Team 39 scratches in Kotzebue
Team 39 at the start in Fairbanks. Teammates Robby Schachle from Big Lake and Cody Barber from Willow were holding steady at second place until a broken collarbone ended their bid. The team scratched in Kotzebue Tuesday morning, Feb. 18.
After tasting an opportunity for victory, the second team to arrive in Kotzebue declared a scratch Tuesday morning. Team 39, Robby Schachle and Cody Barber, were standing in second place after more than 860 miles of racing with well-behaved sleds and plenty of rest overnight. Schachle, however, took a hit during Monday’s racing that caused a broken collarbone, according to the Team’s Facebook page.
“Well guys, we gave it an honest effort, but unfortunately we’re being forced to call it quits,” Barber wrote on their Team Barber Racing page. “(H)ad a great run, sleds are clean and did their job. We just took a very unfortunate hit causing (Robby’s) collarbone to break in a few places. We rode 200 miles after that happened, but after X-Rays, it’ll be in our best interest to not race on due to sharp bone pointing towards lungs and artery.”
Team 39 is the 11th team to scratch, bringing the total number of teams still in contention to 18. Teams will be arriving in Nome today for the halfway ceremonies, work in the garage and a mandatory layover. Teams will leave Nome Thursday morning.
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