9/11/2011: 9-11 Memorial - A Fiery 50?!
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11th, 2011: On the 10th anniversary of the worst attack in America's history, we dedicate our special Sunday afternoon race in honor of the people who lost their lives in the attacks and inn the following years defending our country's safety and freedom. The race was worthy of being called special, with close battles throughout, 2010 defending Klassic 200 champ Kyle Reuter getting some track and kart time in in preparation to defend his title in a few weeks, battles in traffic for the lead, a 1st-time rookie flipping a kart and starting a spectacular small fire on the dirt track, and then at the end it comes down between the three point leaders battling it out at the end. Check back soon for pics, descriptions, points and videos!
DVD Highlight YouTube Video
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.
Race Results
RETCON MAKEUP POINT / ROOKIE / REFRESHER RACE:
Retcon races are open to any driver who has missed at least one race during the year, and they are scored in the race that they missed. It also doubles as a quick refresher for those who haven't raced in a while, or, in the case of 1st-time rookies, serve as practice.
Brian Galletta leads the retcon race as the green flag drops. The race also marked the return of 2010 Defending Galletta's Klassic 200 Champion, Kyle Reuter, who is seeking some track and seat time in preparation of defense of the title. Kyle absolutely dominated the premier division at the Oswego Kartway for the last three years before retiring there and is looking into a Supermodified ride in the near future. The kart stalled and needed work, so he pulled out after 1 lap and let Brian and two 1st-time rookies battle it out.
|
50-LAP FEATURE EVENT:
Brian Galletta started on the pole of the 10-kart, 50-lap memorial race for 9-11.
|
The early part of the race had a huge battle brewing behind Brian Galletta. Joe Sereno, Justin Galletta, Chris Stevens, Melissa Stevens, Tim Galletta, Kyle Reuter and Matt Stevens were wheel to wheel looking to get to the front.
After a few hard-fought laps, Justin Galletta was able to get a good run under Brian for the lead. Chris Stevens then moved up a few spots and followed Justin by shortly thereafter. Kyle worked his way up to 4th and in pursuit of the leaders before hitting a loose patch and hence slipping off the top burn of the track (the fastest line if you can find the traction). The kart seemed to slow after that.
Justin and Chris were then gone, as they pulled away from the rest of the pack. In fact, Justin got some distance on Chris until lapped traffic put them bumper-to-bumper.
They bobbed and weaved through traffic, splitting it 3-wide in some cases.
However, trying another 3-wide pass attempt, on one lap Justin chose high and Chris chose low, around the lapped kart of Brian Galletta...
...but the #187 drifted into Justin's lane and sent him off the track, where he stalled. Justin has been close the last to weeks and has had frustrating incidents while leading. Much like Kyle's experience, he was unable to keep the speed up to make it back up to the front.
Joe Sereno battles under lapped traffic with Tim Galletta and Matt Stevens in hot pursuit.
The #9 - driven by 1st-time rookie driver Josh Hartley attempting to get around another 1st-time rookie driver Nick Kazmierski - slowly flipped and erupted into flames because the kart was not flipped back over fast enough.
A note to anybody who tips one of these karts - get them upright immediately. The gas can leak out of the carbs and start a fire on the hot mufflers and headers.
We took care of it, but not before some fiery shots. Semi-retired former feature winner Larry Phillips would've preferred to get some hot dogs and make good use of that flame. Rumors say he is working on getting his balls back to at least get into the Klassic starting lineup with his trusty #04.
The top three points leaders then eventually made it up to 1-2-3, padding their point lead with coveted top-3 bonus points. This then led to Husky Helper-lookalike Joe Sereno again bringing up a Galletta conspiracy. Hmm... But, all kidding aside, if one looks at the experience chart, 1-4 have the most years under their belts as well. It just takes time to get a feel for the karts, the track, shaving precious microseconds off every lap and make your lap time better. Years and years of laps and laps of repetition is the key.
After Tim hit a bump and lost ground by getting into the loose dirt, Matt capitalized and went after Chris. Tim backed off to save his kart, allowing Matt and Chris to have a good battle for the last chunk of the race, but Chris was able to maintain a good pace without a serious challenge and take for the win, his 3rd of the year, and 1st in the #4. Kyle nearly got Melissa at the line for 5th, and Justin settled for 7th. Both Kyle and Justin's karts seemed to slow as the race progressed because they both looked much faster at the race's beginning.
|
As for the points, Matt bounced back from his string of sub-par performances with a strong 2nd place finish. However, the only person with more points with him thus far - his brother - was the one who got to the front first and padded his lead looking for his 3rd straight track title (a feat he once accomplished in 1999-2001). The only person to ever defeat Matt in a point standings that he entered has been his brother Chris. However, their cousin Tim says not so fast because he is still easily within striking distance. And because our Klassic 200 is scored for points with the equivalent of 4 or more regular features and over 200 opportunities at leader bonus points, the point standings are never final until the checkered flag drops on the annual Klassic's 200th lap, giving the top six core drivers who have raced every race thus far this season a potential shot at the title!
Fun time - THE 187 IS ON FAIH!!!!:
Randy 'Bobandi' Platt, who missed last week's race to watch his beloved New York Giants promptly get smashed by their hated division rival Washington Redskins, was informed via email that his kart was driven by Brian Galletta with the title saying, "THE 187 IS ON FIAH!!!"
Randy's response to this was, "hahahaha and just wanted to say WRONG thing to say for a subject title (187 on FIAHR) ahahahaha just about (SHAT) myself!!!!!!"
2011 Point Standings after 9/11/2011's Event
Pos. |
Name (Go-Karts Piloted)
|
Total Points (Place) |
Average Points Per Feature |
2011
|
2011
|
2011
|
2011 Feature Wins |
Career Feature Wins (2000-up) |
Years Pro at GKC |
|
1st |
|
2,188.0 |
115.16 |
14 |
19 |
0 |
3 |
57 |
16th |
|
2nd |
|
2,117.0 |
111.42 |
14 |
19 |
0 |
6 |
104 |
%3 |
