Executives at Polaris Industries of Rouseau, Minn., toasted Huntington and Olds as they rode a Polaris Rush 600 across the finish line on the Chena River in Fairbanks. But equally important was the fact five of the top eight Iron Dog finishers were aboard Polaris machines.
"In years past," noted Mike Bedard, Polaris' engineering manager for race and trail performance, "we haven't had as many in the top 10. But we've spent quite a bit of time working with the racers and it's worked out very well. I was up in Nome to review our machines at halfway mark, and that was the least amount of damage I've seen in the past few years."
The other top Polaris finishers were David Branholm of Big Lake and Matthew Spernak of Anchorage in fourth; Ryan Sottosanti and Andrew Zwink of Wasilla in fifth; top rookies Aaron and Arnold Marks of Tanana in seventh; and Curtis Cherrier and Jim McAllen of Anchorage in eighth.
"The Iron Dog is the Super Bowl of snowmobile races," Bedard said. "We view this race as the ultimate test of our machines."
Sottosanti said he and Zwink had no motor issues the entire way. The team spent only three minutes, 20 seconds on repair during the long layover in Nome.
"They run real good," he said by phone on Monday. "We ran same chassis as last year when I was rookie of the year. A lot of it, too, is the driver. If you go smacking into trees, it's not gonna help.
"Polaris has better engineering, definitely," he said. "But a lot of luck comes into the race. Sometimes, it's just a roll of the dice."
Bedard of Polaris saw the race first hand, riding among a select group of so-called Iron Dog Ambassadors who rode Polaris 600 Switchback Adventure snowmobiles along the trail. Officially listed as recreational trail-class racers, they stopped frequently to promote the race.
"Part of the rationale was to take on the toughest race in the world, and I thought the machines did fantastic," he said. "When we got to Nome, I looked at the machines, put on a fresh belt and spark plugs and turned around and headed for Anchorage."
Polaris' domination of the Iron Dog bookends the company's involvement with snowmobiling in Alaska that dates back more than five decades.
When the late Edgar Hetteen, one of the three original partners in Polaris Industries, wanted to make headlines with the company's new machines in 1960, he headed to Alaska for a ride from Bethel to Fairbanks.
Hetteen -- who passed away in February -- joined Earling Falk, and Rudy and Bessie Bilberg for a 1,200-mile ride over 21 days on Polaris Sno-Traveler machines. At the time, it was the longest unsupported trip completed by snowmobile, and it generated headlines for Polaris.
Back then, snowmobiles were considered utility machines. But Polaris soon was marketing them as recreational vehicles.
Some 50 years later, Hetteen, then 79, returned to retrace the trip.
"Winter conditions around Roseau, Minnesota, where we develop and manufacture Polaris snowmobiles, are challenging -- but there's nothing as demanding as Alaska," said Polaris vice president Scott Swenson in a press release.
In addition to their $50,000 first-place prize, Huntington and Olds earned $3,000 from Polaris for winning and scored an invitation to a snowmobile dealer show later this week in Las Vegas.
This is the third-consecutive year Polaris has captured the longest and toughest snowmobile race in the world; Wasilla drivers Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad won the 2009 race before Huntington and Olds started their run.
"Me and Dusty (Van Meter, who finished sixth) were talking at the banquet about getting top Lower 48 guys to come up and race. But we race totally different. They don't like the high speed and low visibility -- the trees and moguls. They're a totally different breed -- and we feel like we're the top guys in the world up here.
"I think Polaris sees that and is going to get involved 10-fold next year."
Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.
2011 Iron Dog Standings
Finishers in Fairbanks
1) Tyler Huntington, Fairbanks, and Chris Olds, Eagle River, on Polaris in 37 hours, 38 minutes, 9 seconds, $50,000; 2) Todd Palin, Wasilla, and Eric Quam, Palmer, on Arctic Cats in 37:45:20, $35,000; 3) Scott and Cory Davis of Soldotna on Arctic Cats in 37:53:44, $18,000; 4) David Branholm, Big Lake, and Matthew Spernak, Anchorage, on Polaris in 38:53:59, $12,000; 5) Ryan Sottosanti and Andrew Zwink of Wasilla on Polaris in 40:03:51, $10,000; 6) Marc McKenna, Anchorage, and Dusty Van Meter, Kasilof, on Ski-Doo in 41:20:54, free entry in 2012 race; 7) * Aaron and Arnold Marks of Tanana on Polaris in 42:08:24; 8) Curtis Cherrier and Jim McAllen of Anchorage on Polaris in 43:53:03; 9) Robert Hingsbergen, Selawik, and Steven Williamson, Noorvik on Arctic Cats in 45:44:18; 10) Aaron Bartel, Anchorage, and Jason Wichman, Lewiston, Mont., on Ski-Doo in 47:51:04; 11) Jake Goodell and Theron Willard of Anchorage on Ski-Doo in 51:24:22; 12) Race Price and Eric Watson of Wasilla on Arctic Cats in 51:41:35.
* Top rookie team
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