THE OUTLAWS - THE OVERHEAD VALVE "OHV" DIVISION (2004-2008)

THE STORY:

From 1996 through 2005, Galletta's Greenhouse Backyard Karting Speedway only knew one motor - the Box Stock 5hp flathead Briggs & Stratton (or L-Head) fueled by pump gas and no additives. During this period, there were never accusations of cheating due to this fact. However, in late 2004, once drivers that hovered around 200 lbs. started showing up, we noticed that under 200 lbs., the racing was close, but once you started getting around 200, those guys didn't have enough power to compete with the guys who were between say 150-180 lbs., where the weight wasn't much different (lighter guys would race heavier karts and vice versa - while not surgical accuracy, it was accurate enough to create honest and fair competition with equal motors making talent and experience key in determining the outcome). In order to help heavier drivers better compete for points and wins, we allowed drivers over say 190-200 lbs. to use Briggs & Stratton 5.5hp OHV motors, relatively new at the time. We experimented with it in late-2004, but there seemed to be a little bit more than 1/2-extra horsepower coming from the competitors that used them, and after hearing some grumbles about it from the flathead drivers, decided to leave.

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Upon request, we re-allowed the 5.5hp OHV motors for drivers around 200+ lbs. again in 2005. However, the karts with these motors started getting more and more power as the year went on, and the 5hp flathead drivers were getting blown away. So, by mid-2005, we changed our 5hp flathead rules to allow for shaved heads. It worked. The karts were fairly even and the racing was close. However, by late 2005 we noticed the OHV karts were even faster yet. Something was going on. So, in late 2005 --before the Klassic -- suspecting some serious motor work going on, we decided to split the class into two divisions on our own track to end the conflict and be friends like we wanted. However, the drivers of the OHVs named themselves "Outlaws", left Galletta's entirely. After this, they admitted to us that they were actually using 6.5hp OHVs (with the stickers removed they look identical), and also doing carb work (we are supposed to be box stock carbs) and head drilling (we allowed head shaving on the 5hp flatheads to even up the power, so when the OHVs did it too, it made it really unfair to the OHVs). It was a shame, as we loved racing them, but they decided that if we wanted to split the motors into two divisions, then they would not return..

The next year (2006), Galletta's Karting Club decided to race a second track - the newly created Oswego Speedway Dirt Track located behind the rear-grandstand at Oswego Speedway. While we enjoyed the change-up (Oswego was less than half the size of our track with almost no banking and thousands of dollars of clay, making it a far different experience than our longtime home track), the operator there was none other than a good buddy of the OHV Outlaws (had raced with us in 2005), and decided to use our support of this new track as route of revenge against Galletta's for perceived slights against the Outlaws. During 2006 and 2007, the same problems with had in 2004-2005 on our own track were repeated - disagreements about the weight-to-power ratios and hard feelings, "You guys are too light and we can't compete unless we have more horsepower!" came from the Outlaw camp while, "You guys have too much unregulated horsepower and open rules!" was the leading argument that came from the Galletta's camp. Both had their points, although everyone seemed to forget that the Galletta's camp had been racing since the 1990s with a tried-and-true formula for racing while the Outlaws has only been racing for 0-3 years depending on which driver... they didn't seem to think that 10-15 years racing experience didn't matter? Should a rookie in the Small Block Supers be allowed to put a big block in his SBS just so he could compete with the longtime veterans? Or slap a jet engine on a Supermodified just because the rookie needed more horsepower to compete with the vets? Is that right?) but the Kartway track operator seemed to not care and try to force them together with "open" rules. On more than one occasion, he admitted enjoying the conflict, admitted selling Racing Animal parts to the Outlaws (and telling Matt to do something that he finds absolutely abhorrent... cheat and make his own kart as fast as he can, ignoring rules, never helping anybody else and let everyone else at Galletta's suck - this about guys who now race at his track and not ours anymore... nice, huh?), and wishing fights would break out. Neither side wanted any more drama and infighting.

So, for the sake of our club - keeping the motors gas-run, safe, and affordable - we had to separate the "Right-Turn" (1-Wheel-Drive) karting class into two divisions - an Overhead Valve and a Flathead one - for good. We'd race on the same track if either division didn't have enough karts (and did so more than once), but count them separate in terms of points and wins. While the flathead division still continues Summer-thru-Fall weekends at Galletta's (as it has since the early 1990s), Oswego Kartway barred both divisions in favor of a "left turn" (2-Wheel-Drive/Live Axle) race-modified "Clone" class (named "Pro-Stocks" intended as a slight towards us - the people who have been racing gas karts since the early 1990s and were the largest division that supported the track from 2006-2008).

THE DRIVER PROFILES:

Now while we had some some irreconcilable disagreements about motors with these drivers, we always enjoyed racing with these guys, as we felt that they were passionate racers that we thoroughly enjoyed competing against. We want serious racers to race with. We just could not agree on motors, gears and weights. Now, while there were multiple drivers who raced with us over the years in this style of motor (as documented in our All-Time Galletta's Backyard Speedway Points and All-Time Oswego Kartway Points), here were the guys who raced with us the most.

MARK MILLER - #007: Name: Mark Miller Kart: Team OHV Outlaw #007 (also ran Galletta's #7 in a few events) Motor(s) used: 5.5hp Briggs & Stratton OHV (when Galletta's ran Box Stock 5hp) 6.5hp Briggs & Stratton OHV (?) (when Galletta's ran Shaved Head stock 5hp) Years Active: 2004-2007 Ranking in the All-Time Points & Wins Lists: Galletta's Backyard Karting Speedway Oswego Speedway Kartway (Right-Turn / Gas Stock Division) Fun Facts: Mark was the original OHV Outlaw in 2004 in his tank-mobile #007. The first to introduce the OHV motor into our racing club, and always a fierce, solid competitor - winning a few features at Galletta's and Oswego - we enjoyed racing him... except when he displayed a bad habit of passing people under caution or not going to the back when involved in a wreck. He retired in 2007 after a few hard flips at both Galletta's and Oswego.

MIKE BILLION - #57: Name: Mike Billion Years Active: 2005-2007 Kart: Team OHV Outlaw #57 Motor(s) used: 5.5hp Briggs & Stratton OHV (when Galletta's ran Box Stock 5hp) 6.5hp Briggs & Stratton OHV (?) (when Galletta's ran Shaved Head stock 5hp) 6.5hp Yamaha or Honda OHV (?) (when Galletta's ran Shaved Head stock 5hp) Ranking in the All-Time Points & Wins Lists: Galletta's Backyard Karting Speedway Oswego Speedway Kartway (Right-Turn / Gas Stocker Division) Fun Facts: Mike was always a hard-charger in his #57 tank-mobile and also won some features at both tracks, but retired in 2007 after a couple of hard flips at Oswego.

ERIC RAPONI - #83: Name: Eric Raponi Years Active: 2004-2008 Kart: Team OHV Outlaw #83 (also ran Galletta's #2 and #9 in a few events) Motor(s) used: 6.5hp Briggs & Stratton OHV (?) (when Galletta's ran Shaved Head stock 5hp) Stock Gas Animal OHV (?) (when Galletta's ran Shaved Head 5hp) Ranking in the All-Time Points & Wins Lists: Galletta's Backyard Karting Speedway Oswego Speedway Kartway (Right-Turn / Gas Stock Division) Fun Facts: Eric is a hard driver, but was nicknamed "The Wrecker" by some for his tendency to spin drivers out from behind and then place all of the blame for the accident on the person he spun out. In 2005-06, he was a mid-pack runner until 2007 and 2008 where he suddenly had tons of horsepower. He retired from 1-WDs and went on to Clone and Champ class divisions at Oswego.

JOE HAYDEN - #5: Name: Joe Hayden Years Active: 2007-2008 Kart: Team OHV Outlaw #5 Motor(s) used: 6.5hp Briggs & Stratton OHV (when Galletta's ran Shaved Head stock 5hp) Stock Gas Animal OHV (?) (when Galletta's ran Shaved Head 5hp) Ranking in the All-Time Points & Wins Lists: Galletta's Backyard Karting Speedway (None on record) Oswego Speedway Kartway (Right-Turn / Gas Stock Division) Fun Fact: Joe never raced at Galletta's (only at Oswego). In 2007 he was a mid-pack runner, and according to the operator, ran a Stock Animal in 2008, which explained a huge increase in speed and power. He retired from 1-WDs and went on to race in Clone class divisions at Oswego. Galletta's driver Dick Dann bought the Hayden #5, then sold it to Chris Stevens. It has been renumbered #74 (we already had a #5 since 2000) and rebuilt for the Galletta's track.

DAVE MELFI - #22: Name: David Melfi Years Active: 2008 Kart: Team OHV Outlaw #22 Motor(s) used: 6.5hp Briggs & Stratton OHV (when Galletta's ran Shaved Head stock 5hp) Stock Gas Animal OHV (?) (when Galletta's ran Shaved Head 5hp) Ranking in the All-Time Points & Wins Lists: Galletta's Backyard Karting Speedway (None on Record) Oswego Speedway Kartway (Right-Turn / Gas Stock Division) Fun Fact: Dave was a quick learner in his #22 kart, but never raced at Galletta's (only at Oswego) in 2008. For a beginner, he had a lot of horsepower and was running with the drivers with 10x's his experience within a couple of races. Unfortunately didn't get a lot of races in before getting stuck in the arguments between the Outlaw OHV's and Galletta's Flatheads.

We enjoyed racing all these guys and it was a shame that motor rules got in the way of them not continuing to race with us at Galletta's. If they wanted to continue their own division with their motor/weight rules on our track, they would be welcome, but it appears as if at least some of them retired from all racing, while others just conformed into the local area 2-WD circuits rules and abandoned racing in our club (which is odd considering they never once conformed to the Galletta's Karting Club rulebook and only one of them privately apologized to us when we were attacked by some people at the Oswego Kartway).