BIGGER PURSE: Organizers announce the top prize will double to record amount.
The top prize in the world's longest and toughest snowmachine race will double to a record $50,000, Iron Dog organizers said Wednesday.
The announcement came during the final week of registration for the 2,000-mile race that begins Feb. 21 in Big Lake. So far, 23 teams have signed up.
Last year, champions Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad of Wasilla took home $25,000 from a $135,000 purse.
The announcement capped a hectic few months for the Iron Dog, which lost its long-time title sponsor, Tesoro, and then last month picked up a $250,000 sponsorship from the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C.
Iron Dog development director Heidi Griffin said the 2010 race purse hit $148,000 with the National Guard sponsorship, and that fundraising continues.
Prize money for last winter's race ranged from $1,000 for 12th place to $17,000 for the runner-up. Griffin said payouts for those spots won't be reduced.
Scott Davis, a seven-time Iron Dog champion from Soldotna, cheered the news of a record purse.
"It deserves to be a world-class event, and this will make it a little more attractive," he said. "Everything is more and more expensive."
Davis, whose first win came in 1985, said prize money in some of the race's early years was minimal.
"Seems like I won the race one time, and it was like $3,000 (apiece)," he said.
He said the increased purse might boost entries, which close Tuesday and come with a $3,030 registration fee.
"The Iron Dog is a huge commitment," Davis said, "and it's hard to just jump in."
Two winters ago, the Iron Dog boasted a record field with 40 two-racer teams driving from Big Lake to Nome to the Fairbanks finish line in a week. Thirty-five teams signed up last year.
"We hope we can get a few more pro racers with a bigger purse," Griffin said. "Maybe some past champions or rookies who are on the fence and undecided."
Davis, 50, has hinted at retirement the past few years. He said the hefty winner's check for 2010 has no bearing on that decision. Davis needs one more victory to break a tie with retired racer John Faeo and stand alone as the winningest Iron Dog driver in history.
Davis last won in 2007, with partner Todd Palin.
"I don't think the money over the years matters. I never got to win on those years there was big money there," he said. "What I'd love to do is go with my son once."
His son, Cory Davis, was bronze medalist at the Snowmachine Speed and Style competition at January's Winter X Games in Aspen, Colo. Daughter Carly is an accomplished snocross rider, and this winter both of them will be members of the Christian Bros. Racing Team that competes in a circuit of Lower 48 snocross races.
While registration for the pro class is lagging, Griffin thinks some riders not in the Iron Dog's upper echelon might try the trail-class race that begins two days before the pro-class race. That entry fee is $1,730. Ten teams have signed up so far.
Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.
