OSWEGO KARTWAY GAS STOCKER KARTING 2008 RACE #2
 ~ May 15th, 2008 at Oswego Speedway ~

Click for a printable version of this DVD cover.

The Galletta's Kart Club 2008 Volume #2:
<-Free Preview. This disc contains the complete Oswego Kartway show from Thursday, May 15th, 2008. Disc has two camera angles of all karting classes. 2 hours & 14 minutes total. Price $6.

Also racing at the 5/15/2008 show were:
Adult medium Flat Karts powered by Raptor Methanol motors.

Methanol Flat Kart's Junior Division. Two different plate classes usually race in one and sees two winners.

This week saw a third methanol flat kart class, the Heavy Stocks.

Champ Karts powered by Methanol Animal motors, with one open-class kart also having fun.

Now, here are pictures, descriptions, and points for our featured Gas Stocker Division:

OSWEGO KARTWAY GAS STOCKER KARTS 2008 WEEK TWO:

The 10-Lap Gas Stocker Heat Lineup again drew for the starting grid and had Eric Raponi #83 get really lucky and win the 1-in-10 chance of drawing the pole two weeks in a row, alongside teammate Dave Melfi #22. He should go to Vegas with such preternatural luck! Eric won the heat (and scored +20 points), 2nd place was a tie between Melfi and Joe Hayden (each scoring +17 points) . Fourth went to Gary Miller (+14 points) who barely held off Matt Stevens (+12 pts.) at the finish line. They were followed by Dick Dann (+10 pts.),  Chris Stevens - who this week ran in the Galletta's 4 and was in third but spun with a couple of laps to go (+9 pts.), Oscar Berry (+8 pts.), Nick Dann (+7 pts.), and the only DNF in the heat, Russ Hockey (+6 pts.).

The 25-Lap Feature was started off in handicap order inverted by 2007-08's total Oswego Gas Stocker points. Nick Dann #68 and Dave Melfi #22 led the field away.

Several cautions marred the way, including Gary Miller getting into both Chris Stevens and Dick Dann on separate occasions, and Oscar spun a few times and retired with a bad tire. Counting yellows, we only got about 19 green laps in, and the cautions must stop so that track operator Jim Losurdo will allow us to have more laps. But perhaps the most perplexing yellow flag was with only a couple of laps to go.


Leading the entire feature from lap one and with only a few laps to go, Nick Dann #68 was leading and he got a little out of shape. Dave Melfi was running 2nd and tapped Nick a little bit which helped the #68 spin completely out. Joe, Eric, and Matt Stevens were all very close behind and scattered. Matt hit Nick and he kept going, but Matt put himself in the back because that's how we do it at Galletta's; making significant contact in a yellow situation (that causes a caution and/or damage) puts you in the back. Yet for some reason, on the restart, Joe inherited the lead, Eric was 2nd, and Dave was inexplicably 3rd with a couple of laps to go. This is against the rules* but track officials decided to let it pass.

Joe Hayden gets the win followed by Eric Raponi and...


...Chris Stevens executed a last lap slingshot pass on #22 for third on the finish line.

Final order of finish and points scored in the feature was:
1st - Joe Hayden (+68); 2nd - Eric Raponi (+65); 3rd - Chris Stevens (+62); 4th - Dave Melfi (+44*); 5th -  Matt Stevens (+59); 6th - Gary Miller (+56); 7th - Dick Dann (+53); 8th - Nick Dann (+50); 9th - Russ Hockey (+47); and 10th - the DNF'ed Oscar Berry (+41). Adding the totals up below...

2008 Gas Stocker Kart Point Standings at Oswego Kartway 
After 2 events at Oswego Kartway from 5/8/2007 -thru- 5/15/2008:

Rank	Driver	Karts Piloted	Motor Type	Total Points (Place)	Average Points Per Event	Events	Heat Wins	Feature Wins
1	Matt Stevens	Galletta's #33	5hp Flathead	159.00	79.50	2	1	1
2	Joe Hayden	Hayden #5	6.5hp OHV	157.00	78.50	2	0	1
3	Chris Stevens	Galletta's #8, 4	5hp Flathead	146.00	73.00	2	0	0
4	Eric Raponi	Raponi #83	6.5hp OHV	144.00	72.00	2	1	0
5	Dick Dann	Dann #86	5hp Flathead	139.00	69.50	2	0	0
6	Gary Miller Sr.	Miller #24	5hp Flathead	138.00	69.00	2	0	0
7	Dave Melfi	Melfi #22	6.5hp OHV	122.00	61.00	2	0	0
8	Nick Dann	Dann #68	5hp Flathead	111.00	55.50	2	0	0
9	Russ Hockey	Hockey #00	5hp Flathead	109.00	54.50	2	0	0
10	Oscar Berry	Oz #11	5hp Flathead	105.00	52.50	2	0	0

* - This week has a point scoring dispute. When the then-2nd-place #22 Dave Melfi crashed with then-leader Nick Dann #68 with a couple of laps to go, and rules dictate that both should have either gone in the rear (as the #68 did), or if the #22 made absolutely no contact with the #68, then he should have inherited the lead. We are supposed to self-police in order to take some of the burden away from the volunteer track officials. But the #22 re-started in 3rd (behind two teammates who did not pass him under green). As we have always done every time we've found this on tape, the #22, though finishing fourth on track is being scored with 9th place points (last on lead lap) for not going to the rear after being directly involved with a a wreck. **

Next race at the Oswego Kartway is Friday Night Lights Money Race on, May 30th, 2008.
Opening race at the Galletta's Kartway is Sunday, June 8th, 2008.

THE 2008 OSWEGO GAS STOCKER KARTS CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE:
1. OSWEGO: Thursday, May 8th, 2008: 25-Lap Race (Winner: Matt Stevens)
2. OSWEGO: Thursday, May 15th, 2008: 25-Lap Race (Winner: Joe Hayden)
3. OSWEGO: Thursday, May 22nd, 2008: Regular Race (Rained out)
4. OSWEGO: Thursday, May 29th, 2008: Practice for Friday
    OSWEGO: Friday, May 30th, 2008: 35-Lap MONEY RACE!
5. GALLETTA'S: Sunday, June 1st, 2008. SPRUCE UP/SLICK-ONLY PRACTICE 7-8pm (Not set in stone; T.B.A.)
6. OSWEGO: Thursday, June 5th, 2008: Regular Race.
7. GALLETTA'S: Sunday, June 8th, 2008. 70-Lap Galletta's Opener
8. OSWEGO: Thursday, June 12th, 2008: Regular Race.
9. OSWEGO: Saturday, June 14th, 2008: T.B.A.
10. GALLETTA'S: Sunday, June 15th, 2008. Regular Race.
11. OSWEGO: Thursday, June 19th, 2008: Regular Race (Double-Point Night!).
12. GALLETTA'S: Sunday, June 22nd, 2008. Regular Race.
13. OSWEGO: Thursday, June 26th, 2008: Regular Race.
14. OSWEGO: Saturday, June 28th, 2008: T.B.A.
15. GALLETTA'S: Sunday, June 29th, 2008. Regular Race.
16. OSWEGO: Thursday, July 3rd, 2008: Practice for Friday show.
       OSWEGO: Friday, July 4th, 2008: MONEY RACE!
17. GALLETTA'S: Sunday, July 6th, 2008. Regular Race.
18. OSWEGO: Thursday, July 10th, 2008: Regular Race.
19. GALLETTA'S: Sunday, July 13th, 2008. Regular Race.
20. OSWEGO: Thursday, July 17th, 2008: Regular Race.
21. GALLETTA'S: Sunday, July 20th, 2008. Regular Race.
22. OSWEGO: Thursday, July 24th, 2008: Regular Race – TWIN 20s!
23. GALLETTA'S: Sunday, July 27th, 2008. Regular Race.
24. OSWEGO: Thursday, July 31st, 2008: Practice for Friday Show.
       OSWEGO: Friday, August 1st, 2008: MONEY RACE!
25. GALLETTA'S: Sunday, August 3rd, 2008. Regular Race.
26. OSWEGO: Thursday, August 7th, 2008: Regular Race.
27. GALLETTA'S: Sunday, August 10th, 2008. Regular Race.
28. OSWEGO: Thursday, August 14th, 2008: Regular Race.
29. GALLETTA'S: Sunday, August 17th, 2008. Regular Race.
30. OSWEGO: Thursday, August 21st, 2008: Regular Race.
31. GALLETTA'S: Sunday, August 24th, 2008. Regular Race.
32. OSWEGO: Thursday, August 28th, 2008: 2nd ANNUAL OSWEGO SPEEDWAY DIRT TRACK CLASSIC!!!
33. GALLETTA'S: LABOR DAY WEEKEND OPEN DATE: May race on one day, possibly Sept. 1st, T.B.A.. Oswego Kartway is also T.B.A. after this date.
34. GALLETTA'S: Saturday, September 6th, 2008. Regular Race.
35. GALLETTA'S: Saturday, September 13th, 2008. 12 lap heats, 45 lap feature. (Possible bye-week/open date)
36. GALLETTA'S: Saturday, September 20th, 2008. Probable date for the 13th Annual Galletta's Kart Klassic! Probable 1pm start, between 175-200 laps.
37-up. OPEN DATES/RAIN DATES/FALL CHALLENGE SERIES after this date.

Key:
GALLETTA’S = Race located at John J. Galletta Memorial Gas Stocker Kartway (Behind Galletta’s Greenhouse in the Town of Oswego, NY).
OSWEGO = Race located at Oswego Kartway (Behind Oswego Speedway in Oswego, NY).

1. Most Galletta’s Kartway Summer races are Sunday afternoon/early evenings. (June is early evenings (5-7pm); as the summer progresses, they will be afternoon (3-5pm) events. Only 1 repair-timeout per regular driver per season, so no more late shows and no more excuses to not race with us! Bringing your own 5hp flathead gas stocker is free (if you want to donate gas, help, parts, this is appreciated). Backup Team Galletta's karts available for renting during race days. See website, email, or call. It is free to watch a race at Galletta's.)
2. Most Oswego Kartway Summer races are Thursdays at 6:30p.m. with practices usually starting around 4:15pm. Some special events (money shows) on select Fridays and Saturdays. There is a gate fee at Oswego. If you have no kart, most weeks have backup Team Galletta's karts available for renting during race days IF you have qualified and completed any Galletta's Veteran Feature Race at Galletta's prior. See website, email, or call.
3. Most Galletta’s Kartway Fall races after Labor Day switch to Saturday afternoons and NOT Sundays.

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** - This, under Galletta's point scoring rules (unrelated to Oswego), happens every time someone does this, as it has since the 1990s using the Galletta's Points System. We believe this is the fairest points system we have ever seen, as on race starts, it handicaps drivers on at an inverted order of points-per-race and wins which ensures the best-possible race no matter how many karts are in the event (fastest, most successful drivers in back, guys that need a break up front). If you don't care about the Galletta's point scoring system, then it doesn't matter to you. The Galletta's Points system is not official Oswego Kartway points. Track officials made no errors, the #22 did not appear to intentionally wreck the #68, but rules are rules and this decision is under Galletta's Point system, not Oswego's, which is for 1st-place stickers (and occasional money races) only, all other placement is irrelevant. It is how every race that the Galletta's Kart Team enters is scored. It is Galletta's Points, not Oswego Kartway's. Oswego does not do points and does not agree with it. All Oswego track official decisions are final, and are always exactly the same as the Galletta's Scoring System, though points scored may be slightly different once the tapes have been reviewed if drivers are caught jumping spots in caution or wrecking and not going to the back. We only race for points. That's our fun.

Why do we do a points handicap? Without a points handicap, we would probably draw from chips for starting position. With drawn-spots will almost always ensure a chaotic start with fast and slow in random order, which gives a lucky fast kart a huge advantage over the rest of the field (and the law of averages guarantees that at least one or two fastest guys will always draw the front instead of always being places next to each other in the rear to ensure an even battle, and one or two of the slowest guys will be in dead last giving them no hope). In other words, drawing screws drivers by giving unfair advantages to some drivers and unfair disadvantages to others. Examples are the same driver winning and then getting the pole the next race with his next-best competition back in the back, seen several times throughout 2006-2008. When asked, most drivers in the Galletta's karting club AND the gas stocker karting division love the handicap starting system and won't race under a drawn order.

Now, the dispute is to let the #22 keep his points and disqualify his handicap, to disqualify him some points (9th instead of 4th) and let him keep his handicap (which we did on this page, but this has been challenged by track officials and Dave himself), or overlook our point-scoring rules (which we've used since the mid-1990s) and allow him to keep both his points and his handicap with no disqualification of any kind, which would negate the integrity of the points system and encourage passing under caution and keeping your spot after being directly involved in a caution. However, we will likely let Dave Melfi decide if he wants to keep his points and lose his handicap for one week, or keep his points-as-is and let him keep his handicap. However, if track officials insist on bypassing the Galletta's scoring system, then based on past experience, we predict that some drivers will begin to jump spots under caution, won't go to the rear when they wreck, argue with track officials, and skew the true points order and competitive spirit of the racing events. Discussion on the topic can be found here. We are also voting on how to score this every time it happens in this other message board thread.

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