers racing in 20 feature events won by 8 different feature winners (Chris Stevens, Matt Stevens, Adam Lytle, Keith Raymond, Melissa Stevens, Kyle Reuter, Eric Woolworth and Tony Cimilluca). The season was extremely competitive from start to finish, and it came down to a tremendous battle in the Klassic 200 between Chris Stevens, Matt Stevens and Kyle Reuter — arguably the best three lifetime karters in Oswego (anybody who has a beef with this? Show us what you got. Show up, put up, or shut up, thanks! We know why some never come, we know.). Chris and Kyle were the only two leaders in this year’s event, with them trading the lead due to lapped traffic and empty fuel tanks. But late in the race, when Reuter passed the fuel-starved Chris Stevens, and Matt Stevens broke in a crash, Chris refueled and shocked all with a slingshot pass past Reuter on the final green-white-checker for the the most climatic win in the Galletta’s Klassic history, and clinched his clean sweep of both the 2015 200-Lap Klassic and the 2015 Points Championship! One of our most exciting seasons in our history, capped by a fantastic Klassic finish, and probably the most exciting in our history! Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season! All of our complete race videos are available for viewing on our complete season index found here.

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2014 Season Index

19th Season – 2014:  Our 19th Season had 26 drivers compete in 15 feature events won by a staggering 8 different competitors (Matt Stevens, Chris Stevens, Adam Lytle, Kevin Galletta, Brian Galletta, Kelly Miller, Eric Woolworth, Kyle Reuter), but it did not end well. The season was tragically cut shorter than others due to low driver attendance by midsummer, a problem that caused self-inflicted wounds by making even gung-ho veteran drivers quit. Matt Stevens swept the driver-starved Klassic 200 (where he and Chris battled for over 80 straight green flag laps) and sadly short Season Points Championship, but it was perhaps our least-fulfilling season in well over a decade due to inconsistent and sparsely populated driver competition, despite the empirical fact that we had 20 karts on site all with near identical time trial speeds. The fact that it was the least-populated Klassic in THIRTEEN years, founders Matt and Chris Stevens worried all winter that without a new crop of drivers in 2015, we were left seriously doubting the future of the Galletta’s Greenhouse Backyard Karting Club. Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season! More on the complete YouTube Videos & Race Index.

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2013 Season Index

18th Season – 2013: The 2013 season was eventful, as 38 competitors raced in 24 features won by a staggering 12 different drivers (Chris Stevens, Matt Stevens, Eric Woolworth, Brian Galletta, Adam Lytle, Brandon “Tumor” Matott, Dave Spanfelner, Kevin Galletta, Joe Sereno, Ryan Palmer and Justin Galletta!)! And the most shocking surprise was the Klassic 200, where Kelly Miller became only the 2nd visiting driver (Kyle Reuter being the 1st) and 5th overall (counting Matt, Chris and Wes Stevens) to win a Galletta’s Klassic 200, having a duel for the ages with the ’13 track champion Chris Stevens and Oswego’s All-time winner/points earner Matt Stevens, where lapped traffic and kart wear took it’s toll and changed the outcome and made the finale an extremely exciting one. In fact, possibly the best 3-kart Klassic duel to date. Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season! The complete season is on YouTube video playlist and race pages, so go here for more.

2012 Season Index

17th Season – 2012: Had 39 drivers racing in 27 feature events that were won by 9 different savvy competitors (Matt Stevens, Chris Stevens, David Spanfelner, Brian Galletta, Melissa Stevens, Joe Sereno, Randy Platt, Tim Galletta and Justin Galletta). Matt Stevens was the performer of the year as he took the 2013 Points Title, but the Klassic would have a controversial finale. The founding brothers of Matt and Chris Stevens battled back and forth in the late stages of the Klassic, neither having an edge and only passing each other via lapped traffic. The controversy came when Chris got passed by Matt when a lapped kart got in his way, Chris backed off rather than hit the traffic and Matt passed them both. Chris dogged his bro down until the same lapped traffic came up, and Matt bumped the lapped kart out of the way, knocking him into Chris’ way which then brought out the caution and prevented Chris from getting his brother back. Chris was furious, and Matt, exhausted, put himself in the back, leaving Chris was able to pull away for the uncontested win. Several people protested that Chris won, and Chris himself vacated the win, which their “uncle” (and Galletta’s Mascot) Ogie Stevens took credit for it all. Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season! The complete race videos, race results and points info are found here.

2011 Season Index

16th Season – 2011: 25 competitors entered 21 feature events that were won by 8 different drivers (Matt Stevens, Chris Stevens, Tim Galletta, Melissa Stevens, Justin Galletta, Joe Sereno, Randy Platt and Jeff Tetro). Now while Matt Stevens won the track title and garnered the most wins (6), it was his big brother Chris Stevens that broke a decade-long dry spell to win his 1st Galletta’s Klassic since 2001 (and the 1st since it became 200 laps). And what more, he proved what many thought was impossible! Chris managed to run all 200 laps on one tank of gas while holding off his brother Matt (who had to refuel late after leading a fast-paced race battling with 2010 winner Kyle Reuter early on). It was one of the most strategic gambles in Klassic history to date, as if there were a few more laps, Chris would’ve been down to fumes with Matt ready to pounce on the lead. This is one of many reasons why the racers at Galletta’s feel you get more PURE RACING experience in our karts than any pay track’s 5-10 minute/20-50 lap races. 200 laps on a single 5hp Briggs stock gas tank… and WIN. Try that in any other karting division and get back to us, son. Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season! Complete YouTube Race Videos, results, driver profiles, points and pictures of every race found here…

2010 Season Index

15th Season: 2010: So it finally happened! Actually, TWO things! First, while we had a usual great season consisting of 29 drivers in 21 feature races, they were won won by a SHOCKING 15 different drivers (Chris Stevens, Matt Stevens, Melissa Stevens, Tim Galletta, George Russell, Shadoe Russell, Randy Platt, Arnold “AJ” Nason, Jeff Tetro, Mike “MC” Howell, Russ Bartlett, Gary Miller Sr., Kyle Reuter, Kelly Miller and Jared Halstead), with Chris Stevens surviving it all to achieve his 2nd track championship in a row. That shows parity amongst the karts! But the Klassic was the story of the season, as secondly, a visiting driver won a Galletta’s 200-Lap Klassic! Kyle Reuter became both the 1st non-founding/visiting driver to win a Galletta’s Klassic, and the 1st to win a one after climbing into a backup kart (The Galletta’s #0) after his starter kart the (Galletta’s #1) broke down around mid-race. While Kyle has countless Quarter-Midget and methanol flat-kart wins and championships under his belt, he said that this was, “the most fun I’ve ever had in a go-kart. WIth other classes, there’s a stress of the kart’s performance and sponsors… here, it’s just the pure fun of the race.” We agree, which is why we do this instead of dropping a few grand for stressful, expensive pay track racing. Kyle and the 14 other winners this season also proved an important point — Matt does not rig the karts for his (or his brother’s) advantage. In fact, if anything, he gives anybody the chance to race in a kart with equal or better power than his own. You just have to be a good enough driver to win it. This season, Kyle and the many other winners proved it can be done, and shut the critics up in more ways than one. Yet, why do so few show up still? Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season! More, including points, profiles, and complete race videos via YouTube here…

2009 Season Index

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Our History at Oswego Kartway

14th Season – 2009: Our ’09 season was the 1st in 3 years without Oswego Speedway’s dirt track as our second “away” track escape, as our karting class were barred from the Oswego Kartway in the off-season due to differences with the track operator, further punctuated by members from the track mocking our family, family business, names, careers, and even threatening us with physical violence. But that does not mean that we didn’t have a fun and action-packed season at our “home” track (as we did for 10 years before Kartway existed anyway). These numbers speak for themselves: A startling 48 drivers raced in 22 feature events, with 12 of them winning features (Chris Stevens, Matt Stevens, Russ Hockey, Melissa Stevens, Buddy Cottom, Gary Miller Sr., Larry Phillips, Fred Collins, Jason Mills, Nick Dann, Brian Galletta, and Dick Dann). This is a single class, not a dozen classes of 3-10 drivers with only a one or two people dominating it. This large number in different winners shows how equal our racing division is, which some naysayers complained that the brothers rigged it for themselves (patently false… if you are a good driver, you can win and compete for championships in our class, period. Chris Stevens finally broke his brother Matt’s Points Title domination, winning his 1st Track Championship in nearly a decade, but Matt Stevens again showed that he is the toughest man to beat in a go-kart in Oswego, NY, as he took the Galletta’s 200-Lap Klassic once again. Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season! Full race videos (via YouTube), race results, points and driver profiles are all available here…

2008 Season Index

13th Season at Galletta’s – 2008: Between Galletta’s and Oswego Kartway, we race a combined 27 drivers racing in a combined 27 events won by 10 different drivers (Matt Stevens, Chris Stevens, Russ Hockey, Melissa Gabel, Buddy Cottom, Dick Dann, Nick Dann, and Gary Miller Jr.), but it again was Matt Stevens winning the Track Championships on both, and technically, he won both Oswego Classic 50 and Galletta’s Klassic 200 (although he needed to beat a very game Buddy Cottom tod do so), but there was a mystifying controversy to the Oswego one at least.

3rd Season at Oswego Kartway – 2008:  For the 3rd straight full season, the Galletta’s Greenhouse 1-WD Gas Flathead Racing Club raced two tracks. We started in May at Kartway where Matt Stevens again proved he is capable of taking a kart with less horsepower and beat larger karts that used stock Animal engines (forced in our group by decree of the track operator), and he won the Mixed Motor Gas Stocker Point standings at Kartway (which they erased from their website, so you’ll only see it and full race videos to every division here).

2008 Oswego Kartway Index

Oswego Kartway Classic Champs

While we had 14 feature events won by 7 drivers (Matt Stevens, Chris Stevens, Wes Stevens, Dick Dann, Joe Hayden, Dave Melfi, and Nick Dann), after many arguments, late in the season we split the two gas kart motors into separate divisions, which ended the conflict for the drivers but yet seemed to increased it for the track operator. Matt Stevens dominated the ’08 Kartway Classic (Gas Flathead 1-WDs), but last lap controversy had Wes Stevens take it (under a presumed yellow) and Chris Stevens take 3rd to sweep the pedestal spots for the 2nd year in a row. The track operator then saw that it to be the karting class’ last race at the track that we were a part of since (even before) it started. Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season! Season rundown, final points TONS of FULL race videos from ALL karting divisions at the Kartway AND Galletta’s, and the confusing ending to the ’08 Classic video found here…

Oswego Speedway Classic Kart Track Champs!

2007 Season Index

2nd Season at Oswego Speedway Kartway: 2007 & 12th Season at Galletta’s: 2007: Was by far one of our busiest, most competitive and talent-stacked. Between the Oswego Kartway (back then simply known as the Oswego Speedway Dirt Track) and our Galletta’s track, 57 different drivers ran a combined 28 features, but the dominant factor all season on both tracks was Matt Stevens, as he won 14 of the 28 Mixed Motor gas stocker features on the two tracks while 8 other drivers (Chris Stevens, Kyle Reuter, Dick Dann, Melissa Gabel, Ryan Coleman, Eric Raponi, Gary Miller Sr., and Joe Hayden) divided up the rest of the HARD fought victories. Again there was controversy between OHV and FH motors racing in the same class, and while Matt was the man to beat in a flathead, the OHVs were proving to be too powerful for anyone else to touch. That was until the Kartway’s 1st Classic, a 15-kart/50-Lap event for the mixed-motor 1-WD ‘Gas Stocker’ class, where a few drivers battled it out in an exciting race, but Chris Stevens emerged on top on lap 50 to avenge himself for getting wiped out several times earlier in the season by one of the OHV Outlaw karts in the race. It also contained one of the scariest wrecks in our history (and one that has garnered by FAR the most hits on YouTube of our hundreds of videos; albeit bloodthirsty YouTubers wanted more violence apparently). However, Matt Stevens defeated a VERY talented cast of characters (including his brother Chris, Kyle Reuter, Ryan Coleman, Buddy Cottom and Mike “MC” Howell amongst others) to win both track Championships and the 12th Annual showing of the Galletta’s Klassic 200, sweeping both track titles in the division (the other classes at the pay track weren’t even keeping points then)! The only true downer to the season was Wes ‘Ogre’ Stevens’ bone-busting crash in the ’07 Klassic, which forced him out of weekly competition. Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season! More (including detailed race descriptions and hundreds of race videos) can be found here.

2006 Season Index

Inaugural Oswego Speedway Dirt Season!

1st Season at Oswego Speedway’s Dirt Track: 2006: In our 1st season at Oswego Speedway’s Dirt Track (later renamed Oswego Kartway), we went with the understanding that our class would have our own division not be forced to race methanol karts and turn clockwise (as most race divisions used methanol and turned counter-clockwise with 2-Wheel Drive live axles, where we are gas fueled and 1-WD). While we got that, oddly enough, the track operators would not let us have our own Galletta’s-style division with 1-WD gas flatheads and forced us to run with the 1-WD gas OHVs (remaining themselves “Outlaws”), and we somewhat had a repeat of the same argument that we had last season: “You have too much power!” vs. “You are too light!” We ran 7 events, and with 2 wins, Matt Stevens won the 1st and only Track Championship at the Kartway, as the other divisions didn’t keep even track of wins or points. Wes Stevens, Chris Stevens, Brian Bortel, Mike Billion (OHV), and Mark Miller (OHV) also won features, with Wes winning a 40-Lap “Bumpy Track Classic” (the 1st and only one there in ’06) where every methanol division refused to run due to the track being less than ideal. “Yard Karts” – 1, “Methanol Karts” – 0.

11th Season at Galletta’s: 2006: 35 different drivers raced in 18 feature events in ’06 and while 9 drivers won (including Chris Stevens, Wes Stevens, Rob Jimenez, Ed Maynes, Gary Miller Sr., Billy Kuykendell, Kyle Reuter and Brian Bortel and a tie between Chris and Bill), it was Matt Stevens took 8 of those himself en route to another Track Championship and Galletta’s Klassic Victory! More here, including points, driver profiles, and FULL race videos to the whole season! Updated with FULL race Videos to entire season!

2005 Season Index

10th Season –  2005: With a staggering 50 drivers running in 28 feature events won by 10 different drivers (Matt, Chris and Wes Stevens, Gary Miller Sr., Mark Miller, Mike Billion, Ed Maynes, Jason Mills, Neil Gosch, and Brian Bortel). ’05 was the season that we created this website, and around mid-season we video recorded every single race (w/DVD-R copies available locally, then years later uploaded EVERY SINGLE RACE to YouTube for anybody around the world with internet to view). Unfortunately, an extremely competitive and intense racing season was marred by the 6.5hp OHV vs. 5.0hp Flathead engine controversy that began when Mark Miller brought a group of drivers with bigger motors into weekly races. While we loved racing them, the very clear motor power discrepancy led to hard feelings between them and the drivers that used smaller, stock 5.0hp flathead motors. Matt Stevens, however, improvised and beat everybody no matter what motor they had, and won 12 feature events and the Klassic 125 en route to yet another clean sweep of the track points title and Klassic Championships. Plus… a somewhat oddly angry driver who tried out our club (and friends with the 6.5hp OVHs), began creating a little dirt track behind Oswego Speedway, with rumors of allowing us our own division next season. Sounds like fun… right? Updated with Videos! Full Race Index Page & YouTube Race Videos here…

2004 Season Index

9th Season – 2004: Another excellent season, one of our biggest with a STAGGERING 47 drivers entering an impressive 33 events, with FINALLY a breakthrough in multiple fashions with 9 different competitors (Ed Maynes, Dan Murdock, Jason Mills, Mark Miller, Brian Galletta and Matt Frey joining Matt, Chris and Wes Stevens) in Victory Lane! Another dimension was added to our division was realized when a handful of drivers (such as Ed Maynes and Mark Miller) started bringing their own karts. While Maynes came closer than anyone to usurp Matt or Chris from Klassic dominance (he almost lapped the field before suffering multiple mechanical problems), it was Matt Stevens who again emerged winner of both the Klassic and Seasonal Points Titles. Updated with Videos! Once again, the entire Klassic video is available (along with all driver and points info) on this page…

2003 Season Index

8th Season –  2003: Only 14 events were held in our disappointingly sparsely populated 2003 season, because even though we had 28 different drivers, most of them only races in a few races each after last year’s crop of very promising rookies just flat out quit early in the season, wrecking karts before they did. In the end we only had three different winners (Matt, Chris and Wes). Without Brian Galletta helping us out by bringing several friends to join in as late-season rookies, we may not even have had a Klassic! In the 8 kart/100 lapper, Matt was able to get a late-race pass on his brother when Chris’ foot fell off a wet gas pedal while leading, which secured Matt a sweep the Klassic and Track Championship Points Title yet again. Updated with Videos! Klassic video, full driver points and pics are available here!

2002 Season Index

7th Season – 2002: Had 14 drivers racing in 18 feature events, with a batch of rookies giving us some good competition. A batch of eager rookies led by Tom Culeton, DJ Barnes, Dan Lupa, and Dan Allnut joined during the ’02 Galletta’s Season and Klassic. Culeton proved to be the best visiting driver at Galletta’s SuperYard Karting Speedway to that date, as he won two events and led the Klassic early in 2002. In fact, he was the 1st visiting driver to outright win a feature at Galletta’s Go-Kart event in years! But it was Matt Stevens who took the 20012 Track Championship and Klassic 80, holding off his brother in both points and the Klassic. Updated with Videos! Season review, driver points and full Klassic YouTube video available here.

2001 Season Index

6th Season – 2001: In 2001, we raced 22 regular season point events and amongst the 15 drivers trying out the racing were big track guest-stars! We raced with brother Oswego Speedway Limited Supermodified drivers Fran Rowe, Cameron Rowe and Gordon Smallidge, Supermodified driver Randy Ritskes, Super Stock driver Joe Miller, in addition to Syrell Supermodified team members Eric Syrell, Sean Stevens, and Brian Galletta. Cam helped Matt create stagger on the karts, which in past seasons, we had absolutely none. This increased the speeds about one second on our box stock 5hp karts. Cam also won a feature (becoming the 1st visitor to ever do so in our 1990-2001 history). Updated with Videos! More driver points and info here…

2000 Season Index

5th Season – 2000: After 33 feature races, Chris Stevens again emerged from the 2000 season as the track champ and Klassic champ with 15.5 feature wins (including 7 straight), this time in the newly built Galletta’s Greenhouse Racing #5 kart. Matt Stevens tried a new kart in the Klassic, the Galletta’s Greenhouse #6, and while winning 9.5 features, he was unable to repeat the success of the #3 for beat Chris in the new #5. Wes “Ogre” Stevens also garnered wins, but to date, no “visiting” driver has won a feature at Galletta’s yet, as Chris. Matt and Wes all live and work on the same property. Updated with Videos! More info here…

1999 Season Index

4th Season –  1999: Chris Stevens finally broke his little brother Matt’s three-year unbeaten streak in 1999 with the Galletta’s #2 kart when he was able to win both the Track Points Title and the Galletta’s Go-Kart Klassic, although he battled all year with his bro Matt and dad Wes, who also acquired wins. Kart count improved to 4 karts (when the Galletta’s #1 became the 1st “built 100% from scratch” kart). Jesse Vivlemore, Ray Castaldo, and Brian Galletta joined us for a few races as well. Not a lot of pictures, but we do have videos (although most are yet to be uploaded). Updated with Videos! More info here…

1996 Season Index!

A young whippersnapper named Matt Stevens dominated 1996-98.

1st Three Seasons – 1996-98: The early years had No videos, but some grainy pictures and fuzzy memories listed here. Two brothers in their early 20s Matt and Chris started racing two yard karts (a converted Manco kart numbered #3, and a converted Thunder Island kart numbered #1), which later became three (a converted Manco yard kart numbered #4) leading to their dad Wes Stevens, the occasional friend (Jesse Vivlemore, Ray Castaldo, Dan Boyce) and/or some of their cousins (Brian and Kevin Galletta) occasionally joining in. Matt and his trusty #3 kart swept the 1st THREE Points Titles and 80-Lap Galletta’s Go-Kart Klassics in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

The Origins!

The Early Years: 1980’s! Our karting club is named not just because it is hosted and sponsored by Galletta’s Greenhouse, but because founder John Galletta wanted to make a karting track in the late 1970s and never finished it. Then, his grandsons Matt and Chris Stevens — fans of Oswego Speedway Supermodified racing and veterans of vicious sledding and pedal cart wars in their childhoods — built one in the early 1990s, which amazed Mr. Galletta shortly before his passing in 1996. This is the tale with some hyperbole and humor thrown in (to throw off the small but weird group of trolls that our racing division picked up in ’06-’09).

ALL-TIME GALLETTA’S KARTING CLUB & SPEEDWAY ALL-TIME (2000-2020) POINT STANDINGS:

Drivers all-time stats at two of Oswego, New York’s Dirt Karting Tracks: Galletta’s Greenhouse Backyard Karting Speedway (2000-2019), and separately the Oswego Kartway [1-WD Mixed Motor Gas Division] (2006-2008). You can scroll the chart left, right, up and down to see all 371 different drivers on record. NOTE: In-season points are not added to this total until after current season ends and pre-2000 Points & Wins are currently lost in storage (they will be added if located).