ANCHORAGE – More than 15 Pro Class teams took advantage of the early registration draw lottery for the 2020 Iron Dog. Included in those teams are former champions who are now running with different teammates.

2019 champs Chris Olds of Eagle River, 48, and Mike Morgan of Anchorage via Nome, 34, were the first to sign up for the 2020 race, and plan to defend their 2018 and 2019 titles again riding Polaris snowmachines. Olds has four Iron Dog championships, while Morgan has two.

Also back for the 2020 race are 2016 champs Tyson Johnson and Tyler Aklestad, but with new partners. Johnson of Eagle River, 40, will race with Brad George of Wasilla, 25. George finished second last year with teammate Adam Drinkhouse. Aklestad of Palmer, 34, is paring with Nick Olstad of Wasilla, 37. Olstad has three Iron Dog championships under his belt. Both teams will ride Ski-Doos.

Olstad’s long-time partner, Todd Minnick, is also returning to race in the 2020 Iron Dog after a brutal leg injury last year near Nikolai, but has not announced his partner yet. After multiple surgeries and months of rehab, Minnick is confident about his return to racing following a collision incident with Aklestad during a whiteout en route to the McGrath checkpoint.

The first 15 teams that signed up now have the advantage of drawing for the first 15 start positions. Racers will draw their start positions in Fairbanks during the pre-race banquet and will leave in their assigned order at 11 a.m. on Feb. 16 from Pike’s Waterfront Lodge in Fairbanks. Racers will travel to Kotzebue, then Nome before finishing Feb. 22 at the Willow Community Center in Willow.

The 2020 Pro Class route effectively reverses the traditional course used in year’s past, and with a loop north from Koyuk toward Kotzebue then back to Nome, racers will travel a total of 2,409 miles in the 37thrunning of the Iron Dog.

The Kotzebue loops adds more than 375 miles to the course, and follows much of the Archie Ferguson/Willie Goodwin Memorial snowmachine race course. Added checkpoints for 2020 include Buckland, Kotzebue, Noorvik, Kiana and Selawik. The Willow finish line is also a new venue for the Iron Dog.

Recreation Class riders will leave Feb. 14 from Fairbanks and end their ride four or five days later in Nome, bypassing the Kotzebue loop.

Registration for Pro Class closes Oct. 31, 2019.

The Iron Dog board is comprised of the following members: Roger Brown, North Pole, President; Doug Dixon, Anchorage, Vice President; Keith Manternach, Anchorage, Treasurer; Jake Goodell, Anchorage, Secretary; Ginny Emmons, Nome; Steve Mattila, Anchorage; Micah Huss, Big Lake; Dennis Falldorf, Anchorage; Unch Schuerch, Wasilla; Danny Gueco, Wasilla; Howard Thies, Fairbanks; Dusty VanMeter, Kasilof; Claude Wilson, Kotzebue.

To register, or for more information, please browse www.irondog.org.

 

2020 Iron Dog early registration pro Class teams:

First Name    Last Name     Hometown   State   Make of sled            Status                         Team number

Mike               Morgan          Nome             AK      Polaris                        Veteran                      10

Chris              Olds                Eagle River    AK      Polaris                        Veteran                      10

Zackary         Weisz             Wasilla           AK      Polaris                        Veteran                      5

Brett               Lapham         Willow           AK      Polaris                        Veteran                      5

James Tre      West III          Nome             AK      Ski-Doo                      Veteran                      36

Daniel             Stang              Nome             AK      Ski-Doo                      Rookie                       36

David             Spain              Willow           AK      Polaris                        Rookie                       19

Travis             Temple           Soldotna        AK      Polaris                        Rookie                       19

Andrew         Gumley          Wasilla           AK      Polaris                        Veteran                      49

Klint               Vanwingerden Wasilla        AK      Polaris                        Veteran                      49

Konrad          Schruf             Wasilla           AK      Polaris                        Rookie                       24

Luke               Schruf             Wasilla           AK      Polaris                        Rookie                       24

Nick                Olstad             Wasilla           AK      Ski-Doo                      Veteran                      7

Tyler               Aklestad        Palmer           AK      Ski-Doo                      Veteran                      7

Kazimir          Cizmowski    Healy             AK      Polaris                        Rookie                       21

Zachary         Cizmowski    Healy             AK      Polaris                        Rookie                       21

Robby                        Schachle         Big Lake         AK      Polaris                        Veteran                      39

Cody              Barber                        Wasilla           AK      Polaris                        Veteran                      39

Christopher  Collins            Kotzebue       AK      Ski-Doo                      Veteran                      34

Jesse               Crumbley      Kotzebue       AK      Ski-Doo                      Rookie                       34

Tyson             Johnson         Eagle River    AK      Ski-Doo                      Veteran                      6

George           Brad                Wasilla           AK      Ski-Doo                      Veteran                      6

David             Wagner          Arnold           CA      Polaris                        Rookie                       11

Pat                  Daniels           Big Lake         AK      Polaris                        Veteran                      11

Jeremiah        Vanderpool   Fairbanks      AK      Ski-Doo                      Rookie                       24

Jerad               Vanderpool   McGrath        AK      Ski-Doo                      Rookie                       24

Bryan             Leslie              Wasilla           AK      Polaris                        Veteran                      14

Casey             Boylan            Palmer           AK      Polaris                        Veteran                      14

Kelly               Sommer         Nulato/Fai    AK      Polaris                        Veteran                      32

Douglas         Patsy              Nulato            AK      Polaris                        Rookie                       32

About 
Iron Dog, Inc. | 7100 Old Seward Hwy, Ste C, Anchorage, Alaska 99518 USA

The Iron Dog race is a world-class snowmachine event that crosses the state of Alaska each February, impacting over twenty-eight Alaskan communities. The Iron Dog teams race from Fairbanks to Nome and finish in Willow. Racers travel over 2,400 miles of Alaska’s most remote and rugged terrain while surviving the harsh Alaskan winter conditions and sub-zero temperatures.

Iron Dog, Inc. is a proud leader in the community promoting snowmachine safety and outdoor education through trade shows, seminars and community events. Iron Dog, Inc. conducts yearly successful student exchange programs and through its annual raffle has donated nearly $250,000 to Alaska charities since 2011.