Galletta's Greenhouse Karting Club, located in Oswego, NY, is a go-kart racing club that specializes on racing as professionally as we can for as economically as possible. In the early 1990s, we developed a style of kart racing that is different, but no less competitive than any national karting organization. Our biggest difference is affordability. Our club is free to join and race in, and the only thing anybody pays for is gas and parts. We are the largest and longest-running dirt karting class in the local area, as we were founded in the early 1990s and our average feature is 45-Laps usually consisting of 10-15 karts, with a 200-Lap "Klassic" Championship at Summer's end deciding an Annual Points Champion. We race homemade 1-Wheel-Drive racing karts that can race on professional karting tracks and backyard speedways alike. We have karts rebuilt from used racing chassis, used yard karts and some built from scratch. We have ONE class to ensure a true overall track champion, and not have several smaller classes of divisional champions with no clear winner. We race used 5hp Briggs Flathead motors fueled by pump gas, sped-up by hand-shaved heads and select racing cams, and regulated by stock Fun Power-type carburetors instead of expensive prefabricated 2-WD chassis powered by high-priced methanol-fueled motors. On our own backyard oval speedway, we turn clockwise with our top speeds approximately 45-50MPH. Although we all run in the same division, in addition to a minimum weight requirement, we have something unique to our inclusive class -- a weight-to-power-allowance scale to allow heavier drivers more horsepower via stronger racing cams and more powerful gear ratios, a system proven to be successful as we have the tightest competition and most varied winner's circle locally over the last few years. This way our one class is bigger than the higher-priced karting classes, because heavier and lighter drivers can race equally and having the same chance of winning as the next guy. Racing experience, starting position, and a little bit of luck usually decides the outcome, and money and kart price play no role. To ensure this, we have an expert motor builder -- club co-founder Matt Stevens - who oversees that all of the motors are legal, equalized, and competitive, and does so for no cost - just to have people to race with! Join us and find out what many people, including semi-pro drivers from local racetracks say - we have the most fun and spend the least money of likely any competitive motorsport class in the world! The club races every Sunday afternoon all summer starting on the first Sunday in June annually in back of Galletta's Greenhouse and running every weekend until the weather stops us in the Fall. We race qualifiers and a 45-Lap feature most weeks, but change up to occasional Twin-30s or the occasional 55-Lapper. All races count for points and are tallied at the end of each season to determine the track champion. The season concludes with the 200-Lap Galletta's Karting Klassic in late-September or early-October. Our club is free to watch and free to join, and runs 100% off donations of the racers. You can race a Galletta's Team Kart for a nominal gas & parts donation, or race your own. We will help you either way, whether it be using a Galletta-kart or building one for yourself. We're not in this to make money and we're not in it to further a career in racing. We are in this to have fun racing with friends and family and be mini-superstars on our lil' website for as little money as humanly possible. And can your $1,000-$7,000 methanol racing kart go over 20 miles reaching speeds between 30-50MPH per lap in one race on one tank of pump gas? No? Well, we can. Join us! Enjoy the site!

8/29/2011: "'Don't You Have an Off to F***, Irene?' 50"!

Chris Stevens wins the "F*** OFF IRENE 50" in the Galletta's #8 kart!

'Don't You Have an Off To F***, Irene?'  50'Don't You Have an Off To F***, Irene?'  50MONDAY, AUGUST 29th, 2011: 10 competitors raced karts raced on a Monday due to Hurricane Irene's leftover winds and rain preventing us from racing Sunday (no problem, we've been rained out of a handful of Sundays the last few weeks anyway). Returning veterans Mike "MC" Howell and the two Ken Lindsley's added with the the core group that have raced all year to increase the competition on an already tough and competitive season thus far. And it was Chris Stevens spoiled Randy Platt's plan of putting his freshly reinstated "Murder 187" kart back in victory lane, catching him snoozing on a restart in the Galletta's Greenhouse #8 for his 2nd feature win of the year. Race results, pictures, stats, and videos coming when done! Sorry for the delays, work has been throwing monkeywreches into my usual duties, such as updating the videos and website as quick as I'd like. Pics, descriptions, results & points are up on this page. Check back soon for videos! Now let's review the race, son:

DVD Highlight YouTube Video

[VIDEO FORTHCOMING: COME BACK SOON]

YouTube video to this race is currently being produced and is forthcoming. All picture captures & video clips are directly taken from our weekly DVDs, which are almost always available to buy the day after the race. It's best to pre-order them so I can have them ready on race day for you.

Above is this race's menu. For a DVD copy of this race, please e-mail or call Chris Stevens and ask for this week's race. Each disc is chock full of between 1 to 3 hours of racing in the highest-possible DVD resolution with Dolby Stereo 2.0 Surround Sound, predominantly from multiple angles and are only $5 each (discounts available for multiple copies or regular kart Galletta-Kart renters). We accept PayPal or cash, and can either ship or arrange for pickup. We now have THREE angles to catch all the action, although one is stationary on the start-finish line for those close call photo finishes.

Race Results

Mike "MC" Howell (#6) and Ken Lindsley Jr. (#1) race for 1st place in the retcon "make-up point" race.

Mike Howell (#6) gets Ken Lindsley Jr. (#1) via the fast outside groove during the retcon race.

Ken Lindsley Jr. (#1) spins during the retcon race.

Retcon Make-up Points 8-Lap Race Finish & Scoring Credits:
Again, each driver is counted and credited for the earliest race they missed, and are allowed to enter any and every make-up race we hold until they are caught up.
  1. Mike Howell (Galletta's Greenhouse #6)
    - Credit for 17th place finish in 6/5/2011's 50-Lapper
  2. Justin Galletta (Galletta's Greenhouse #7)
    - Credit for 6th place finish in the 8/16/2011's 40-Lapper
  3. Randy Platt (Platt-Num #187)
    - Credit for 8th place finish in 7/10/2011's 50-Lapper
  4. Ken Lindsley III (Galletta's Greenhouse #0)
    - Credit for 18th place finish in 6/5/2011's 50-Lapper
  5. Ken Lindsley Jr. (Galletta's Greenhouse #1)
    - Credit for 19th place finish in 6/5/2011's 50-Lapper

HEAT #1:

Matt Stevens (#33) makes his usual low-groove pass move on his wife Melissa Stevens (#19), and Kenny Lindsley III (#0).

Joe Sereno (#5) and Justin Galletta (#7) hold off Matt Stevens (#33) in the 1st heat. All three were extremely close in speed, and Matt's usually crafty veteran tricks could not get the pass on the two impressive and constantly improving 1st-season drivers.

8-Lap Heat Race Finish:
  1. Joe Sereno (Galletta's Greenhouse #5)
  2. Justin Galletta (Galletta's Greenhouse #7)
  3. Matt Stevens (Galletta's Greenhouse #33)
  4. Melissa Stevens (Scissors n' Fur #19)
  5. Ken Lindsley III (Galletta's Greenhouse #0)

HEAT #2:

Heat 2 saw Randy Platt (#187) hold off Chris Stevens (#8) for the win, with Tim Galletta (#54) in striking distance. Ken Lindsley III also took the #0 back out for weight testing (even though he already ran the retcon race and the 1st heat), so we counted it for another make-up race. There was a race he would have made if we didn't have a date change due to weather and attendance issues anyway, so it's a 'sorry about that' deal.

8-Lap Heat Race Finish:
  1. Randy Platt (Platt-Num #187)
  2. Chris Stevens (Galletta's Greenhouse #8)
  3. Tim Galletta (Galletta #54)
  4. Mike Howell (Galletta's Greenhouse #6)
  5. Ken Lindsley Jr. (Galletta's Greenhouse #1)

    Retcon Race Credit:
  6. Ken Lindsley III (Galletta's Greenhouse #0)
    - Credit for two 13th place finishes in 6/12/2011's Twin 30-Lappers

50-LAP FEATURE EVENT:

Our 10-driver, 50-Lap feature begins! One of the biggest races of the year thus far!

Starting Lineup:

  1. Randy Platt (Platt-Num #187) [1 win]
  2. Joe Sereno (Galletta's Greenhouse #5) {R} [1 win]
  3. Justin Galletta (Galletta's Greenhouse #7) {R} [1 win]
  4. Chris Stevens (Galletta's Greenhouse #8) [1 win]
  5. Melissa Stevens (Scissors N Fur #80)  [2 wins]
  6. Tim Galletta (Galletta #54) [2 wins]
  7. Matt Stevens (Galletta's Greenhouse #33)  [6 wins]
  8. Mike Howell (Galletta's Greenhouse #6)
  9. Ken Lindsley III (Galletta's Greenhouse #0)
  10. Ken Lindsley Jr. (Galletta's Greenhouse #1)


    {R} = 1st Season / Experienced Rookie

On lap 10, brothers Joe Sereno (#5) and Justin Galletta (#7) got a little out of shape and rubbed tires in turn 4. They raced side-by-side - with Chris Stevens (#8) making it three wide at the finish line until he decided to pull out - down the front stretch and into turn one, when the #7 unintentionally drifted just enough into the #5's line to catch tires, which sent Joe and the #5 wildly flipping off of turn 2, doing his best impression of hurricane Irene! A violent-looking crash to say the least.

A nasty wreck for sure. Joe is okay, proving his toughness in the wild ride that snapped the all-metal steering wheel clean off, and bent up the tie-rods. Joe shook it off and hopped into the unused Galletta's Greenhouse #2 kart, which won a feature one week earlier with Randy Platt at the helm.

Shortly after that, Chris Stevens (#8) caught Randy Platt (#187) sleeping on a restart.
[Inset shows close battles between Tim Galletta, Matt Stevens and Ken Lindsley Jr.] Tim had a little bad luck after his tie-rod nut came loose and bending. Instead of using a time-out to fix it, he hopped into the unused Galletta's Greenhouse #9, a kart he last drove in the 2009 Galletta's Klassic 200.

Yep. That's how close we were for most of the night. The track was decent other than a couple bumps developing in 2 and 3, and other than Randy and Chris crawling away in their battle for the lead, everyone else were bumper-to-bumper all night. Head-mechanic Matt really has these machines close and fast right now. And trust me, he takes more pride in seeing a close race than he does winning. Which makes it even scarier when he does pull off a bunch of wins in a row when these karts are so close. It shows his experience and craftiness behind these karts. And yours truly oughtta' know, I've been racing against him since the early 1990s, and 2nd only to him in races, points and wins of all Oswego County karting leagues since then.

Chris held off Randy 'Bobandi' Platt for the rest of the show for only his 2nd win of the season, surpassing his 1-win total from last season (although he still eked Matt out by 1/2 point for the points title last year). But Chris and Randy were the same exact speed, as neither could pull away for the other all night, and if not for Chris catching Randy snoozing on a restart, Ran-the-man would've had 2 wins in 2 weeks.

Final Order of Finish:

  1. Chris Stevens (Galletta's Greenhouse #8) [2 wins]
  2. Randy Platt (Platt-Num #187) [1 win]
  3. Mike Howell (Galletta's Greenhouse #6)
  4. Ken Lindsley III (Galletta's Greenhouse #0)
  5. Melissa Stevens (Scissors N Fur #80)  [2 wins]
  6. Joe Sereno (Galletta's Greenhouse #5, #2) {R} [1 win]
  7. Justin Galletta (Galletta's Greenhouse #7) {R} [1 win]
  8. Matt Stevens (Galletta's Greenhouse #33, #3, #80)  [6 wins]
  9. Tim Galletta (Galletta #54, Galletta's #9) [2 wins]
  10. Ken Lindsley Jr. (Galletta's Greenhouse #1)


    {R} = 1st Season / Experienced Rookie

Next race should be Monday, Labor Day, unless weather shuffles things around. Matt uncharacteristically struggled for most of the night, getting in a handful of wrecks and stalling/parking his two usually dependable karts - the #3 and #33. He wound up finishing the race in his wife's backup, the #80. Not a good night for Matt, who usually is either winning or challenging for wins every single night. However, again, this proves the theory that if enough solid veteran drivers are out there, Matt doesn't find victory lane so easy to get to. You think you're a bad driver, then come out and try to hold off Matt and see how bad you are (and 30-40 lap short track "Championships" prove nothing). It got done this week (holding Matt back that is), but rest assured, when Matt struggles one week, the next week he is usually on fire. Get ready, drivers!

SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT TO THE DOZEN-OR-SO LOCAL KART TRACK MINI-CLASSIC WINNERS THIS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1st, 2011!

Congrats on your accomplishment! The $25 trophy, $0.25 sticker and general admission Oswego Speedway Classic ticket certainly makes spending a few grand on a go-kart and a few hundred in enterance fees each year worth it, doesn't it? We did that a couple of times (er, except for the spending a few grand on a kart part of it) so we know how special that is. Way to go guys! You make all us economical karters proud! All kidding aside (I mean, c'mon, we've heard and read some of the low things they have said about us simply because we choose our own, more affordable and time-tested way, have as much if not more fun than they do, and they somehow see it as an insult to them, which is beyond us, really... we're all just karting classes and we all have affordable motorsport competition, which is what it's all about), we are especially proud of the ones who won that did some teeth-cutting in our club! Now that that season's done, get your scared, quittin' butts out here and race with your buds who got you started racing in that pricey little place and get ready to run our 200 Lapper - the original, longest-running and largest local karting Klassic in the area! Ohhh... See what I did there? };^)

WHEW! Busy week of work, car repairs, NY State Fair, lack of sleep, running errands, and a complex race where 10 competitors raced, along with no less than FIVE that entered Rectcon make-up races (hard because I have to go back and score each driver in the earliest race they missed) meant that it took me five days to get these points finished. Sometimes I make too much work for myself, but I want as competitive of a point system as humanly possible. I think we got that (look at the points, wins, and points-per-races... really close, and closer than most races). So do enjoy them!

2011 Point Standings after 8/29/2011's Event

Pos.

Name (Go-Karts Piloted)
[Most drivers have clickable Driver Profiles]

Total Points (Place)

Average Points Per Feature

2011
Events

2011
Features

2011
Heat Wins

2011 Feature Wins

Career Feature Wins (2000-up)

Years Pro at GKC

1st

Chris StevensChris "Chrusher" Stevens
(Galletta's #4, 8)

1,900.5

111.79

12

17

0

2

56

16th

2nd

Matt Stevens ProfileMaster Matt Stevens
(Galletta's #33, 3, 80)

1,874.0

110.24

12

17

0

6

104

16th

3rd

Timmy Galletta (in Galletta's #9)Tim Galletta
(Galletta #54, Galletta's #6, 9)

1,805.0

106.19

12

17

1

2

5

3rd

4th

Melissa Gabel Stevens profileMelissa Stevens
(Scissors 'n Fur #19, 80, Galletta's #7)

1,742.5

102.50

12

17

0

2

6

5th

5th

Joe Sereno in the Galletta's #5 (2011)Joe Sereno
(Galletta's #5, 1, 2, 9)

1,719.5

101.15

12

17

2

1

1

1st