The 40th running has arrived in Nome
Team 39’s Brett Lapham and Cody Barber show items for the safety inspection upon arrival in the Nome garage on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. The two currently hold a 20-minute lead over Team 14’s Bryan Leslie and Casey Boylan.
TUESDAY, FEB. 20, 2024 — The arrival of racers to Nome is always one of those “let out a deep breath” moments during the Iron Dog Race. And this year’s 40th running of the World’s Longest, Toughest Snowmobile Race, is no different. As racers trickled into the official halfway point, following a brutal ground storm that reduced visibility to zero on Monday, you could see the relief as they parked their sleds and pulled off their helmets. Here they will rest and work on sleds, before departing for the restart on Thursday morning. It’s a chance to hit the “re-set” button and weather themselves for the return to Big Lake.
Team 14, who had been leading the race to Kotzebue, was the first out this morning, but shortly into their ride, Casey Boylan encountered a shock failure on the left side of his sled. Fortunately, teammate Bryan Leslie was able to rush back to town, pick up another shock and return, where they made the repair on the trail. The setback cost them the lead, and as of Tuesday night, they rest in second place, just 20 minutes behind Team 39, Cody Barber and Brett Lapham.
Asked about the incident as they rested in the Nome garage, both racers looked expectedly disappointed, but also thankful that the damage did not go beyond the one repair.
Team 14 arrives into Nome. They currently hold the second-place position. Jerry Conlon photo
“It didn’t damage the sled any, it was kind of fluke deal, random deal,” Boylan said. “Brian met back up with me, we put the shock in, and luckily it was a shock that he has used and pretty much exactly the same as what I have, so it was good as new, after we put torsions in, of course, in Kotzebue.”
Team 10, Chris Olds and Ryan Sottosanti were the fourth team to arrive in Nome, proving that even though this is their first time racing together, their combined experience is paying off.
“It’s still pretty poor visibility – but it’s better than yesterday,” said Olds. “Leaving Kotz was pretty challenging … it seemed to get better as we got this way.”
As for Sottosanti? “I’m ready for some pizza.”
Fans along the Red Dog Loop were cheering for hometown favorites Team 33 Skyler Wells and George “Radar” Lambert, and today was no different. As the two came into Nome, a group of friends and family were waiting for their arrival after hastily boarding a plane from Kotzebue to Nome to catch them.
Team 33’s George “Radar” Lambert picked a good place to hit an ice shelf on Monday. After limping into Selawik, the Kotzebue racer was able to scrounge parts from buddy Ronnie Ray. Racers are able to use spare parts, but must do the work on their own. Ronnie Ray photo
“It was whiteout conditions, and we had a few get-offs,” said Wells. “It was better than yesterday; we were living by the GPS yesterday.”
Lambert, who wrecked his sled on Monday and made a swift repair in Selawik, rolled into Nome with his sled taped and bungeed together, and a windshield with the number 63 on it that he got off his buddy Ronnie Ray in Selawik.
“He lost the whole top of his cowling yesterday, and the windshield is a Polaris windshield on a Ski-Doo,” said race marshal Tyson Johnson. “I think the cowling is set in place with roofing rubber holding the front on. There’s usually some creatives fixes these guys do to keep going.”
Johnson said most teams had arrived by 7:15 p.m. and will be leaving their sleds in the garage to thaw.
“Some will come back tonight and do a free 15-minute inspection and will schedule their time on the clock for some time tomorrow,” Johnson said. “Some teams might only spend a couple of minutes tightening bolts and that type of thing, and some may have major work like new cowlings, suspensions, and other work. It’s all up to them to decide.”
Teams will restart the race Thursday morning, Tyson said, in intervals corresponding to their current standings.