John Faeo and Scott Davis are the winningest snowmobilers in Iron Dog’s history. When they started racing in their 20s – back in the 1980s – they possessed the same competitive fire that today’s Iron Dog frontrunners possess.

Now, 40 years later, the two men still retain their seven-win apiece superlative in the World’s Longest, Toughest Snowmobile Race. They dominated the first decade of Iron Dog, with one or the other of them taking the win in nearly every race those first 10 years. Faeo’s last win came in 1996, Davis’ in 2007. Both are retired from professional racing these days, but their legacies live on.

And let’s just say these guys have seen a thing or two.

EARLY RACING DAYS

Iron Dog has evolved over the last 40 years, and Davis and Faeo have borne witness to it all. In 1984, the inaugural race, the course started in McGrath and followed the northern route of the historic Iditarod Trail to Nome. In 1985, the route was changed to Wasilla/Big Lake to Nome. It didn’t double back to Wasilla/Big Lake until 1993. Today’s route covers more than 2,500 miles, and not only goes from Big Lake to Nome and back but also includes the additional Red Dog Loop, which adds another 460 miles and travels from Koyuk through the communities of Buckland, Selawik, Kiana, Noorvik and Kotzebue.

But make no mistake: A shorter course did not mean an easier course. On the contrary, racers like Faeo and Davis had to be tough and unusually resourceful to successfully complete the race to Nome.

Take 1984, for instance: It was the Wild West of snowmachine racing, and competitors relied on map and compass, carried mountains of required winter survival gear and wore primitive winter clothing when compared to the technology available today. Faeo and partner Rod Frank had been trying to shake Davis and partner Steve Deptula the entire race, but the pair was about to catch them on the coast.

There are two ways to get to Golovin, depending on the conditions: the coastal route, which works when frozen, or the overland route, which is the only option when there’s open water.

Faeo knew there was open water and planned to head inland.

 “We were headed to Nome and were just outside of Elim going to Golovin,” Faeo explained. Seeing lights in the distance, Faeo knew Davis and Deptula were not far behind. So, he improvised, riding out on the ice as if headed toward the coastal route. He turned his machine on its side. As Davis and Deptula approached, he made a show of pretending it was broken, gesturing wildly as if he were cursing his bad luck. Davis and Deptula breezed past, following the coastal route.  

As soon as they passed, Faeo and Frank jumped on their sleds and turned onto the overland route. By the time Davis and Deptula had backtracked to the overland trail, Faeo and Frank had a comfortable lead.

But the next year, the tables turned when Davis and partner Gary Eoff outsprinted Faeo and Frank just meters from the finish line. Coming down Front Street in Nome, Frank managed to cross the finish line first, but Davis and then Eoff came in second and third, respectively, with Faeo just three feet behind.

 “Gary got me,” Faeo said, laughing at the memory now. “That hurt, that hurt.”

The early days of Iron Dog required ingenuity, a supreme ability to repair and rebuild sleds, and a level of self-sufficiency that some may argue is not as necessary these days.

“The technology in snowmobiles and the durability have changed,” Davis said. “And the other thing that people discredit is the technology in navigation. You couldn’t just look at your GPS because you didn’t have a GPS. You had to navigate on what you can see, with a map and compass. And when it’s s#%$#& out, you can’t see anything.”

Davis said it also was imperative to know the area because the course was much less traveled than it is today.

“If you didn’t have local knowledge of an area and you weren’t good with directions, you were screwed,” he continued. “Racers don’t even think about it now. Guys who started racing five years ago, 10 years ago, they’ve never had to race like that.”

Also absent in the early days of racing were snowmobiles made for the race. Davis and Faeo relied on “off-the-shelf” sleds that they then stripped down to modify for the conditions.

“We had to modify them to go in the deep snow and modify them to go fast,” Davis said. “Today’s sleds are much tougher, more lightweight and have a longer travel – all those things contribute to it being a different race today.”

Of course, today’s frontrunners often do the same, Faeo said.

“They still have to take them apart all the way down to the frame; they go that extra step, but the machines are better to start with.”

While, clothing and gear may not seem of paramount concern, Faeo said you’d be surprised how much a bad case of butt rash can affect a person’s race. When he started racing, gear consisted of nylon and wool.

“It was brutal in the early days,” he said. “It was colder back then, and we didn’t have Gore-tex. We had the old funky stuff like nylon snow pants with wool underneath that and wore old cotton underwear like you had in the old days. It would get really clammy. Guys have been known to have a serious set of butt rash, and let me tell you, that doesn’t feel good.”

Also in the early days, no outside assistance was allowed. Racers needed to be solely reliant on themselves, which meant carrying spare parts with them – along with required survival gear like winter tents bags rated at 50 below, among other gear.

“You had to have gaskets and pistons and everything with you to put your machine back together,” Faeo said. “And our sleds only had six inches of travel back then and when you loaded everything on them, you were dragging.”

WHAT REMAINS THE SAME

Despite the advancements in the sport, some things remain the same, though, Davis said. Looking back on his career, he remembers that weather was most often the biggest challenge during the race.

“For me, it would be when it was 70-below, or when there is 4 feet of new snow,” he said. “Racers today still have to deal with weather conditions and trail conditions.”

They also must deal with sleds breaking. Even the newest technology isn’t immune to the rigors of the Iron Dog trail, and every year, racers are forced to stop and become fast-acting, quick-witted mechanics, despite the pressure of racing and fatigue.

 “That’s just something that’s pretty consistent, paying attention and being aware of your surroundings,” he said. “Being a really good mechanic, not crashing, and not creating your own problem. The level of concentration that you have to keep is a big part of whether they will be successful.”

TODAY’S RACE

With the 2024 race marking the 40th running of Iron Dog, the field includes five past champions.  One with two wins (Mike Morgan), three with four wins (Tyler Aklestad, Chris Olds and Todd Palin) and one who is knocking on the door of his seventh win, Nick Olstad. Olstad, 41, will be entering his 20th Iron Dog, and fifth with partner Tyler Aklestad. Oldstad won his first Iron Dog as a rookie, one of the only racers ever to do so, in 2005 with partner and Iron Dog Hall of Famer Marc McKenna. The course that year started in Wasilla, went to Nome and then back to Wasilla/Big Lake for the finish, roughly 2,125 miles.

Since then, he has continued to quietly rise in the ranks. Not one to draw a lot of attention to himself, Olstad instead focuses on what’s right in front of him – taking care of his sled, his fitness and his focus.

 “I get excited about getting the seventh, but it’s not my main focus,” Olstad said. “It would be cool, but I just like to ride.”

And while sled advancements and gear have eased the way for today’s racers, Olstad said the newer challenges of today’s race make it equally as tough as back in the day.

 “They were only racing the half race back then,” he said. “It’s a long time and you have to stay focused.” Today’s race is 2,500 miles long.

 True, said Todd Palin, who began his racing career in the early ’90s and continues to race today.

 “If you think of it that way, John’s got six one-way wins and one round trip, and Scott’s got two one-ways and five round trips,” said Palin, a four-time champion himself who has raced 28 Iron Dogs during his career. “So, Nick definitely has the most miles.”

 “The guys back in the day were tough, and the guys today are tough,” Palin continued. “Two years ago, these guys were riding 750 miles in one day, but back in the day, these legends were breaking trail on Bravos and doubling back to race. So, all of these guys have set the bar pretty high.”

 Palin, who will be racing again in 2024, also noted that while sleds today may be more efficient, they can be more challenging to repair.

 “Back in the day, you could work on the snowmachines and limp into town and get going again,” said Palin, “Today, it’s hard. If something goes wrong electrically, or something out of your control, you’re out of luck.”

 Furthermore, Palin noted, the amount of time and training that goes into preparing for an Iron Dog race has grown exponentially.

 “In the last 15 years, the training has been accelerated,” he said. “Guys are doing pre-runs to Nome, doing four or five trips to Puntilla; doing a McGrath trip. … Before my first race (in 1993), we went to Skwentna once, and said ‘we’re good to go. We will see that again on the race day.’”

One thing that remains the same, regardless of time, are the people. Palin said that’s why he continues to race. The friends he has made and the experiences he has had have withstood the test of time. Olstad agrees. Finding a compatible teammate remains key – just like it did during Iron Dog’s beginnings.

“Maturity is important,” Olstad said, “and taking advantage of our strengths. … (Tyler) is fast and he’s a good partner. I’m more of the quiet type wanting to get stuff done, and he’s more of the talker. We are both pretty calm and level-headed when racing though.”

As for Davis and Faeo, they both acknowledge that records are made to be broken – and they both fully expect it to happen.

 “I say congratulations to them,” Davis said. “The amount of work that goes into the race is incredible. These guys have a young family, kids, and all these things that tug away at your time. It says a lot about their commitment.”

“That record is not going to stand forever,” Faeo said. “Tyler and Nick, they are tough, and they are going to be the ones to beat. “

So, as we approach the 40th, what will it be? A new seventh winner and three-peat for Team 7? An up- and-coming team claiming the top spot? Or will another team pull a fast one like Faeo did in 1984?