10/6/2012 - KLASSIC 200 (200-Laps/14-Drivers):

The starting lineup of our annual Klassic Championship is always double-file. At Galletta's, with our unique 1-wheel-drive karts and turning right, the outside groove is the quicker line, thus outside is ahead of inside (opposite of most races).

When the green flag dropped, the front row of Brian and Chris battled side-by-side for a lap until...

...Brian took the lead with his brand-new (chassis and motor alike) Brian Galletta Racing #13, built for all month prior and finished the day of the race (with help from Matt Stevens, Wes Stevens and Randy Platt).

Chris was in his Galletta's/Chrusher.Com #8, which still has a motor on it that won the Klassic last year, and that Chris had only driven sporadically to save it for the big show (driving his Galletta's/Chrusher.Com #4 and Galletta's/Chrusher.Com #74 most of the regular season), and was content to try and say in the top-3 all race until Joe Sereno spun him out in the back stretch on lap 35 (breaking the steering column in the Galletta's #5 with his massive, brute-force Popeye-esque forearms in the process).

The usually flawless, clutch-time Matty-Joey Stevens did not go without his share of troubles. Last season, he led the entire Klassic until a late-race re-fueling put his brother (and eventual winner) Chris into the lead late, a lead that he was unable to overcome. This year, Matt decided to go with his #3 in a Klassic for the first time since his #33 was built (in 2006). The last four times he drove the #3 in the Klassic? He won... (2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005). However, the #3's undefeated streak in Klassics came to an end (when Chris used it as a backup in 2nd half of the 2006 Klassic and got 2nd to Wesley James Trogre Stevens in the #4, but it also came to an end with Matt behind the wheel today) when a spinning Billy Ruggio (in the Ruggio Racing #02) collected Matt and his wife Melissa Stevens (in her Scissor's-n-Fur #19). However, our club allows people to own and qualify backups, and Matt jumped into his #33. His wife also jumped into her backup, the #80. [Reminder: Backups can be used for a point dedction, in a regular season race, it is usually -5 pts., but in the 200-Lap Klassic, it is a -20pt. deduction AND the fuel must be siphoned from one kart to the next (or at the least an equal measurement)]. Ruggio kept going for a short time afterwards, but handling issues got the better of Bill, who then parked the #02 and didn't get into his own backup (#02b). He claimed his leg hurt a little after the wreck, but we know the truth... that Bill Ruggio MMA-kicked the crap out of TWO karts, including one of the all-time winningest karts, the # Galletta's #3!

Meanwhile, during the first 54 laps, Brian was in full command of the race - and at times had around a straight-a-way lead on 2nd place.

However, it seemed as if Brian suddenly lost a lot of speed, as Kyle Reuter out of nowhere caught the #13 in traffic and took the lead in the Galletta's Greenhouse #2. Kyle, a highly experienced racer (in Quarter Midgets, Methanol Karts and Galletta Karts alike) is the only visiting driver to win the Galletta's Klassic in the prior 16 year history of the event, usually tries to get up front and stay there, knowing just how hard it is to pass at Galletta's with the karts all being so close. Here he is being chased by Randy Platt in his Platt-Num Murder #187 kart, who also got Brian before the #13 dropped out (he then got into his backup, the #28, but after a couple of spins in it, parked both his karts for the night). Reuter then led the next 74 laps with little to no challenges from the field, although Platt stayed with him most of the time.

However, lapped traffic proved to be pivotal as ever. Kyle was trapped behind his old donated kart - the Galletta's #9 driven by Joe Buske - while trying to put the Galletta's #9 a lap down. At Galletta's, our outside groove is our quicker one, so since around 2008 or so, karts that see the passing flag are allowed to choose a line and hold it (no bobbing and weaving), and the quicker high line is preferred and welcome, as it makes things interesting when there is a bumper-to-bumper battle for the win. That's what was going on here! The battle was intense, with Randy Platt, Melissa Stevens, Chris Stevens, and Matt Stevens all tire-to-tire and bumper-to-bumper trying to use that traffic to take the lead. Melissa pulled out of a legitimate shot at the lead in the low groove, trapping Chris behind her, and Matt followed Randy Platt into the lead on lap 114. This would not be the last time that lapped traffic would alter the lead.

Although Kyle lost three spots in the exchange and dropped to fourth, he stayed right with the leaders looking for a way back into the lead. Observe above the four-kart train, bumper-to-bumper!

Chris and Matt battled each other back and forth most of the night once again.

When Randy The Bobandinator Bambi-Killer Platt took the lead, he seemed to have set a somewhat slower pace than previous leaders Brian and Kyle had. Chris and Matt battled back and forth furiously behind him, passing each other more than once. But on lap 139, when Chris performed a slinghot move and pulled alongside the #187, Randy oddly just spun out, most likely driving a bit too high and hitting a loose patch inbetweeen turns 3 and 4 when he saw the #8 under him. Ran the Man was VERY upset.

This part of the race has the three winningest veteran karting drivers in quite probably the state and possibly points beyond... Chris Stevens #8, Matt Stevens #33, and Kyle Reuter #2 were 1-2-3 for clutch time. Although Kyle was slowing down as the race wore on (and it was later discovered that his right front tire was leaking air, which, in a Galletta's kart, means the drivewheel is losing contact. Even so, he still successfully held top three for a large majority of the race despite losing a lot of speed in the last third or so of the race).

With Kyle losing speed, Brian dropping out and Randy spinning out, Chris and Matt were essentially the same speed at the end of the show, pulling away in a 1-2 train. Whomever was in the lead, the other would be on his tail. If one pulled away for a lap or two, the other could catch back up again a lap or two later. For laps 140-163, Chris was in the lead with Matt staying on his bumper.

Remember when I said that lapped traffic changed the outcome more than once? Well, when the leaders caught up with Dave Spanfelner in the DS Humphrey's #54, Dave held the upper line (his right), and holding that line proved him to be hard to pass. For a few laps, Chris and Matt were side-by-side behind Dave, unable to pass him. On lap 164, Chris tried slingshotting Dave, but when he was unable to get the pass, Matt ducked outside around Chris and then inside of Dave. The caution came out when one of the extention cords for the lights became detached and hung up on one of the karts (the #8). The caution coming out saved Dave from going a lap down, but it put Matt in the lead.

Again, for the next twenty-five laps, Matt retured the favor in leading Chris, and Chris returned the favor in dogging him just as Matt had done to him before.

Then... lapped traffic again altered the outcome. Again, the two leaders come up on the always-hard-to-pass Dave Spenfelner. And, again, Chris and Matt bumped and grinded bumpers and tires behind the #54. And, on lap 189, Matt decided to go for it, and drifted into Dave. When he connected with the #54, it drifted into the loose patch just above the fast groove, and then Chris was almost collected with Dave, but got out of it, but not without making contact himself. The race would've continued, but the start line pilon in turn 4 got stuck in the front bumper of the #54. The result was that the caution came out. At the start finish line, Chris let Matt know that he was upset that Matt did not lap Dave clean, and that the #33 basically wrecked #54, and not just that, but he wrecked Dave into the #8 as well. Matt was not told to go to the back by anybody, but in his frustration, he elected to put imself at the rear of the field. Chris went on to win unchallenged, as Reuter's tire was down and he could barely hold off Melissa Stevens let alone challenge for the lead, and Matt finished 5th on track. The conclusion of the race was met with intense ire and protest, as the property owner and Matt himself did not feel that he should've been sent to the back. But the fact of the matter is that... nobody did! The starter didn't. Chris didn't. He elected to go to the rear without a view of the cameras. Basically, everyone was angry at Chris for complaining about Matt tapping Dave and bringing out a caution, and Chris basically didn't want any part of winning that race due to all of the anger about it. Ogie... however... will gladly step up to take credit...

So... Guess who won?

Final Order of Finish

Posted in 2012 by ChrusherComix Studios

Yeeaah, beaotches!

FINISH: Pos. | Driver (Karts driven) | 2012 Wins
Finished All 200 Laps:
1st. (?)		Chris Stevens (...Or... did... Ogie take the win?!) Chrusher.com/Galletta's Greenhouse #8 [31 laps led; 113 2nd/3rd place laps; 2 timeouts used]
1st (?)		Matt Stevens (?) Galletta's Greenhouse #3 [Started]; Galletta's Greenhouse #33 [Finished] [26 laps led; 63 2nd/3rd place laps; 1 timeout used; -20pt. kart chage penalty]
2nd.		Kyle Reuter Galletta's Greenhouse #2 [74 laps led; 92 2nd/3rd place laps; +20pt. no kart change/no timeout bonus]
3rd.		Melissa Stevens Scissors N' Fur #19 [Started]; Scissors N' Fur #80 [Finished] [0 laps led; 6 2nd/3rd place laps; -20pt. kart chage penalty]
4th.		David Spanfelner D.S. Humphreys #81 [Started]; D.S. Humphreys #54 [Finished] [0 laps led; 0 2nd/3rd place laps; -20pt. kart change penalty]
1st/5th. (?)		Matt Stevens Galletta's Greenhouse #3 [Started]; Galletta's Greenhouse #33 [Finished] [26 laps led; 63 2nd/3rd place laps; 1 timeout used; -20pt. kart chage penalty]
6th.		Randy Platt Platt-num Racing's Murder #187 (broke on 2nd turn on final lap) [28 laps led; 88 2nd/3rd place laps; +20pt. no kart change/no timeout bonus]
Finished Green-to-Checker, but Lapped:
7th.		Joe Buske Galletta's Greenhouse #9 [0 laps led; 0 2nd/3rd place laps; +20pt. no kart change/no timeout bonus]
Did Not Finish:
8th.		Brian Galletta Brian Galletta Racing #13 [Started]; Brian Galletta Racing #28 [Finished] [52 laps led; 53 2nd/3rd place laps; -20pt. kart change penalty]
9th.		Billy Ruggio Ruggio Racing #02 [0 laps led; 0 2nd/3rd place laps]
10th.		Adam Lytle Lytle Racing #33c [0 laps led; 0 2nd/3rd place laps]
11th.		Eric Woolworth Woolworth Racing #78 [Started]; Galletta's Greenhouse #1 [Finished] [0 laps led; 0 2nd/3rd place laps]
12th.		Joseph Sereno Galletta's Greenhouse #5 [started & finished]; Galletta's Greenhouse #7 [middle]; [0 laps led; 10 2nd/3rd place laps; 2 timeouts used]
Ceremonial Start, Did Not Compete:
Tied: 13th.		Brandon Matott Galletta's Greenhouse #7 [0 laps led; 0 2nd/3rd place laps]
Tied: 13th.		Clue Gilman D.S. Humphreys #54 [0 laps led; 0 2nd/3rd place laps]

2012 Point Standings after 10/6/2012's Event

For the Galletta's Karting Club's World Championship of 1WD Gas Flatheads held on Galletta's Greenhouse Backyard Karting Speedway for the 2012 season to date, scored in this manner. Our complete All-Time Points Standings from 2000-to-'the-last-completed-season' are found on this webpage, our division's complete 2006-08 standings on Oswego Speedway's lil' Kartway on this page, and our 2000-to-'the-last-completed-season' wins are on this page. At season's end, the current totals will be added into the below:

FINAL STANDINGS NOTES: The controversial finale was absolutely critical to the final standings. But only for two people, the track championship between Chris and Matt, and it had no impact on anybody else. For example, if Chris won and Matt finished 5th on track (as he did after he went to the rear near the end of the race), then Chris wins the track Championship by 75.5 points. If Matt won or tied with Chris, Matt wins the track championship by at least 40.5 points. That's how close the point stamdings were and how important the race was for the final. Chris reliquished the win and allowed Matt to win the track championship, as no other solution could be made (there were talks of completing the race as none of the karts were touched for a week afterwards, but due to only if all of the drivers could've made it, which was impossible. Thus, the end is in forever nonsensical trucial abysmia. As for the rest of the group, everybody else actuallyal just finished in the same spot they were in when they went into the 200, with the exception of Randy Platt passing Tim Galletta, who was several states south of NY and sadly unable to attend. Dave's completion of all 200 laps clinched him not only the rookie of the year, but also the Visitor's Track Championship! He didn't win a race in the regular season, but he was there in every race and finished consistently enough to earn the two titles.

Pos. (Last Week)	Name (Go-Karts Piloted) [Most drivers have clickable Driver Profiles]	Total Points (Place)	Average Points Per Feature	2012 Events	2012 Features	2012 Heat Wins/ Entered	2012 Feature Wins *=Tie	2012 Klassic Win/ Entered	Career Feature Wins (2000-up)	Years Pro at GKC
1st.	Master Matt Stevens (tt) (Galletta's #3,33, 0, 1, 02, 74, 80)	3,108.5	135.15	16	23	3/9	10*	1*/1	114*	17th
2nd.	Chris "Chrusher" Stevens (Galletta's #8, 4, 74) (tt)	3,068.0	133.39	16	23	2/9	6*	1*/1	64*	17th
3rd.	Melissa Stevens (Scissors 'n Fur #19, 80)	2,499.0	108.65	16	23	2/9	1	0/1	6	6th
4th.	David Spanfelner (D. S. Humphrey's #54, 81, Galletta's #9, 7, 6) (^) (t)	2,393.5	104.07	15	23	2/9	0	0/1	0	1st
5th.	Brian Galletta (Platt-num #287, Galletta's #7) (tt)	2,365.0	102.83	16	23	1/9	1	0/1	2	7th
6th.	Eric Woolworth (Galletta's #1, 2) (^) (t)	2,160.5	93.93	15	23	1/9	0	0/1	0	1st
7th.	Joe Sereno (Galletta's #5, 6, 7) (^^^) (tt)	2,106.0	91.57	12	23	1/6	3	0/1	4	2nd
8th.	Adam Lytle (Lytle #33c, Ruggio #02b) (tt) (^)	1,903.0	82.74	15	23	0/9	0	0/1	0	1st
9th.	Bill Ruggio (Ruggio #02, Galletta's #6, 0) (^^^^) (t)	1,821.0	79.17	11	23	1/9	0	0/1	0	1st
10th. (11th.)	Randy "Bobandi" Platt (Plattnum #187, Galletta's #2) (^^^)	1,456.5	104.04	6	14	1/4	1	0/1	6	5th
11th. (10th.)	Tim Galletta (T-Galletta #54) (^) (t)	1,161.0	89.31	8	13	1/4	1	0/0	7	4th
12th.	Kyle Reuter (Galletta's #2, 1)	688.0	688.00	1	1	0/1	0	0/1	4	5th
13th.	Joe Buske (Galletta's #9) (^)	538.0	134.50	2	4	0/1	0	0/0	0	®
14th.	Justin Galletta (Galletta's #7)	523.0	104.60	3	5	0/1	1	0/0	2	2nd
15th.	William Truax (Galletta's #9, 7, DS Hum. #81) (^^) (t)	450.0	64.29	3	7	1/2	0	0/0	0	®
16th.	Brandon Matott (Galletta's #7)	280.0	280.00	1	1	0/1	0	0/1	0	®
16th.	Clue Gilman (DS Humphreys #54)	280.0	280.00	1	1	0/1	0	0/1	0	®
18th.	Doug Bradford (Galletta's #0, #1)	257.0	85.67	3	3	1/2	0	0/0	0	®
19th.	Kevin Galletta (Galletta's #7)	246.0	61.50	2	4	0/0	0	0/0	0	2nd
20th.	Eric Sereno (Galletta's 6)	176.0	88.00	1	2	1/1	0	0/0	0	®
21st.	Fred Collins (Galletta's #9) (^)	159.0	79.50	1	2	0/1	0	0/0	2	6th
22nd.	Matthew McGinley (Galletta's #7, 6) (^)	146.0	48.67	1	3	0/1	0	0/0	0	®
23rd.	James Fragale (Galletta's #6) ^	146.0	48.67	1	3	0/0	0	0/0	0	®
24th.	Jason King (Galletta's #9) (^)	145.0	48.33	1	3	0/1	0	0/0	0	®
25th.	John Moore (Galletta's #9) (^)	137.0	68.50	1	2	0/1	0	0/0	0	®
26th.	Shawn Malone (Galletta's #9) (^)	133.0	66.50	1	2	0/1	0	0/0	0	®
27th.	Shane Fetterly (Galletta's #6) (^)	127.0	63.50	1	2	0/2	0	0/0	0	®
28th.	Chris Bartlett (Galletta's #6) (^) (ttt)	119.0	59.50	1	2	0/1	0	0/0	0	®
29th.	Jared Halstead (Galletta's #5)	116.0	116.00	1	1	0/0	0	0/0	1	1st
30th.	Edward Bristol (Galletta's #6) (^)	117.0	39.00	1	3	0/0	0	0/0	0	®
31st.	Alex Santana (Galletta's #2, 0)	95.0	47.50	1	2	0/0	0	0/0	0	®
32nd.	John Galvin (Galletta's #6)	74.0	74.00	1	1	0/2	0	0/0	0	®
33rd.	Trevor Jock (Galletta's #9) (t)	72.0	72.00	1	1	0/2	0	0/0	0	®
34th.	Dan "Busket Case" Buske (Galletta's #7) (^) (tttt)	-93.0	-46.50	1	2	0/1	0	0/0	0	®