Though Steffen Booth, the race’s youngest-ever competitor at 16 years and 6 months old, may have stand out amongst the Iron Dog field, once the helmet is on and his thumb is on the throttle, he is where he belongs.
Team 39 of Cody Barber and Brett Lapham were the first team to make it to McGrath but it was Team 7 of Tyler Aklestad and Nick Olstad who had the fastest time. Of all the teams that made it to McGrath there was no major damage to any of the sleds just a few broken windshields and a couple of busted A-arms.
Many of the 29 pro class teams of two people competing in the 2022 Iron Dog know what they are getting into in the week ahead as veterans. However, 31 riders, more than half of the competitors, have yet to face the challenge that is dubbed ‘The World’s Longest, Toughest Snowmobile Race.’
The pro class tech inspection took place this morning for the Iron Dog 2022 race, one of the only times that all 29 pro teams and their snowmachines will be under the same roof.
Last year the “the world’s longest, toughest snowmobile race,” the Iron Dog started and finished in the middle of Big Lake. This year, the race will be starting and finishing at the Menard Sports Center.
Iron Dog Team 5, Brett Lapham and Zack Weisz have moved into first place at the Galena checkpoint with a course time of 12 hours 39 minutes and 45 seconds.
Iron Dog team no. 7, Tyler Aklestad and Nick Olstad lead the 2020 Pro Class Race at the Kotzebue checkpoint. In the recreational class race, Team no. 77’s Israel Hale made history becoming the first-ever amputee to finish and win the race.
For the second year in a row, Team No. 10, of Mike Morgan and Chris Olds, have claimed the Iron Dog title, arriving first in Fairbanks on Saturday. They’re the first back-to-back champions since Mark McKenna and Dusty VanMeter in 2013.
Sixteen Pro-Class teams left Nome Thursday morning and will have to navigate the tricky terrain of Alaska's unpredictable West Coast as they head south and east toward Fairbanks.
Citing potential ice instability on Big Lake, Iron Dog officials announced in a press release on Tuesday that they will move the start of the 2019 race from Big Lake to Deshka Landing.
The Iron Dog Board of Directors voted Tuesday evening to continue ahead with the 2019 Iron Dog Race, despite financial challenges and the loss of senior staff members.
The Iron Dog board announced Thursday the possibility of not having a race in 2019 on top of the resignation Jim Wilke and Skip Boomershine from the Iron Dog Board of Directors.
It's Day 5 and Western Alaska weather is not playing nice with this year's race, as teams run into part issues in the garage,
Channel 2's MK Burgess has the latest from Nome.
