Iron Doggers ready to race toward Nome — and beyond

WASILLA — Billed as “the world’s longest, toughest” snowmachine race, this year’s edition of the National Guard Iron Dog is set to get roaring Sunday on the ice-covered surface of Big Lake.

In front of the 41 teams will be 2,031 miles of trail that stretches first to Nome, where riders must take a layover, and then on to Fairbanks. Teams are expected to cross the finish line on the Chena River sometime on Feb. 27.

Polaris riders Scott Faeo, of Wasilla, and Eric Quam won last year’s race in a time of 41 hours, 46 minutes, 52 seconds. It was Faeo’s first win and the second for Quam, who also won in 2008 with Anchorage’s Marc McKenna. The record time is 35:39:56, set in 2012 by McKenna and Kasilof’s Dusty Van Meter. Faeo’s father, John, is tied with Scott Davis with seven race wins, the most in the event’s history, which dates back to 1984 when it was called the Iditarod Iron Dog Classic.

Scott Faeo is back in this year’s event to defend his title, but he’s teamed up with McKenna this time around as Quam is sitting out the race.

As with most years, Mat-Su residents dominate the field. Among this year’s entrants are 31 riders who list Valley hometowns. They include Wasilla’s Ryan Sottosanti and Andrew Zwink (Team 2), Wasilla’s Ray Chvastasz (riding with Fairbanks’s Chris Carroll on Team 5), Wasilla’s Brad George and Big Lake’s Robby Schachle (Team 6), Palmer’s Tyler Aklestad (riding with Tyson Johnson of Eagle River on Team 8), Willow’s Shane Barber and Wasilla’s Todd Palin (Team 11), Wasilla’s Jason Moore (rieding with McGrath’s Robert Strick on Team 12), Willow’s Cody Barber and Brett Lapham (Team 14), Wasilla’s Corey Berg and Big Lake’s Charlie Potter (Team 15), Wasilla’s Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad (Team 16), Wasilla’s Chad Gueco (riding with VanMeter of Kasilof on Team 17), Big Lake’s Pat Daniels (riding with Frank Ferreira of Noovik on Team 19), Wasilla’s Scott Faeo (with McKenna on Team 20), Palmer’s Kristofer and Paul Sindorf (Team 23), Wasilla’s Jimmy Gee (with Anchorage’s Brian Webb on Team 24), Big Lake’s Tyler Bogert and Wasilla’s Daniel Keim (Team 25), Wasilla’s Ryan Armstrong and Palmer’s Joe Beech (Team 26), Willow’s Kyle Conner and Wasilla’s Donald Koontz (Team 33), Palmer’s Mark Johnson (riding with Galena’s Todd Malamute on Team 48), Big Lake’s Klinton and Kris vanWingerden (Team 49), and Wasilla’s Jason Chris, who is riding with Tyler Whitley of Holy Cross on Team 50.

They’ll be competing for a share of more than $260,000 in prize money, including $65,000 to the winning team.

Trail conditions have been reportedly good, with plenty of snow reported along the route once riders head out of the Valley.

Parking for the race start is on the lake ice, which can be accessed off of South Big Lake Road. There is no fee to view the start.

The race start caps a weekend of events for the race, which included a ceremonial start Saturday in downtown Anchroage. The recreational class of riders also began their race Friday on Big Lake. Recreational teams only go to Nome as opposed to continuing on to Fairbanks.

Racing begins at 11 a.m. sharp Sunday, with the first two-person Pro Class team speeding away from the starting line. They’ll head toward Nome in two-minute intervals after that.

Fans and friends of the racers can follow along with the riders’ progress via the race’s online GPS tracker, which is available for real-time updates at irondog.org. That’s also the best place to download an official race guide and find more information about the event.