This blog focuses primarily on Team #11 – Davis/Palin. But good luck and safety to all the teams.
For reference, if you want to follow the race these links will come in handy:
From this point forward I’ll add the news of the day in descending order. Latest news near the top:
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Day Six:
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1:05am ET – Davis/Palin awarded 5th place in the 2012 Iron Dog:
So I guess those disqualification rumors were bunk. Video of the team towing into Fairbanks here.
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11:55pm ET -
KTUU:
Well, I think that about wraps it up. At least for tonight.
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10:03pm ET - More pics:
Davis:
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9:53pm ET – Pics of Team 11 and family at the end of the race:
Davis:
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There’s a rumor that Team 11 was disqualified. There was a lot of confusion over whether they’d be allowed to tow in or whether they towed through a checkpoint, or something. If they were it’s likely because they decided to tow in and finish when they legally couldn’t. And if that was the case they probably would have scratched anyway. But the rumor could be false. There’s no indication on the stats page that they were disqualified. More rumor.
(ht/ Sue)
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7:28pm ET – Team 11 crossed the finish line in Fairbanks under tow, from the sound of it. Not sure who was towing who or what went wrong. The stats page had them in 6th. Now it has them in 5th. I think they’re adjusting the page for times, but for now, they came in 5th place.
Congrats to the winners, #17 – McKenna/VanMeter!
Bristol’s FB page:
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Okay, so basically how this works is that once the racers get to Tanana (where they are now), the Iron Dog officials hold them there until they can time it right so that the racers will cross the finish line in daylight for the fans and the cameras. Info here:
The top three teams will be released on their actual time separations. Teams in fourth, fifth and sixth place will be release every 10 minutes. Positions seven and beyond are released every five minutes.
Many factors come into play when determining this restart interval including time separations, number of competitors and getting the winners to the finish line in time for TV broadcast.
Davis/Palin will be the fifth team released. They’ll take off at 9:14am AKST. That’s 1:14pm ET. They’ll be about an hour and 14 minutes behind the leaders. Team 3 will be on 11′s tail.
Team 17 will have a nice healthy lead on everybody, about 47 minutes worth. Barring unforeseen issues (which could happen, this is the Iron Dog), it’s their race to lose.
Top 5 release times:
17 – 8:00
06 – 8:47:03
02 – 8:54:04
10 – 9:04
11 – 9:14
Davis/Palin would have to make up about 20 minutes for a third place finish and 27 minutes for a 2nd. Three checkpoints left before the finish in Fairbanks – Manley, Nanana, and North Pole.
I may or may not be back in time for the actual race finish tomorrow, so use the handy links up top.
In the meantime, check out this video:
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Day Five:
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11:20pm ET - Reports of an injury in Team 9:
Team 9′s Derrick Johnson wrecked between Kaltag and Galena and was medevaced to Anchorage. At the clinic in Nulato, he was diagnosed with five broken ribs, a ruptured spleen and a damaged kidney. He is reportedly in stable condition.
9:25pm ET – Team 11 arrived in Tanana about an hour ago. The stats page now has them in fourth place.
Via FB:
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6:48pm ET – Team 11 has made it to Ruby, at least. Todd’s GPS is pinging from there. Next stop, Tanana. It’s really hard to tell what place people are in since a lot of the GPS’s appear to not be working. But Team 17 seems to be in the lead.
8:36am ET – Palin/Davis have declared a 10 hour layover in Galena. The stats page has them in fifth place.
FB:
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7:04am ET – Well, since Team 11′s GPS seems to be permanently not working and the fun of watching little green dots race each other (oddly enough it is fun) is spoiled, I’ll just take the stats page’s word for it that Davis/Palin are on their way to Kaltag.
Team 11 leaving Nome earlier:
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Day Four:
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6:36pm ET – Palin/Davis are on a 10 hour layover in Unalakleet. Still in 6th place. Via FB:
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6:00pm ET – Through Shaktoolik and on to Unalakleet.
4:42pm ET – Through Koyuk and on their way to Shaktoolik.
3:51pm ET - Team 11 seems to be through Elim according to GPS. Next stop, Koyuk.
3:40pm ET – Davis/Palin leaving White Mountain:
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3:30pm ET - Team 11 through White Mountain and on to Elim.
Davis/Palin in White Mountain:
2:06pm ET – Team 11 should be on their way. But their GPS’s don’t work, so… Team 11 left before Team 3, so you can get an idea that way. Beyond that we’ll have to rely on checkpoint updates.
3:33am ET - They spent 18:43 on their machines in Nome. Still in 6th place. You can see the restart stats here.
3:19am ET – And a couple pics while we’re waiting. From the start of the race via the ADN:
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2:48am ET – Day four in terms of days actually on the trail racing, that is. We’ve still got a good ten or so hours to go before the first teams restart out of Nome. In the meantime, here are a few short vids of the garage in Nome. I believe that’s Todd Palin with the clipboard:
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Scott Davis:
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Scott and Todd shows up at the very end:
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Day Three:
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Update: The teams now have a nice break and the race will restart out of Nome at 8am Thursday morning. That’s around noon ET. Team 11 is in 6th place as of this moment.
The first five teams will be released Thursday according to their times and then there will be a thirty minute break before the next five teams are allowed to go. So for Team 11 it’ll probably be after 12:30pm ET before they’re on the trail again.
Update: A very fuzzy Todd in the Nome garage:
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Update: Team 11 has arrived in Nome:
Team 11 into Nome at 17:19:27!
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Update: 8:36pm ET – Team 11 is through White Mountain and on their way to Nome.
Update: 7:53pm ET – It’s official. Team 17 is the first into Nome, followed by Team 10 (Morgan/Olds) and Team 16 (Minnick/Olstad).
Update: 7:25pm ET – Team 17 (McKenna/VanMeter) has reached Nome.
Update: 6:48pm ET – Team 11 is through Koyuk and on to White Mountain.
Update: 6:15pm ET – I think Team 11′s GPS devices are busted. The stats page (which isn’t as up to the minute) has them on the trail to Koyuk. From about an hour ago:
Davis-Palin swapped out their rear suspension part in record time as well, fueled up with a few gallons and rolled on toward Nome in good form.
Apparently teams 16 and 17 are battling it out on their way into Nome.
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Update: Team 11 has declared an 8 hour layover in Unalakleet. That layover should be done around 4:40pm ET.
Update: 7:27am ET – Through Kaltag and onto Unalakleet.
Update: 6:11am ET – Apparently the team had some sort of fuel consumption issue earlier. Not sure if this has been resolved. And here’s a blurb about the team from earlier in McGrath, just fyi.
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According to GPS, as of 5:45ET, Team 11 is in Galena.
Here are a few vids of their ride into Ruby:
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Someone snagged a picture of Chuck Heath and the Alaska Bushman:
Next stop, Kaltag. And I honestly have no idea how to tell who’s in what place. I think times are more important than who’s in the lead. If my murky understanding is correct, they’ll reset out of Nome according to their times, and after that whoever’s in front is actually winning.
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Day Two:
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Update III: Video of the race start:
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Update II: KTUU has a few pictures of Team #11 before the start of the race:
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Update: Davis/Palin have declared an 8-hour layover. The stats page now has them in 10th place. They should be heading out again around 12:45am AKST. That’s about 4:45am ET.
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Team #11 seems to have fallen behind. As of 5:15pm AKST they’re in 9th place. According to GPS tracking they’ve arrived in Ruby.
Here are a couple short videos of what appears to be Todd trying to switch out that busted belt earlier:
davis palin still on belt swap – that thing is shredded, pulling cords out of everything…they are fueling and ready to roll right now
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And the wife posted this on her FB page earlier today:
Intense race week begins for motorheads who love the cold and snow up North! Every racer in this 2000-mile epic journey across Alaska is tough. Period. Lots of self-discipline and determination and amazing mechanical skills are required. You can check standings here and GPS tracking here.
Here are some photos of Todd and Trig from the start of the race yesterday.
Go Dogs! Godspeed!
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Day One:
Here’s a picture of Todd and Trig at the starting line of this year’s race, via Bristol Palin’s FB page:
Via KTUU:
Palin/Davis seemed to be having issues with their GPS early on, but looks like it’s fixed now. Todd’s sled apparently blew a belt and they towed it into their last checkpoint:
Olds and Morgan in, about 10 minutes ahead of Davis-Palin…Davis was towing Palin – said it was just a blown belt just upriver, quicker to tow in than change the belt in the dark.
Doesn’t sound too serious.
They’ve made it into McGrath and have taken an 8 hour layover. According to the stats they got in at 8:35pm Alaska time, so they’ll be on the trail again somewhere around 4am AKST. They’re currently in 5th place. Minnick/Olstad are in 1st.
Update:
The race stats now read that Davis/Palin are in 6th place and have declared a 14 hour layover rather than an 8.
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