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ADDRESSING BASELESS ATTACKS FROM THE RUSSELL FAMILY AND COMPLETE STRANGERS, SUPPOSED FAMILY, AND FORMER FRIENDS:From 2007 to 2010, we raced with Shadoe Russell and his father George Russell . These were people who we genuinely liked, as they were friendly with us, had a passion for racing, and decent sportsmanship. George proved to be a good driver from the start due to prior dirt racing experience, but Shadoe was a beginner and at first caused a lot of cautions -- some dangerous -- due to his inexperience and nerves. Over time, Shadoe improved into a solid competitor and even won a feature late in 2010. However, due to circumstances that were outside of our control, knowledge and jurisdiction, someone badmouthed us to the Russell family and they erroneously believed baseless gossip over our friendships and competitive kart racing partnerships. This is a shame, as we enjoyed that friendship and had fun racing the Russell's, but that friendship was ruined by people who have never raced a go-kart, nor even understand the races that they claim to watch, mixed with the irrational and threateningly violent temper that George Russell at times demonstrated to have. But on this website we not only document every race that we hold (videos, pictures, race result, descriptions, wins and points -- all for free, no charge and just for the fun of sportsmanship amongst friends and family), and also defend ourselves when attacked. Here is the story:
On 10/11/2010, Mary Russell, the wife and mother of Galletta's Karting Club drivers George and Shadoe Russell respectively, accused property owner Mary Stevens of calling her and her family horrible names, which nobody heard. George and Shadoe have raced with us incident-free for four years (2007-2010) and nobody at Galletta's would ever say anything like this. This all occurred on Facebook as follows (NOTE: if any of the pictures do not load, refresh this page, as this page is all but defunct due to Photobucket being extortionist trash and a few nervous people who lie and/or don't want the truth getting out...):
This was said on facebook on 10/11/2010 and went unseen by us until 10/15/2010, and in the meanwhile it was followed by
horrible, malicious, cowardly and asinine comments by an ignorant "joke" of a total stranger who claimed to have been here yet we do not know and we have never met (and then rather cowardly refused to answer me, typical of two-faced dishonest gossip liars), yet and we are unable to respond to it, effectively being libel/slander and essentially a block of our freedom of speech. However, it did not end there, and it continued on Shadoe Russell's facebook on 10/14 through 10/16/2010, which was the very first time we heard of it and were able to respond to:
Since then, the above postings from Shadoe's Facebook have since been deleted (we at Galletta's all have been de-friended, but they remain friends with all of the people whom they met racing at Galletta's, including some that have called them vicious names behind their backs), and Mrs. Russell blocked us from her own Facebook, where she started all of these horrible comments to her facebook friends and allowed strangers that did not know us to take cheap and cowardly pot-shots without defense (so much for freedom of speech, no?
One-sided cheap-shot comments while ignoring/blocking the other side of the story is NOT freedom of speech AND VERY biased, one-sided and hence VERY unsportsmanlike, Mrs. Russell and lil' bunny-face woman who we have never met but never let that stop a gossip!). The pictures are the only evidence of this we have. We never met these people, and if they ever were here to watch a race once, they never introduced themselves, thanked us for hosting a free race with their friends, nor had the intellectual honesty explain themselves in what they meant or come to us with any complaints. Since this woman never explained herself nor apologized to us for her hateful comments, I can only give a hypotheses to what she is talking about, as it is the only likely time that this self-deluded fool could possibly be talking about. In all likelihood, this baseless gossip was probably one of the spectators here cheering mindlessly for Shadoe as he proceeded to wreck himself and several competitors in a 2009 race (including taking out race leaders as a lapped kart, as he had done several times in 2007-2009, which made some people swear to never race anymore if we allowed him on our track because of the danger), causing a lot of anger and complaints that he was a hazard and needed to get the black flag for not only his own, safety, but the safety of everybody on and off the track (this mean hers too). Apparently, this woman is an ignoramus about safety and sportsmanship, as her vision was clouded by blind bias towards her friend Shadoe, as he had many people cheering for him despite his tenancy to be in last place and wreck any kart that got close to him. This happened in 2007-2009, oddly when Doe was... quite frankly... terrible and hazardous. In Doe's defense, he steadily improved and turned into a competent driver in 2010, but not that Melissa-Schilling-DeCandia would ever know, as she blindly judged us for being impartial officiating for safety purposes and stopped watching Shadoe race here and make improvements! If that is her idea of sportsmanship, she needs to reevaluate her entire worldview, as it is heavily ignorant and skewed to her own clouded personal opinion, shunning reality for her feelings no matter what empirical evidence is right in front of them. Typical of many people like her nowadays. Again, if this woman explained herself and apologized, then this page wouldn't need to exist. But because of hate-filled, slanderous people like her, the world has problems with dishonesty, libel, and baseless character assassination. You will never catch me doing that, as if I say something, you better believe I have proof and evidence to back my claim, and a clear and concise defense in my honor and the honor of whomever I am defending. Do you, MSD? The truth has no agenda, and the facts don't lie... but people do. Meanwhile, I have their libelous garbage for all to see right here. So, what exactly happened that would make our friends do this to us? My grandpa Galletta - founder of the greenhouse that sponsors this club and father of the property owner Mary Stevens - was a cop and I like playing detective, so let's piece it together, shall we? Let's look back.
Apparently, Monica Gable apparently traded phone numbers with the Russell's one race day earlier this year. When, we don't know, but it was well before the Klassic, as Monica was not there, and the Russell's were not at the previous day's race. Seems rather harmless, as we are all a friends-and-family race club, no? We all get along and have fun racing, and 99% of the people who race with us have nothing but great things about the fun of the race, the pro-level competition, the affordability, and thanks for us. That's the point of our club! In fact, the Russell's raced with us on and off between 2007-2010 with nary a complaint. However, something abruptly changed, and oddly enough, at the height of George and Shadoe's success (as they both won features late in the season). Apparently Monica called and told the Russell's over the phone that Mary Stevens called them names and said that she didn't want the Russell's here. This is simply untrue. If it were true, why would we have built a complete kart for Shadoe, and a motor for George, stored them for long periods of time over the last two years, handicap them on the pole, invite them to all of our races and done everything we could to help them race with us? All the while when the other local track that we used to race at didn't want us to bring them? Not to mention how their karts are all prepared for pennies on the dollar- something that would cost thousands of dollars for anybody else to do for any other race class in the country, bar none. Think about it. What sense does it make? Well none, unless you piece some evidence together.
Why would Monica Gable, Matt's mother-in-law, say such horrible things about us to people she hardly knows? Especially odd is how Monica has called and spoken to Mary Russell (a stranger who she just met and barely knows) seemingly more than Mary Stevens (her daughter's mother-in-law of 2 years). That is a rather good question. Gee... why would she? Hmmm... well, maybe it is an odd coincidence, but maybe... just maybe it has something to do with one night prior to the first rant posted by Mrs. Russell. Let's have a flashback, shall we?
On the 2nd of two rather pointless and semi-boring 30-Lap "Fall Bonus Point" Features at Galletta's on 10/10/2010, Chris Stevens was accused of pushing his sister-in-law Melissa off of the track. However, the evidence in the animated shot (on the left is a smaller-scale thumbnail, but you can click on this picture to view a larger animated picture of the accident) does not align with the accusations. She drove off the track untouched, and had done it a few times before, most clearly on 8/8/2010. However, this did not stop Monica Gable. She angrily blamed yours truly, Chris Stevens for the wreck because I was battling Matt right behind her and was riding "too close" to Melissa, and told both me and my wife Au to "Go to hell!" Monica also called Au, who is Thai, a "CHINK!" Needless to say, everyone was stunned, as we have always gotten along great with Monica before this occurred. A part of racing is racing tight and close, and you have to be able to handle that and not wreck yourself. You also mustn't blame innocent people when a wreck occurs. It's a sport, and sportsmanship is what is called for, not angry attacks. This was all simply stunning. I simply said nothing other than "I didn't even touch her. But nobody yelled at her when she clearly put me off the track earlier this year. Please get off the track so that we can resume the race." I also knew the tape would prove my innocence, and just wanted the race to resume, while my wife Au was so stunned and hurt by Monica's actions that she had could not continue recording the rest of the event and then also could not eat or sleep that night. Monica also falsely accused Au of pointing in her face and telling her to get out, which clearly did not happen and no eyewitness can back up. As I recall, Au simply told her that I wasn't even near Melissa when she went off the track, and she asked Monica, "what if the tape proves you wrong?" -- Which it did, not that Monica ever watched it. She just told Au to, "shut up!"
So... what is the conclusion? It should be obvious to annybody with even the slightest cognative skills who read this and put two and two together.
Monica Gable, clearly mistaken and possibly delusional about the nature of our racing (and how close racing and little bumps aren't against the rules provided that it causes no wrecks), angrily ranting false accusations and even after spewing racist comments against anybody who drove too close to her daughter Melissa, further backstabbed her own family - her own daughter's in-laws, as she called Mary Russell and told her anything she could think of in order to sow discord against us - including how people were afraid to tell Shadoe he was racing light and that George was racing recklessly, exaggerating what Mary Stevens said about not wanting to pose in pictures because she has a weight problem (and misjudging it as an intentional slight against Mary Russell), and lying that anybody in our home ever called Shadoe a bad name (rather, other people - that he is all still friends on facebook with - did in fact call him the name). Well, it worked. The Russell's bought it. Congrats, Monica. As if we didn't have enough problems with some other local racers not liking us, you gave friends more.
Now, back to the comments, which continued for one more final exchange before the Russell's deleted and de-friended us. The final few comments are found below:
Mary Galletta Stevens wrote:
"Here we are again , some disgruntled people and some more accusations against us at Galletta’s. It all started because twenty years ago a 14-year-old kid bought a go-cart, then his brother bought one, then their father got one to race with them. Then friends joined, then we made our own carts, then word of mouth and we had people we don’t even know racing. Some of these people were those that didn’t know how to race. We have no control over the fact that they don’t drive well. All kinds of people came -- some nice, some mean, some even cheat to beat us which made us speed our own karts up, hence riskier driving. I hear it all of the time, “someone may get hurt,” but no one is more concerned than me. I complain, but I am outnumbered by those who enjoy the racing so much. Out of respect to my family, I concede, and time after time I stand by and watch people attack us, hurt our feelings and leave for what they see as greener pastures, because it can’t be their fault so it must be ours. This is our home, we open our yard to people out of the goodness of our hearts, to have fun, for friendship and good times. WE ARE NOT A PROFESSIONAL RACETRACK, we are a bunch of friends (maybe so, but some maybe not), because friends stick around, and when I look around, I don’t see many. Maybe it is pride, maybe competitiveness, but some people seem to think that the only way to beat Chris and Matt is to race somewhere else. I am a Christian, have been, all of my life. I believe the Bible, that he who would be first, let him be last. In other words , put others first and God will bless you, I believe God with all of my heart. Matt and Chris were raised this way and God always helps them, they don’t cheat, they are blessed.
May God have mercy on the people who turn on us, the principals by which we live will guide us all of our lives, and we feel good about our dealings with them. People come and people go, but God is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, and so we have peace. We are not perfect, but we never stop trying.
Maybe people who read this will understand, maybe not, but at the end of the day you have to live with yourselves. We can. If we always try to do right, then God will bless us. You can badmouth us, but you can’t ever take that away from us.
I understand that many will not accept any of this advice and this is fine. Someone once said, “ you can’t get blood out of a stone.” I wrote it in a poem a little different. I said “ A stone does not live or die, but only is a stone.” Some people never see the truth, they just exist, and when their life is done, they have only served themselves so no one remembers them. Yet those who love humanity and leave a part of themselves will leave a memory that will never die, but those who are spiritually dead will never really understand what it is like to really be alive.
Good luck to all of those who are not with us, I hope you feel that you have finally won. I hope your lives have been made richer , and that you have better memories of racing than the memories that you have left us.
Mary Stevens, property owner.
PS - To the Russell’s: In the past I have lashed out against people because I was tired of being snubbed and talked about on my own property, but I didn’t say anything towards your family, and I never said what I have been accused of saying by Monica. Many people have stabbed Matt & Chris in the back and now it appears to all that you now have done this too. I must admit and some people are agreeing with me now. I was right as usual. I don’t care if you race here or not, and we are certainly not begging you, but you are slandering us, and it is uncalled for. Matt and Chris are excellent drivers, they race clean and fair and they are not the cause of your troubles, and we don’t control the way the other people drive. Do you want us to ban everyone who you crash with, and be accused of being unfair? Shadoe crashed a lot the ‘07-‘08 Oswego Kartway Classics, we didn’t ban him and we helped and raced with him for all this time, even building and repairing his kart. You have no loyalty and if you continue with that attitude, I am sure you will not succeed at any other track, but good luck. Also the Kartway management will say anything to get customers, we’ve heard it all. The problem with them is, they can’t handle the jealousy of seeing real driving talent in more affordable, homemade karts. Oh well, birds of a feather. One more thing, ganging up on people, especially with those who we have never met, is the most cowardly thing anyone can do, so why not team up with some more hateful people against us while you’re at it. I guess I do know all about truth. Here we go again, a stone does not live or die, but only is a stone. Prove me wrong, you won’t. One last thing: You all owe Matt an apology. He doesn’t deserve any of this poor treatment."Then one final comment before the deletion and the de-friend-ing but Shadoe (which is ironic considering that Shadoe befriends everybody, including total strangers, fictional characters, celebrities, and two or three people that I have personally heard them call him the "R" word FOR REAL):
Mary Russell wrote:
"You know what mary we have heard enough of your crap, first of all where would monica get this if it didn't come from you, and you stated that you apologized if I recall, second of all my husband and shadoe paid alot of money for their Karts and your son matt was paid well, so I don't want to here any of that, and like I said were done with this whole matter, as far as my son is concerned he dosn't need any special treatment I am very proud of my son, he did well this year I suppose you helped him be a better driver!!!!!!! you sure got enough bs I tell you that and your making your self look like you have done nothing I wish that you would just drop this whole thing cause your looking like the ass here, were not teaming up with anyone we as a family stick together and we believe all should be treated equal and it's all about the galleta's they have to win all the time when they brake down or spin out do they go back of the track oh no they go right back in their spots let me tell you not only do we see this but others also and maybe they are afraid to tell the truth but I will not stand for your hurtful comments to me and my son, and you even admitted it , so take your stories and all your comments and keep them in your good Bible really tired of all the boo who shit from all of you all we don't owe anyone anything we paid everytime we came to that track and everything that matt has done for george's and shadoe's kart, so as far as we are concerned this is so done put a fork in it, carry on with your track people will see how you truly work and carry on with this nonsense of yours so mary please keep your comments to yourself cause we wish not to hear from you anymore cause you don't make any sense your just trying to cover up what you have said about my family and your trying to turn everything on us so you don't look bad, have a good night"After Mary Russell said that final post, the conversation was then deleted and her son de-friended us. We will not allow the slander/libel to stand. As far as I am concerned, one of my favorite commentators once said, "You always know who won a debate. The person who doesn't run away and who isn't ashamed to continue the conversation, and posts the debate on their website." We have nothing to hide and are not ashamed of anything we have written. We are, however, offended about the slanderous and untrue things being said about us, and we never stand for it. You may answer and respond here:
Mary Stevens wrote in response to Mary Russell on 10/16/2010:
Just to set the record straight, Here is what I apologized for my in-laws hurtful gossip and admitted only to this -
I have a temper, got it from my Dad, who I loved.
Sometimes lash out when angry, who doesn’t ?
I admitted that after seeing some victory photos that I said that don’t like my picture taken because I am fat, but it does not bother other people. Apparently someone heard that second hand, read into that and gossiped.
I never said what Monica accused me of saying about Shadoe or not wanting your family here.
Where did she get it? Not from me, I don’t gossip with anyone, ask Melissa, she does not want anyone to stop her from pushing around Matt. Obviously, Monica likes you a lot more than she likes me. Despite what anyone says she is responsible for the second hand gossip.
In any case if you have a disagreement with Melissa at some time, I am sure she will not have any loyalty to you either.
Everything you think I said is second hand hearsay, but let’s review what Mary Russell said on record about us, shall we?
Mrs. Russell said I need to lose a few pounds myself. Yes, I do, and I have lost a few but it is hard because I have an underactive thyroid, atrial fib. ( a heart irregularity), Kidney failure, and severe arthritis. So I can’t exercise, and I eat less than most people.
Mrs. Russell is disgusted by me. Sounds like intolerance and hate.
Mrs. Russell said "It is all about the Galletta’s we have to win every week" Wrong. Matt is weighed down to a standard weight, Chris and Matt have the same exact motors as everybody else, and they are always handicapped every week in the back due to points and wins. And more people won this year here than ever before, which shows that their racing is close, even, competitive and fair. Well, except one: Shadoe was drastically underweight (he weighs 45 lbs. less than the next lightest driver and over 150 lbs. lighter than the heaviest) and everyone else complained to us but were afraid to say anything. I wonder why? Because people knew that you all would be offended and whoever said it first will be attacked. We have seen Shadoe and George threaten to punch people and/or leave for far less, and hence we let Shadoe -- who has a beginners skill level at best -- race underweight. It helped him and gave him a chance. To our club, that's what we aim for -- making the racing even, and give everyone who sticks at it a chance.
Mrs. Russell said to put my comments in my Bible and keep them to myself. Sounds like hate speech, I am Christian, so I don’t have a right to speak.
Mrs. Russell said that I sound like an ass. Just because I may speak above your head, you don’t understand, but I make perfect sense.
Mrs. Russell said, "Chris and Matt always keep their spots after a wreck." A total lie. They always go to the back if they are involved in a wreck. All of the races are videotaped from two angles, and highlights put online. Find one instance where they did what you accused them of doing! Matt went to the back in the Classic 200 with around 20 laps to go and still got 2nd place. So did Chris and he came back and got 4th (and your husband -- a lapped kart -- blocked him and cut him off for 15 laps!). Either of them could have won if they didn't go to the rear so close to the end. Your husband was one lap down, disobeyed the passing flag, and blocked Jeff Tetro and Chris for countless laps. I overheard Jeff and Chris discuss it on the phone when Jeff called to pick up the Classic DVDs.
Mrs. Russell said, "We don’t owe Matt a thing because he got paid well." By what standards? Matt is underpaid. He does all that work for part-and-gas money, and gets what amounts to a nominal "tip" for his labor. Well, Matt is often under appreciated, and mistreated. The motor work Matt does is worth thousands of dollars (try to get any other crew do that work for you for less than Matt and they will laugh in your face), yet he does it only for part money. He does it out of friendship and love for his friends to race with us. I always tell him to ask for more, but to him, the payment is friends to race with every weekend, and not just race, but race fast enough to win. Think about it! He helps the competition beat him! And he loves the spirit of competition! That is the highest form of sportsmanship!
The Russell’s obviously only care about themselves.
It is obvious that some hateful people have bonded, traded phone numbers and do a lot of gossiping and hating. He said, she said, but who are the truly injured parties here. Clearly, it is us.
When I accused Mrs. Russell of snubbing and gossiping about us on our own property, she did not deny it and she showed her true feelings about us in her last post, which she then deleted. It was saved before she deleted it. Can’t be denied.
Who really is the victim here? Looks like it is the Christian again.
Mary Stevens, official scapegoat.PS on 10/17/2010 - After re-reading the above posts, I realized that I missed a comment before and felt the need to respond. Mrs. Russell said that it was 'told' to her that I did not want the Russell's here because of Shadoe. I wanted to publically say that this is a lie. I have said that I don't want backstabbing, gossipers here because of all the trouble that they cause. If the truth be told, I was not planning a cookout for our classic this year because I have had a lot of trouble walking due to arthritis. The reason I had the Classic cookout was because Shadoe and my nephew Tim wanted one, and then everyone else agreed. I worked hard all week to prepare and my back is so bad that I can hardly move my legs. I never even saw Mrs. Russell's post until today (Saturday 10/17/2010), and I never admitted to saying that despite what her rantings implied.
I want to also say that all of my family was so upset about this gossip that they could not eat or sleep. Matt was shaking he was so upset. I cried because I heard my grown son Chris on the phone talking about it, upset that people would actually say these things in public about us and the racing here. It sounded like someone had a gun to his head, he was so distressed. I am the one who is disgusted by these gossipers, and if they knew anything about the Bible they would know that God says gossiping is the same as murder. The Bible says, "The power of life and death is held in the tongue, and those that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." This matter is in the hands of a mighty God, and the only thing to do is repent and pray for mercy. For those who don't believe in God now, all I can say is, someday you will, and you will bow down before Him.
As far as I am concerned, these troublemakers are not welcome on my property, barring an apology, which I do not think will ever happen. Prove me wrong, you won't.
-Mary Stevens
PPS on 10/18/2010: I just read another quote from Mrs. Russell, she said that I talked about her but I took her money though. Absolutely incredible, talk about injustice. I never, never, never take one cent of money. That belongs to the club - it is Matt's for the cost of keeping the karts running! All of that money goes for maintenance, gas, oil, tools, etc. etc. Matt's work is practically free. The Russell's will soon discover how expensive it is to build and maintain four carts or whatever, I guess George will have to quit his job because it is so time consuming. And none of the other tracks will allow he and his son to race 45-55 lbs. underweight, nor will they stop the race to restart his kart when they wreck, nor NOT give them the black flag when they bring out too many cautions, wreck into people and blame everyone but themselves. Maybe the go-cart fairy will magically make it all happen. Get to work, 'Tink. What I do though is pay for lights, electricity. water, tools, welder and supplies, even down to the computer, recording equipment, and DVD's. You should see my electric bill from lights and welding going on, and not all of this is not paid for by donations given to Matt (which all goes 100% to gas and kart parts). Mrs. Russell said, "Matt though is paid very well." Give me a break. In case you think we are rich, the Greenhouse is a seasonal business with a high overhead and four people derive basic necessities from working very hard . These people have perpetrated the most major injustice you can imagine. Before you open your mouth or type on your facebook to your clueless and classless friends about us, maybe you should make sure that you have really thought about everything from every side and point of view and not spout out tired old banter that has been refuted may times before. All you have done is hurt Shadoe, the son you claim to protect, as he just wanted to race. To quote Mrs. Russell, " what comes around, goes around." Indeed it will, indeed it will. Don't come back pretending that nothing happened after the horrible things you have said and done to us.
Now, in case you don't know, the creator and webmaster of this entire website is Chris Stevens. As to reference of when either my brother or I got into a wreck and did not go to the rear of the field, I will give $100 to anybody who can find at any point on DVD or YouTube when this occurred. I will keep my $100 because this has never happened. I could not live with myself to cheat, and if I had to resort to cheating to win a silly go-kart race, is the day I stopped racing. I hate liars and cheats, and I will never become one. (And all racing is silly when it comes down to it. It's fun, but silly, so people that cheat to win a go-kart race have to be really low! Sheesh!). This is an absolute false accusation, and I certainly remember points when people accused me of doing so (for example, when Randy Platt blew a chain in front of me and then he went off the track and someone said I should have went to the rear because I was BEHIND him and touched his bumper after the caution came out? Huh? Ask Randy! His chain blew, the caution came out, and I came to a stop behind him to both protect him from being struck and to see what was wrong with his kart. I was not involved in the wreck, and unobservant people blamed me of being in the wreck. Utterly foolish! I was even accused by Monica Gable of pushing her daughter -- my sister-in-law Melissa -- off the track again the video proved that I wasn't within 5 feet of her. The DVD proved me right on every occasion so far this year, yet people still accuse.). If anybody has such accusations, say them to my face with video evidence. If you do not have it, then shut up and keep your gossipy whines of baseless slander and ignorance to yourself. Thought so. Apparently character assassination is cheap if nobody can take me up on a $100 bet to prove their point. Backstabbing losers.
Also, my wife would like to make comments about George blaming everybody else for wrecking him (and he would be involved in 1-7 wrecks per week with someone else to blame every time), but denying he wrecked anybody, including me.:
Rungnapha Stevens says:
For Shadoe himself, he races clean. He used to wreck more, but got better. And although bumping does happen - every race in the world in every class people do make some contact by accident - George doesn't want to admit that he also bumps people and always makes himself to be the victim of a bump, but this is the one example that Chris said and George denied above. The DVD (one week before the Klassic), which the Russell's have a copy and can watch any time, shows it even more clearly, but the picture works as well:
The tape NEVER lies. And nor do I. I despise liars and feel like gossiping slanderers are silent killers.
The final point:
George claimed that it's all about Galletta's and we have to win every time - our way or the highway. Is he serious or is he just smokin' mad and making things up? The facts completely demolish George's accusation. The facts are: This season alone at Galletta's, we had 15 different winners out of 21 features, including 10 first time feature winners - amongst that number was George and his son Shadoe, something even his own mother (who attacks us here) couldn't even believe he could even come close to doing (I heard her say it with my own ears as did many others), with Chris and Matt - despte racing these karts fore essentially 20 years while the others only raced 1-5 years - combining for only 4 of those 21 possible wins, including Chris and Matt being handicapped in the rear in every race except the Klassic 200-Lapper, which is determined via time-trail score. Not to mention the first ever non-Galletta's-founder Klassic winner in 15 years of the event! The vast majority of these people won in Galletta's Arrive-and-Drive Karts, and the others are karts that were built and tuned by Galletta's, meaning that most of the wins came in our own karts with all kinds of different drivers in them. I myself, only won 1 feature this season, the least of my career. Only getting into the top-3 so much kept my points high, but I only led around 45-50 laps all season, all in the one race that I won. Matt won only 3, the least of his career. Not to mention our handicap system which keeps the lowest-point performing drivers in the front and the winners/high-point-scorers in the back. This means that not only do Matt and myself start in the back the majority of the time (usually in dead last every single race - especially Matt most weeks), and they both follow the same rules (go to the rear if they are involved in a wreck or are penalized if they break the rules same as anybody), but the karts that they prepare for their drivers are all competitive, feature-winning karts - meaning many of these drivers are winning in essentially our backup karts. But those backup karts are all equalized and capable of a win provided the driver knows how to drive and stays out of accidents. If a driver is good and keeps at it, they will win. The most consistent drivers are rewarded with points (getting into the top 3 consistently and avoiding accidents are the sure-fire way to score a ton of points), and myself and my bro are always up there competing for a win, and 20 years of karting experience has to account for something, no? In addition, for the first time ever, Chris invented a system of "make-up" races, where drivers who missed features could get a make-up show and score points. Nobody took advantage of this system more than Shadoe and George, as they missed several shows yet were allowed to get back into the thick of things by this rule, which basically isn't all that fair to people who do make every show. They would have been further back in the points if not for this system that I made for people like them. But we understand that sometimes people can't make it, and we want them competing, so it's an allowance we made. Considering that George and Shadoe won in karts built, prepared and tuned by Galletta's and they were handicapped in front of Chris and Matt most of the season, one would think that they could wrap their minds around how silly this sounds. Can these people be taken seriously? Honestly, some people simply speak before they think, and slander people with lies and utter nonsense. We did nothing but help these people, and look at how we were treated. They speak of going to other tracks, but racing what, racing with whom, and where? After all, one of the local tracks is where our entire class including the Russell's was called the highly offensive "r" name that we have been falsely accused of calling Shadoe by a prominent racer there. And the operator at a track that we used to race it once told us that Shadoe "looked like a pinball out there", and his driving skill was at a "child/beginner's level" and "he shouldn't be out there", but he "couldn't tell him" no for fear of discrimination accusations. Yet this very same person discriminated against our whole karting class after 3 years of racing there (for example, ignoring our rules and forcing us to race against larger motors with admittedly 'open' rules) and booted us without valid reason or apology. All the while we built a kart for Shadoe, raced with him for years, groomed him from a small child-like level of racing into a beginner-level racer and we are the villains because of a gossiping old lady's lies believed over us. Nice. So there you have it. I wish that these people would suck it up, admit they were wrong, apologize to those that they attacked and be ready to race next season. But guess what... unfortunately the same reason that they complained and slandered us is the same reason that they will never apologize and never be back. It's called stubborn pride.
-Christopher Stevens, Co-Founder/Racer/Record-Keeper/Video Producer/Spokesman/Apologist and Webmaster of Galletta's Karting ClubP.S. 10/8/2010 - My brother -- head mechanic, and co-founder of the Galletta's Karting Club -- Matt Stevens has decided to break his silence on the subject:
After some time I've decided to add into the matter. I feel betrayed and backstabbed by the actions and accusations of the Russell's, and it's too bad that they decided to take untrue rumors over the facts of how well we've treated them for years. All that time I spent fixing and storing their kart for free, preparing their motors, letting Doe race 40-45 lbs. underweight, and helping them improve and do well all season (they got 3 wins between the two of them this season) didn't count in our friendship, I suppose. Since they acted this way against us, now planning on going elsewhere and not racing with us anymore, I felt like someone should note that George also was one of the only drivers out of control and crashing with people in nearly every race, and it is odd that he is talking about us being a dangerous track when he was one of the only ones wrecking all season. And there may be a valid reason, since he raced so well in 2009 and then suddenly raced so poorly in 2010: Any future tracks he races at should give him a breathalyzer before he comes on the track. There were numerous times that several different people came to me on separate occasions claiming that George not only had alcohol on his breath before race time, which may have led to his accident-prone driving, but a few others noted that he smelled like he was also abusing other 'recreational' substances, also making him paranoid that others were out to wreck him and threatening to punch them and/or leave for other tracks. We were told after the races were over, but none of us wanted to bring it up with him because we did not want to offend him, we all saw his temper, seen on a few occasions, especially one where he threatened to punch two of our volunteer flaggers, Mike Howell, and his father, Eric. I feel bad about it, but facts are facts and I felt it needed to be taken into consideration in hindsight of his actions that have hurt us recently.
-Matt Stevens
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Backstabbin' Gossipin' Lyin' Grumpy Gary Miller Sr. Does It Again.. for the LAST time:
We have known Gary Miller Sr. since 2005, when he came out with the Pitsleys (a family who used to race with us and liked, but due Kris P. to fighting and arguing/fighting too many times with too many people, she was asked to not come back unless she apologized and stopped fighting, and stealing Matt's kart gas donations. She never did, and her family - husband Ken P. and son Rob J. - also never came back. We miss them, but not Kris' fighting. And Gary led the charge saying, "You gotta' cut your losses and get rid of them, all they do is fight and steal."). Gary raced most of the year, raced well, and tied for the rookie-of-the-year. He proved to be a decent driver when he was doing well. However, every time his kart suffered a mechanical failure, or he felt like he couldn't get to first place, he would throw a temper tantrum and quit. He also stored his karts at our greenhouse/garage for 5 years, under-paid for the replacement parts and maintenece that Matt Stevens did on his karts, and then complained when his kartwould break even though he did not give Matt enough funds to replace worn-out parts. He did it so many times - and in 2007, he even demanded to have his name off the website because we pointed at the fact that he angrily quit almost every race he ever entered - that we made this humorous profile about him. We forgave Gary many times, even though we knew he gossipoed against us to everyone he knew. And he gossiped about everybody. You, reading this page? If you have raced here once, or been here once, and he knows you, he has talked about you behind your back to us. He bacstabbed us and lost us a few drivers over the years by lying to them and telling them all that we either cheat or don't run our backyard track right. Even though we asked him many times that if he felt like he could help us improve the track, he was welcome to. He never did, and just kept bitching. EVen when we bent over backwards to help him race with us. Then, after the 2010 Klassic, when he had his final temper tantrum, he blew up on facebook, de-friended me (I was the one who helped him set up his facebook!!!), stopped coming out to race and stopped all his friends from racing with us.:
He then said he would never come back. Fine. But stop badmouthing us to people Gary. We know you do it. Just stop.
THE FINAL WORD: ENOUGH of the drama! We simply will not tolerate it anymore. We allow people -- sometimes friends, sometimes family, sometimes total strangers -- on our property for a friendly friends-and-family race, and some (a small but vocal minority of) people take advantage of our hospitality and get mad at us over nothing. If you have an accusation, let us know about it to our faces and back it up with solid evidence, but do not embarrass yourself with lies and baseless attacks, because I will expose you to the world on this website for the liar that you are. Also, if you fight and/or argue on the property, you will not be asked back. Matt and myself are very fair, forgiving, open, and understanding people, but the fighting and bickering must stop. This is the end of it, so please take note. Monica Gable and Mary Russell have -- joining another woman from 2006 as the only banned persons from Galletta's -- been barred from the club for arguing, fighting, gossiping, backbiting, hurting all in the club. All three would be allowed back with apologies, which, unfortunately, we predict will never come. Gary Miller Sr. was also banned (for continuously badmouthing and lying about us to everyone he knows in addition to not paying for his kart's work, gas, parts and storage and being the only person who repeatedly stormed off the track like a child for 5 years), but after his apology, he is forgiven as long as he stops all of the negativity and acts like a mature adult and not a snotty child like he has been since we started racing with him. Let it be a lesson - NO MORE FIGHTING OR GOSSIPING WILL BE TOLERATED, ALONG WITH NO MORE DRUNKS NEAR THE TRACK. PERIOD.
-Christopher Stevens, 10/2010
2/5/2011 Update: Ah, the Russell's just keep proving that they have no class, even less loyalty, and just plain ain't that smart. And I don't mean Shadoe, whom we genuinely liked and still do. Months go by, and they can't mind their own business and they are at it again. Must be all the dope-smokin' and liquor-guzzling. Well, the time for apologies has long passed, and if they just can't keep their hatred to themselves, then they get to see a little harsher side of me:
Typical of he Russell's... ignorance is bliss. If she watched that, she'd see her drunk husband running over Jeff Tetro's leg. Tetro would not dare tell anybody of the truth because he did not wish to offend the guilty party, but we all saw the evidence on tape. Evidence brings light to the truth and lies only do well in the night. But it wasn't George's fault, right, Mary? Jeff got in the way when hubby was drunk and trying to win a make-up point heat race (which meant they weren't even racing each other technically) DURING THE WARMUP LAP is all. One where passing probably would not effect your position because they are technically in different races and running for past race point credit. Haha! Again... I will no longer pull punches with anybody who publicly gossips against us or attacks our club unfairly. Especially hypocrites of the Nth degree like them. We were nothing but kind and helpgul towards them and had nothing but fun with them. Then, they attacked us and never came back. So, whatever. You have been warned. Lay off the pot, lay off the liquor, the lines, the needles, keep your (what others - including your one buddy, not us, have called) "retarded" comments to yourself and go your own way, Mrs. Russell. Cheer for your hubby and son in NASCAR school or whatever. I'm sure they'll have people there to tell them to not drink and drive and also have people to start his cart for him.
-Christopher Stevens, 2/5/2011
Galletta's Greenhouse Gas Flathead Dirt Karting Club & Backyard Speedway
60 County Route 20
Oswego, NY, USA
13126-6512
Telephone:
(315) 343-0879
or
(315) 343-4281
(Ask for Matt or Chris only!)
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