Team 40, made up of Archie Agnes and Arnold Marks Jr., sped into Galena Monday afternoon shortly before 3 p.m., followed about half an hour later by Team 32’s Brad Dietrich and Tim Jauhola. Due to required layovers, however, the fastest-moving Iron Dog teams may not necessarily be the ones in the lead.
Following Sunday’s race start in Big Lake, the field has been difficult to track, with long periods passing between updates from the teams’ GPS transmitters and sporadic information from the trail. As of 3:45 p.m. Monday, race officials said on its Facebook page that Team 16 -- drivers Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad -- was halfway to Ruby and had passed fellow front-runners Team 39, driven by Tyler Aklestad and Aaron Loyer.
In other news Monday from the Iron Dog field, Team 28 drivers Joseph Brantley and Frank Ferreira were assessed a one-hour penalty for conduct unbecoming an Iron Dog snowmachiner after allegedly making an obscene gesture while leaving the starting chute in Big Lake.
Check KTUU.com’s special Iron Dog section for constant updates from the trail, as well as video clips of our coverage and special photo galleries including shots of the race start and your images of the race.
