Alaska Sports Hall of Fame

First Motorsport Inductee to the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame

The Iron Dog, known as the World's Longest, Toughest Snowmobile Race was elected in the event category into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame on Monday, December 8, 2015. This is the first time to have an inductee selected from the motorsport category and adds to the excitement for the coming events surrounding the 2015 Iron Dog start in downtown Anchorage."It's an honor to be nominated and even more exciting to be selected by the community," Iron Dog Executive Director Kevin Kastner said. "On behalf of the early pioneers, our racers, Board of Directors, sponsors, volunteers and fans - we thank you for recognizing the more than 30 years of Alaska's most epic motorsport event."The Iron Dog, which ends in Fairbanks, is the longest race of it’s kind in the world. It began as a 1,000-mile race from Big Lake to Nome in 1984 before expanding to 2,031 miles (Big Lake to Nome to Fairbanks) in 1994. This year’s race will start in Anchorage with the Pro Class racers on Feb. 21. Those racers will continue on Feb. 22 in Big Lake. Trail Class racers get underway on Feb. 20 in Big Lake.“The Class of 2015 reflects the tremendous diversity of sport we have in our state,” Alaska Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Harlow Robinson said in an Alaska Sports Hall of Fame press release. "I'm very happy to see motor sports represented in the Hall of Fame."The Iron Dog will be inducted into the hall of fame along with four other athletes in February at the Anchorage Museum auditorium. The time and date of the ceremony will be announced at a later date.