The History of the 200-Lap Karting “Klassic” of the Galletta’s Greenhouse Karting Club
The World Championship of Gas Flathead Karting is always decided in late September/early October annually at John J. Galletta Memorial Backyard Speedway.
Every Galletta’s Klassic Championship Race on Video:
In the early 1990s, Matt Stevens purchased a yard kart. Shortly after, his older brother Chris Stevens bought one. Then they bought another and got their dad Wes Stevens, cousin Brian Galletta, and occasional friends and other relatives to join. Year by year, they started building more and more karts, adding more and more laps, until it snowballed into what you see on this website. Chris and Matt were inspired by and emulated a race season like their beloved local racetrack Oswego Speedway, with a regular season points series and season Championship finale — although, unlike Oswego, we counted our 200-lapper in our seasonal points. That finale slowly evolved from 70 to 80, then 100, 150, and finally 200 laps. Here is the complete historical rundown of our annual Galletta’s Greenhouse Karting Klassic race.
The 1st-ever Galletta’s Klassics had just three karts and no videos (one may have video, but until it is found in storage, we assume it was either not recorded or lost); Matt in his trusty Galletta’s #3 (an old, rebuilt-for-racing Manco yard kart), Chris in the original Galletta’s #1 (an old, rebuilt-for-racing Thunder Island kart), and Wesley “Ogre” Stevens (in a BRAND-NEW, but rebuilt-for-racing Manco yard kart) battled it out. The two brothers and their father passed each other back and forth countless times — some clean and some not so clean — but while Matt Stevens emerged on top of the first Klassic, he dominated the second one, also winning the first two points series as well. [Until we find any video to the 1997 race, there is no video to the 1996 one, making for very limited coverage of these two Klassic Championship races.]
Again, Matt Stevens won the 3rd Klassic in utterly dominant fashion in his Galletta’s Greenhouse #3, again leaving his brother Chris (in the new Galletta’s Greenhouse #2) and father Wes “Ogre” Stevens (in the Galletta’s Greenhouse #4) in the dust. Matt often can be seen with ear-to-ear grins in this era of our club, although he should have been bored winning so much — Matt looked near unbeatable.
This Klassic had four karts, as the Galletta’s Greenhouse #1 was built, and was piloted by RaYzor Castaldo and Dan Boyce share the 4th ride, neither being competitive enough to race the entirety of the 80 laps. This was the first Galletta’s Klassic ever recorded on video, and we see Chris Stevens win in the Galletta’s Greenhouse #2 (the kart created from scratch and stripping the Gallettas Greenhouse #01 for parts), combining it with a victory in the total points series for the year as well, breaking Matt’s 3-peat of both titles!
Chris, Matt, and Wes ran 33 events and built the Galletta’s #6 and #5 making it so 3 more people could race with us. Chris Stevens was the dominant factor all year, winning 15 & 1/2 features (including 7 straight) en route to winning his 2nd straight Klassic in his brand new Galletta’s Greenhouse #5. Matt Stevens was so befuddled and utterly defeated by Chris in the #5 that he built and drove the brand-new Galletta’s Greenhouse #3² (later re-named #6), but still fell short. Brian Galletta and Larry Dishaw upped our Klassic count to five.
This season, word of mount started getting around and we started having big-track guest racers from Chris and Matt’s beloved Oswego Speedway join us and have a ball! Future Oswego Speedway Small Block Supermodified Classic winner Cameron Rowe (with his brother Fran), Randy Ritskes, Joe Miller, and Oswego Supermodified Team Syrell pit crew members Eric Syrell, Sean Stevens, and Brian Galletta. Cam Rowe helped Matt create stagger on the karts, which increased the track times by about one second. Chris Stevens completed a 3-year Klassic and track championship sweep in his Galletta’s #5 kart, matching Matt’s previous 3-year reign. The #7 was the new kart built this year, and being made with lightweight square tubing, became a handicap kart for bigger drivers.
A talented crop of rookie drivers joined, and amongst them, Tom Culeton became the first visiting driver to ever defeat Chris, Matt, and Wes to win a feature race at Galletta’s outright (Cameron Rowe won a feature the prior year, but he actually broke on the last lap and we granted him the win as a consolation prize). In fact, he didn’t just win one… he won multiple races, showing the kid could drive and (what many assume) that we “rig” it (BS, as proven time and time again — it’s the driver, not the karts)! Matt Stevens in the #3 finally snapped his brother Chris’ 3-year domination by dominating the final regular season race and then taking the Points Standings on the final night and then taking the Klassic, although Chris challenged him late in the Galletta’s #0, a rebuilt old-fashioned racing kart donated to the club.
We upped the Klassic to 100 laps this time, and Brian Galletta and friends – all inexperienced rookies – filled the karts for this one. The race was close between the more experienced Brian, Chris, Wes, and Matt, with Chris leading late and looking strong, but due to walking on the wet grass during a caution break, his foot slipped off the gas for a split instant enabling Matt Stevens to sneak by and emerge the victor late in the race in his Galletta’s #3, also taking the points title. That’s just how close our racing is, folks… A full season of racing, and both the points and “Classic” were decided in the final laps of the final race.
For the 1st time ever, we had competitors starting to bring their own karts instead of them all being only Galletta’s house karts, and it made for a great season! Ed Maynes and Dan Murdock shared co-rookie-of-the-year honors in another batch of talented young drivers. Chris was the fastest time-trial-er in his brand new #8 kart, but broke down early on with a mysterious intake issue. Ed rebelled against ALL prior Klassic strategies and tried to lap the whole field during the first half of the race (putting all but the top 4 karts down a lap before lap 20!), but broke down before he could do so (and the reason why most drivers try to save their karts for the last laps, not the 1st). Matt Stevens then pulled away after Ed’s break, and was never even challenged Galletta’s #3, again also taking the points title. Again, Matt proved that no karter in Oswego is in his class.
Another full field for the 2005 Klassic. This season saw several people start bringing their own karts, including Gary Miller, who shared rookie-of-the-year honors with Rob Jimenez, who used Chris’ backup #5 all year. This Klassic saw Gary, Fred Collins, Ogre Stevens, and Rob duke it out, but it was Matt Stevens who AGAIN took the win in his #3 when everybody else spun and wrecked in front of him on a mid-race restart. Again, he also took the points crown. Oddly, for the 2nd straight year, Matt, Jason, and Chris finished 1-2-3 in the Klassic. On a side note, this was the first season that we were not 100% box stock. We “shaved” our heads to compete against 6.5hp OHV karts that raced with us in the regular season, but when it was decided to split the two different motors into two classes before the Klassic, the OHV karters dubbed themselves “The Outlaws” and never came back. This was also the year that we created this very website, which has helped us gain new drivers and fans all over the world… and some haters.
16 karts made for our biggest – and the closest finish – in Klassic history. This one was an epic battle, as Rob Jimenez, Chris, Matt, and Wes Stevens all battled for the lead throughout the race. However, it was Wesley “The Ogre” Stevens who won it in the Galletta’s #4 — in a motor bought off of ebay for $20 – when he passed Rob late and held off a last-lap charge by Matt in his brand-new #33. Matt did still win the points title, however, making it the first time that we ever had two different Klassic and Track Champions. We also had Kelly Miller as a big-track guest-star driver. This season, we also doubled our race schedule by racing at Oswego Speedway’s fledgling new dirt Kartway, being the largest and most competitive karting class for the first two seasons on the track. It was fun other than being forced by the track operator to race vs. the OHV Outlaws (who quit our track the previous year) and even an “Open” class methanol kart by the track operator, or else not race at all. Even so, Matt Stevens still won the points title and several Galletta’s karters scored wins despite being overpowered in the motor department. Wes Stevens also took the season-ending unofficial 1st 15-kart/40-lap “Mixed Motor” Classic before Labor day when all other methanol/WKA classes refused to race because the track was too bumpy.
In 2007, we again doubled our races again and raced at Oswego Speedway’s Dirt track, where Matt Stevens won the points title and Chris Stevens won the 1st-Ever 50-Lap Oswego Speedway Dirt Classic in his Galletta’s #8. Perhaps even more impressive than any other division (we shared the track with WKA methanol karting classes), because the Galletta’s Kart Club had to again race against a “6.5hp OHV Outlaw” kart class using their stock 5hp flatheads (with only shaved heads to equalize the difference). In fact, Galletta’s brought 12 karts and fielded 11 in the 16-kart Gas Stocker Classic. It was the biggest race in the history of the track (later renamed Oswego Kartway), and early leader Chris Stevens wrecked in traffic by the infamous Shadoe Russell and had to go to the back. The infamous black #83, OHV Outlaw top gun Eric Raponi (who was Matt’s biggest nemesis in ’07 and also wrecked Chris earlier in the year — which made him protest a few midsummer shows) then led and fought off several challenges by Michael “MC” / DJ Howell, Matt and Wes Stevens, until Howell and Raponi wrecked together battling for the win late. Chris Stevens then took the lead in the Galletta’s Greenhouse #8 for the win. Matt recovered for 3rd, and that meant Chris, Wes, and Matt swept the trophies and Classic tickets (and fellow club driver Kenny Lindley III took 5th for another trophy) in one of the largest and most exciting races in the Oswego Kartway’s history. See, you don’t have to spend a few grand per kart to put on a good race and a good show.
2007 showcased talented rookies Kyle Reuter, Ryan Coleman, Mike “mc” Howell, and Buddy Cottom (albiet they all had prior racing experience on other tracks and forms of racing) provide a challenge for the 3 vets, but Matt Stevens again emerged as the man to beat and swept the Klassic and Points Championships in the Galletta’s #33. This was, without a doubt, one of the most talent-laden seasons at Galletta’s. A lot of Quarter-Midget experience with Coleman and Reuter in particular led to some AMAZING races. This season we also helped our two heavier drivers by allowing them race cams, where all normal-weight drivers needed to remain box stock. It helped equalize competition even more, which is what our race rules are all about since day one. On a bad note that put a serious damper on an otherwise great race, the only significant injury in the history of our track happened in this Klassic when a rookie unintentionally cut off early-race leader Wesley Stevens into a tire barrier, causing him to violently flip and break his shoulder blade and a few ribs. He healed up fine in a month’s time and effectively retired from racing (only racing a few ’08 Oswego shows to help us fill the field) due to the accident.
This was our final season at the Oswego Speedway’s newly renamed “Oswego Kartway”, as the track operator admitted to selling our OHV Outlaw co-competitors Animal motors, forcing us to change our rules to compete (this was the first season that race cams were fully allowed in our club, due to rule changes forced on us by the Oswego Kartway), only allowed a motor class split after the Outlaws mutually agreed to it, called US whiners for protesting it, and promised Matt Stevens would NEVER win another race on his track, and this, our final race there, proved it. Matt Stevens passed early time-trial winner Dick Dann (who the track allowed to run an illegal Raptor Racing carb – we use exclusively Fun Power gas carbs), then never looked back, dominating the largest class on the track that day until the final circuit. He then awarded Wes Stevens the Classic win after he passed race dominator Matt under caution on the last lap at the stripe, then angrily berated us for bringing it up to him on is message board. In the following off-season, he then banned our entire class, following it up via he and his friends proceeding to childishly mock us (and even threaten us) on two web forums for nearly a year afterwards. After 13+ years of racing problem-free on our own track, but then being barred from another track for breaking no rules, getting in no fights, no bad wrecks, never cheating, and 3 years of bringing 8-16 karts in our division (when other classes barely had any early on, and usually only maxed out at 3-10 total each class), forcing us to change our rules away from box stock (then banning us for left-turn box stock “clone” motors), producing affordable $5 DVDs of their weekly races, giving free online promotion to, and doing uncompensated logos and web-banners for — was simply appalling. Although in the end it was a mutual split, the lack of respect and child-like mockery by supposed professionals was disgraceful, worth pointing out here for anybody who did not know, and is the reason why we just race on our home track from that day onward. We just wanted to race, and do so on a bottom dollar budget, and while we enjoyed racing there, but not the abuse and disrespect they showed us in a fair portion of our three seasons there.
Our 13th Annual Galletta’s Kart Klassic went 200 laps (after we technically did 200 last year counting cautions). Chris Stockham was a big-track guest star driver, and early on challenged leader Buddy Cottom along with Russ Hockey before breaking two karts on a bumpy track. But shortly after the mid-way point, Matt Stevens put the #33 in 1st again and clinched yet another Klassic and Galletta’s Track Championship with the win, but it wasn’t easy! Despite his usually top nemesis brother Chris being plagued with a blown tire (and then a badly mis-staggered tire to replace it), it was Buddy Cottom put on a tremendous performance and it required Matt at the top of his game to take this win. The new Galletta’s kart built this season was the #80, driven by Matt’s wife, Melissa, who was the first first female feature winner at Galletta’s during the prior 2007 season. Can Matt Stevens ever be stopped? No karter in Oswego County has done so yet!
Our 14th Annual Klassic went 200 laps (technically 210 after counting cautions and green laps on tape). Russ Hockey scored the pole with a 16.22 and set a very fast pace while dominating the vast majority of the race, holding off challenges by Jesse Vivlemore, George Russell, and Chris Stevens. That was until late in the race Matt Stevens took the lead in his #33 on lap 162 and then held off his brother Chris–who had to come back from the rear after being in the top-3 all race and losing a drive-wheel nut late–to take the win, his 10th Klassic victory. However, Chris did break Matt’s 8-year-straight Track Championship winning streak by racing and finishing consistently in the top-3 all year long, despite Matt having more total wins including the Klassic. This race became legendary for the fact that the top three karts did not pit and went all 200+ laps on one tank of pump gasoline! Russ, despite leading 152 laps, finished 2 laps down due to running out of fuel.
A 14-competitor 200-lapper was in store for the 15th Annual Galletta’s Karting Klassic 200-Lap Championship, and again did not disappoint as a close, competitive race with a lot of drama. Point-leaders Chris and Matt — while running a strong 2nd & 3rd late behind the slowing Gary Miller Sr. — tangled together and had to go to the rear. After the restart, Kyle Reuter — who did lead over 100 laps early in the Galletta’s #1 before having to change karts due to a sputtering motor — took the lead late and was not challenged. Reuter, The Oswego Kartway Track Champion (Medium-Weight Methanol Flathead Division — the premiere one at that track), racing his 1st Feature at Galletta’s since the 2007 Klassic, emerged from the marathon race on top in the Galletta’s Greenhouse #0 kart. He became 1st non-founding/visiting driver to ever win a Galletta’s Klassic (Matt Stevens won 10, Chris won 3, and the since-retired Wes won 1)! In addition to being the 1st Non-Founding driver to win it, Kyle also became the 1st driver to come back from the rear using a back-up kart that did not start the race to win (which also exposes how many potent “Arrive-and-Drive” Galletta’s karts are available and go unused. There were many battles and tremendous racing from 1st lap to last. It was his third Galletta’s Klassic entered, and Reuter – vet of countless Quarter-Midget and Methanol Karting championships – said afterwards, “I still can’t believe I won it! This was the most fun I’ve ever had in any race in any kind of kart. ” That’s exactly why and how we race, and we are thrilled to hear it said by so many drivers of other local racing classes!
A grueling 200 laps. But yours truly – webmaster Chris Stevens – broke a 10-year dry-spell by winning his first Galletta’s Greenhouse Karting Klassic since 2001 (while running almost on fumes)! It was not easy, as he time trialed 5th, and had to come from the back of the field twice when he blew a tire in 2nd early, then clobbered a tree in 2nd late. But everything fell his way when the leader of the first 157 laps of the race, Matt Stevens, decided to refuel putting Chris in the lead with barely sputtering off enough fumes to get him the win with Matt all over him. Several competitors didn’t finish the marathon event, and the closeness of competition made this the HARDEST Klassic to date, with tough competition form first to last, including 2010 defending Klassic Champ Kyle Reuter (who lost a front wheel while in 2nd himself, crashed into the buckwheat in turn 2 and retired). For most of the first 100 laps, Kyle pressured Matt to set a fast pace, which in the end was the deciding factor that forced Matt to refuel with 43 laps to go, which put Chris – who made it back to 2nd for a third time in the race – in the lead. Chris actually benefited from blowing a tire early and conserving gas in the rear during the 2nd 4th of the race, which led to him having enough gas to take the checker, the first time the Galletta’s #8 kart won a Klassic – Chris’ previous Klassic wins came in the Galletta’s #2 (1999) and Galletta’s #5 (2000 & 2001). Chris has had several close calls in those last ten years (many 2nd and 3rd places, and a few bad luck breaks while up front in position to win). Outstanding show from start to finish with some close racing and a few exciting accidents to keep you viewers satisfied. Complete race videos on DVD only $5 each disc and are ready. Meanwhile, here is a recap of the 2011 season thus far, including the 2011 Finalized Point Standings, where Matt Stevens led enough laps in the Klassic to earn enough bonus points to surpass his brother by two points! This after Chris had enough top-3 points to beat Matt by 1/2 point in 2010! And consider that going into Klassic, the top 6 were all up for grabs That’s racing, folks!
The 17th Annual Galletta’s Greenhouse Karting Club Championship 200 had 14 karts on the starting grid. And what a complicated story it was – the most controversial Klassic in the first seventeen years of the annual season championship finale’s history. In short, the race was highly competitive throughout, with Brian Galletta, Kyle Reuter, Randy Platt, Matt Stevens, and Chris Stevens all leading significant portions of the 200-lapper with karts easily fast enough to get the win. With the exception of Platt spinning out while in the lead, every other lead change in the 200 lapper occured in lapped traffic. And none more controversial than the final two lead changes between Matt and Chris Stevens – the founding brothers and winners of 14 of the first 16 Klassics (only Wes Stevens in 2006 and Kyle Reuter in 2010 won the other two). The brothers passed each other back and forth behind the lapped traffic of rookie Dave Spanfelner during the last 20 laps of the race, and with 5 laps to go, contact changed the outcome. Matt put himself in the back after his #33 bounced Dave into Chris (and the caution came out for Dave after he went off the track and the start-line pilon got stuck in his bumper). This put Chris Stevens in the lead to the the checker via passing the line in 1st place on lap 200 – which would’ve sealed him his 2nd straight Klassic 200 victory and put him ahead of his brother Matt for the 2012 points title. However, the race win was lifted. Why? Well, Matt Stevens and Mary Stevens both deeply protested the fact that Matt needlessly and voluntarily went to the rear of the field after he and Chris were battling back and forth for the lead through traffic and bumped the Dave Spanfelner #54 off track during their battle with 5 laps to go, and Matt put himself in the back of the pack, leading to Chris crossing the finish line at the checker, The race was then declared no winner, and Ogie Stevens stepped up to the winning kart and took credit for the win. It is Ogie’s 1st career win of any kind, although he claims that he has won everything he’s ever tried, including things that he never knew he even was trying. Due to the controversy, the likely decision will Chris and Matt technically tie (with nobody else losing a position), but will split 1st (Chris’ final position) and 5th (Matt’s final position)’s points. With this being the case, Matt holds on to the points lead and takes the 2012 Galletta’s Track Championship. Oh, that tricky Matthew, stealing wins even after he didn’t win! 😉
OUTTA’ NOWHERE! In the 18th showing of the largest, longest-running, and longest karting event in Oswego County, a 5th member of the Galletta’s Greenhouse Karting Klassic Championship 18 year fraternity is crowned! Eleven drivers entered but only three led all night (11 drivers?! That leaves several karts on site – including the timed fastest kart of the fleet – Galletta’s #5 – unused?! For shame!!! And this is supposed to be a racing town?!) The three you see, Kelly Miller, Matt Stevens, and Chris Stevens had a duel of the ages, as they essentially battled back and forth for the lead for all 200 laps, with occasional challenges by Brian Galletta and Eric Woolworth. All three had the lead and lost it in breathtaking manners (Kelly led early and a slow leaking tired forced him to pit after getting passed, Matt hounded Chris and Kelly, took the lead, then slipped up and Chris got him back, and Chris led several laps late, got pinned and passed by both Kelly and Matt behind lapped traffic, and suffered a bent sprocket that took him out of the top 2)! But the one who had it last – Kelly Miller, gets the win. He becomes only the 5th driver – Matt Stevens (won 10), Chris Stevens (won 5), Wes Stevens (won 1), Kyle Reuter (won 1) – in the Klassic’s 18-year history to win the big one, all while only picking up his 2nd career win at Galletta’s. Although many know him from both racing Stocks and Supermodifieds on the big track downtown, Kelly showed he knows how to drive more than just the big machines! And in a kart THAT SAT UNUSED waiting for a driver ABOUT 97% OF THE YEAR.
200 laps. Only 6 cautions. No fuel refills. And 79 consecutive green flag laps to the finish. 23 equalized karts… and only 7 drivers? Matt Stevens again proved why he is the best karter in Oswego County for 19 years now. He not only prepared 23 on-site karts and made them all within 0.66 seconds of each other (we defy anybody on the planet to do that in any motorsport race anywhere at any time!), but he time trialed on the pole for the 19th running of the area’s largest, longest-running, and hardest to win kart race, took it easy for a bit and then dominated the 2nd half of clinched what he already led almost all season – the Galletta’s Greenhouse Karting Speedway Track championship. Can’t buy it. You have to earn it. To be the best, you have to beat the best. There are only five drivers in the world that have won a Galletta’s Klassic, and only 2 drivers in the world that have won Galletta’s Track Championships (see above) and Matt has won more of them than everybody else combined. Sadly, the only downfall was the club lost drivers. 23 karts were race-ready at 1 p.m. for time trials, cookout, and Klassic at 2 or 3 p.m. We waited. And waited. And waited. We settled for 7 drivers, including the un-retirement of former 2006 Klassic Champ Wes “Ogre” Stevens, to make it a flashback to our early days! But still… only 7?! From 2004-2009, the track was filled with 10-15 drivers on track a week, by far the largest karting class in Oswego, NY, and yes, that includes the pay track – 100 karts, big whoop, they are 3-10 kart classes. Now, we are averaging 4-10. Now, while that is still above average for a karting class, but we don’t limit by weight, age, and karts on track – if 23 people showed up, we could have a 23-kart race. For our 20th anniversary of point racing at Galletta’s, which resumed next Spring 2015, more drivers are badly needed.
September 26th, 2015 was the date for our 20th Annual Klassic 200.], which annually decides both the Track Championship and the Klassic 200 Champion in one fell swoop, as the race counts as the biggest AND the final points race of the season (although after Klassic, we may still have Fall Series races, which still count in the All-Time Points). A good mix of savvy veterans and a batch of raw rookies made for a caution-filled first half of the race. But once the rookies settled down (or were eliminated by demolishing their karts) the entire race was a showcase of elite driving talent that cannot be questioned. Kyle Reuter and Chris Stevens shared the lead back and forth and only lapped traffic and low fuel changed things. Matt Stevens again showed why he is a master of kart building and pure racing ability with his near win, almost taking it all on the last lap until a bent sprocket ended his shot. And gas mileage was key – everyone who made it to lap 150 refueled… except Chris Stevens, who attempted to win it all on one standard tank of gas! And on lap 199, that gas was used up with Kyle Reuter and Matt Stevens side-by-side trying to take the lead! And believe me, at that point, it wasn’t even done yet! It was a DOOZY in EVERY way! Read more & watch the race video!
In 2016, we had The Good Guys Barbershop sponsor cash prizes for the top three and a trophy for the track champion. And, on top of that, it was the closest points race in history between points leaders Chris Stevens, Kelly Miller, and Matt Stevens. In fact, Kelly was the 1st driver in 21 years to challenge Matt and Chris for a track championship, and all three were leapfrogging each other in the races and points all season long! But something shocking happened after the time trials while the track was watered and the race was almost ready to start: Kelly Miller — sick of waiting for the race to start — QUIT and stormed off literally minutes before race time! Read on!…
Our 22nd season was capped with another 200-lap Klassic. It was down between the big three drivers all season — veteran brother duo of Chris and Matt Stevens, and impressive young gun Josh Arnold not far behind. Kelly Miller returned from taking almost the entire year off (assisting his son, Steven Perez in stock car racing) to time-trial the pole, and for the 1st 150 laps it was all Kelly (until his kart broke down) and Matt Stevens (until he decided to refuel on lap 150), until Chris Stevens once again proved to be the champion of kart and fuel conservation to inherit the lead and hold off Josh and Matt en route to another Track Championship and Klassic Championship sweep! Josh Arnold also sealed his Visitor’s Track Championship with a 3rd place finish.
Unfortunately, 2018 was a very poorly attended season. Our Klassic was only the 8th regular feature of the year, we lucked out and got ten drivers available to run our 200-Lapper on a beautiful September weekend! Matt Stevens used a 2/3rds of the way pass (catching his fuel-conscious brother Chris off-guard) 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 have 1). The final order of this year’s Klassic could not have been more cut and dried, as it was also the final order of the point standings as well, with Chris scoring 2nd and impressive rookie Steve Sixberry being a strong 3rd. Hence, due to the timing of his pass, Matt also BARELY edged his point-savvy brother Chris to earn his 14th Galletta’s Track Championship.
Matt Stevens was the survivor of a magnificent late-race battle with Nic Olivares, Chris Stevens, Steve Sixberry, and Zach Blanchard to eke out the top spot and lead the last 32 laps of the race relatively unchallenged. He did so piloting the GallettasGreenhouse.com / Chrusher.com / OswegoSushi.com #74 in its 1st Klassic 200, a kart (co-owned by Chris and Matt) that sat idle for a DECADE and was never entered in a single Klassic before this one — despite it sitting there available for rent for 10 years of past Klassics. However, despite Matt securing another Galletta’s Klassic win (his 14th!) and his 5th Feature win in the 2019 Season at Galletta’s, he did not accomplish a clean sweep of the accolades. His brother Chris secured his 10th Galletta’s Track Championship.
The Galletta’s Greenhouse Go-Karting Klassic began in 1996 — a quarter of a century ago! 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 and Federal leadership hundreds of miles away. We also couldn’t have predicted running one without Brian Galletta.
Much like the entire season, the race was run in honor of Brian Galletta, one of the original members of the club, and 1st cousin to the founding brothers Chris and Matt Stevens who sadly passed away last Christmas 2019. The race itself was a VERY good one, and although Steve Sixberry, Travis Bartlett, and David Hartpence Jr. all put in great challenges before their karts broke down late, it again came down to Matt and Chris Stevens once again have a torrid back-and-forth battle for the top spot!
The 26th Annual Galletta’s Greenhouse Kart Klassic – 2021
The entire 2021 Season — including the Klassic — was canceled due to Matt Stevens’s home needing repairs and a long and ugly story around it (which included his wife kidnapping their kids and extorting the repair money out of her mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law, then she and her mom accusing them all of nonsensical, fact-free things on and off social media AND tried to get her brother-in-law and his wife fired from their job multiple times). This made it the first time since the mid-1990s that we did not run a Klassic and the 1st time since the 1980s that a single kart did not hit the track in the back of Galletta’s.
The 27th Annual Galletta’s Greenhouse Kart Klassic – 2022
Our 2022 Klassic was canceled for one reason and one reason only: Almost all of our visiting drivers quit during the regular season, and we did not have enough drivers to run despite having plenty of excellent weekends and a small fleet of karts to do so, but local SBS driver AJ Larkin joined us for a late Fall race and gave us hope that maybe next season could be better.
After we struggled all of 2022 and 2023 to have enough drivers to run despite having plenty of excellent weekends to do so, we were all but prepared to either run our Klassic Championship race with just 2-4 people, or not even run it at all. But at the last possible moment, when we were going to call it off for a 3rd straight year without a Klassic, former Oswego Speedway Classic winner Tyler Thompson brought some friends (all of whom had a lot of race experience in flat karts and some in big track race cars) and we FINALLY had enough racers to get in a Klassic Championship Event right before Halloween — although the race was shortened from the traditional 200 laps to 100 laps due to late start, and a rough track leading to many kart breakdowns leading to all but 3 karts for the final stretch of the race.
The 29th Year (27th Running) Galletta’s Greenhouse Kart Klassic – 2024
The exact timing is TBA, but we are eyeing an afternoon start due to the race’s length (and inevitable problems that evolve as the race continues) and by the request of a few visiting drivers. The starting grid will be based on time trials, however, drivers who won at least one regular season race event in 2024 will get priority positioning over drivers who have not yet won a feature in 2024, and drivers who have raced in the regular 2024 season get a guaranteed kart over those who have not raced in the regular 2024 season. The race will be traditional 200 laps, scored the same as regular season races except cautions count and kart change is a loss of one lap. All drivers who enter will have one “quick repair timeout” and drivers who won one during the regular season will have an additional one for each win. Race length may be shortened based on active driver vote if there are extreme issues with track/timing/kart/weather conditions. History of our Championship Event is found here.
ANNUAL GALLETTA’S KARTING SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONS:
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Season |
Annual Klassic Race Champion |
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Matthew Stevens (1st) |
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Matthew Stevens (2nd) |
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Matthew Stevens (3rd) |
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Christopher Stevens (1st) |
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Christopher Stevens (2nd) |
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Christopher Stevens (3rd) |
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Matthew Stevens (4th) |
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Matthew Stevens (5th) |
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Matthew Stevens (6th) |
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Matthew Stevens (7th) |
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Wesley Stevens (1st) |
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Oswego Speedway Dirt Kartway: |
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Matthew Stevens (8th) |
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Oswego Speedway Dirt Kartway: |
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Matthew Stevens (9th) |
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Matthew Stevens (10th) |
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Kyle Reuter (1st) |
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Christopher Stevens (4th)
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Christopher Stevens (5th **)
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Kelly Miller (1st)
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Matthew Stevens (11th)
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Christopher Stevens (6th)
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Matthew Stevens (12th)
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Christopher Stevens (7th)
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Matthew Stevens (13th)
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Matthew Stevens (14th)
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Matthew Stevens (15th) |
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2021 |
None Held |
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2022 |
None Held |
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Christopher Stevens (8th)
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NOTES:
* = Race led by Matt Stevens on final lap, when a dusty track and low lights led to the appearance of track operator Jim Losurdo throwing the yellow flag (although it was the white flag), and in response the 3rd turn corner-man threw the yellow flag. Seeing these things, leader Matt Stevens slowed down, and 2nd place Wes Stevens passed leader Matt Stevens at the stripe for the win–according to the Oswego Kartway officials. According to Galletta’s officials, the race had no final lap, and the win was split by Matt and Wes Stevens. The disagreement about this last lap sealed a permanent rift between the track operator and Galletta’s 1-WD Gas Flathead Karting Division, and they never raced at the Oswego Kartway again (our division, as well as the OHV Outlaw division, were replaced with OHV Clones). Oswego Kartway also erased all records of us even being there to further their inane, illogical, and extremely long track record of disrespect, animosity and occasionally outright hostility towards our club despite the fact that they got the idea of dirt karting from us and we supported the track for it’s 1st three years with it’s largest weekly division from 2006, 2007 and 2008.
** = Chris Stevens won the race on-track, but some spectators, members, and drivers of the club disputed that Matt Stevens should not have put himself in the rear for a ticky-tack accident late in the race and should have won instead. Ogie accepted the win on behalf of all the whining crybabies on all sides.
Thanks for the kind comments, friends.
Testing… testing….
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