What happens next isn't so clear. The motivational speaker, who talks to rural Alaska kids about achieving dreams, said he may not return to defend his championship.

"I've always said that once I won, that I wouldn't be doing this again," said Baker, who notched 11 finishes in the top 10 before this year's record-setting win.

"I wouldn't have a reason to do it," he said.

While he's currently not planning to race next year, Baker said he plans to talk to his sponsors and family about the decision.

"This is what I like. I like being out in the country. I like being involved with dogs," Baker told reporters in Nome. "So there isn't anything else I want to do."

For now, he's looking forward to seeing friends and family in Kotzebue and -- after more than a week on the trail -- watching a little NBA on TV.

"I like L.A.," said Baker, whose cousin said the musher won a state championship in high school as a forward for the Kotzebue Huskies.

BUSER 'MISTAKES'

With his team of speed dogs descended from sprint racers, Martin Buser of Big Lake led the race early and looked to fans like the musher to beat on this year's hard, fast trail.

Just after 4 p.m. Wednesday, he finished in 18th place -- more than a day after Baker.

What happened?

"I made lots of mistakes -- and lots of issues that I need to work on in the future," Buser said.

Like Lance Mackey, another four-time champion, Buser said the Iditarod field is now so deep that a few errors or mishaps put you out of the running in a hurry.

"You got to play into their strengths. And my dogs' strength is good trail, fast trail, warm temperatures. Often I run without booties," Buser said.

The musher ran his team the roughly 70 miles from Nikolai to Takotna without the Velcro-strapped shoes sled dogs wear to shield their feet. He made another bootie-less run into the checkpoint of Iditarod in warm weather.

Foot infections resulted, slowing the team, Buser said.

"What I can't quantify is how come so many feet got infected," he said.

Baker's team this year was known for its endurance, Buser's for its speed. The two mushers are thinking about experimenting with a combination of the kennels.

"We're ... talking about actually breeding our dogs -- one or two dogs together -- to see what we get," Baker said.

GPS DOUBTER

Iditarod officials for the first time allowed mushers to carry personal GPS units this year. The gadgets show where mushers are on the trail and how fast they're moving.

Baker and other mushers brought the units on the 1,000-mile route. Mackey did not.

The former champion said Wednesday he didn't think the addition of GPS units affected the race outcome, but continued to scoff at their use on the Iditarod.

"It's another distraction to keep you not focused on your team," he said. "It's a dog race and you can only do what they're capable of doing."

TIMING GOOF

When John Baker crossed the burled arch to win the 39th Iditarod on Wednesday, the official time card used by race officials recorded Baker's elapsed time at "8 days, 19 hours, 46 minutes, 39 seconds."

That was the time that went out worldwide on a variety of news outlets.

Later, the standings published on the official Iditarod website said Baker took 8 days, 18 hours, 46 minutes, 39 seconds.

Baker was fast -- but how'd he gain an hour standing still?

Neglecting Daylight Savings Time was the problem, according to Iditarod executive director Stan Hooley.

"The finishing time is the total time elapsed from the start of the race until a musher's team crosses under the burled arch here in Nome," Hooley said. "The checker here in Nome did not take the time change into consideration in calculating the winning time."

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Reach Kyle Hopkins at khopkins@adn.com.