Palin's team wins Iron Dog

Feb. 18, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

FAIRBANKS - This time, it wasn't even close.

Todd Palin of Wasilla and Soldotna's Scott Davis rode a pair of Arctic Cats across the finish line 48 minutes ahead of their next-closest competitors to win the 2007 Tesoro Iron Dog snow machinerace Saturday in Fairbanks.

The win erased a bitter, one-second defeat last season and gave the duo - which now has a combined 11 race titles between them - their first win as a team.

&#8220I guess last year wasn't our year, and this one was,” Davis said Saturday from Fairbanks.

Tyson Johnson and Tyler Aklestad, both of Anchorage, finished second, 48 minutes behind the winners.

Willow's Shane Barber and Nome's Evan Booth were third.

Davis and Palin have been riding as a team in the Iron Dog for four years, and have been among the favorites each time they've headed out on the trail. But each previous year left them just short of a victory, including last year's controversial race, that saw them lose to Dwayne Drake - Palin's former partner - and Wasilla's Andy George by the slimmest of margins.

Palin and Davis pulled away from the field shortly after leaving the halfway checkpoint in Nome. They were helped by the fact their next-closest competitors, Marc McKenna and Nick Olstad, were forced to scratch outside of Unalakleet Thursday.

Davis said the team was successful because they were able to avoid major mechanical problems along the way while still maintaining a fast pace along the 1,971-mile trail.

&#8220You go just fast enough to win but not so fast that you're going to break down,” Davis said.

Avoiding mechanical problems was key this year. Only 12 of the 28 teams that entered made it to Fairbanks, and Palin said sections of the trail were as rough as he's seen in his 14 years of running the race.

&#8220It was probably one of the roughest trails I've raced so far,” he said.

Despite their relatively large margin of victory, Palin said Davis didn't take over the race until the final couple hundred miles, a fact Palin said was a testament to the strength of this year's field.

&#8220I think the competition this year was outstanding,” Palin said. &#8220The field was as good as it's ever been.”

After crossing the finish line, Palin was greeted by his wife, Gov. Sarah Palin, as well as plenty of proud racing fans that made the trip from the Mat-Su area to cheer on the state's most famous couple.

Todd Palin said he was happy to win the race - but even more proud of the fact that he could bring another championship back to his hometown.

&#8220It was a really good race,” he said. &#8220I'm glad the Valley is the home of the Iron Dog.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com