As a warm, blustery storm blew into Nome late Tuesday, a dense pack of the world's top snowmachine racers motored into the City of the Golden Sands for respite, repairs and, in some cases, piles of cash.
The Ski-Doo riding duo of Dusty Van Meter and Marc McKenna, with four Iron Dog titles between them, claimed $10,000 as the first to arrive at 7:41 p.m., narrowly edging two other teams with championship pedigrees.
Just three minutes back was four-time champion Todd Palin, the former First Dude and reality cable television star who's one of the savviest drivers on the trail. This year he has a new partner, 2008 champion Eric Quam of Palmer, who's never finished outside the top seven.
Defending champions Tyler Huntington of Fairbanks and Chris Olds of Eagle River were third, a minute behind Palin and Quam. They displayed their moxie by laying down the fastest run between White Mountain and Nome, averaging a brisk 62 mph.
The Davis Times Two tandem of seven-time champion Scott Davis and 22-year-old son Cory checked in at 8:04 p.m., 23 minutes behind the leaders.
But as the top racers parked their machines in a heated impound area, National Weather Service forecasters were issuing a winter storm warning for Nome that runs through 6 p.m. today. Up to seven inches of snowfall, gusts to 55 mph and temperatures reaching 35 degrees were expected.
Racers have until Thursday morning to rest and rehabilitate before starting the second half of the race for the Fairbanks finish line. Much of that portion of the trail involves river running on flat trail, often with hidden hazards -- a type of riding that may favor the 25-year-old Huntington, who grew up in Galena on the banks of the mighty Yukon River.
Last year, Huntington and Olds pulled away to a comfortable victory during the second half of the race.
But for now, the top teams had some extra spending money for Nome.
Palin and Quam picked up $3,000 for getting to Nome in second place, while Huntington and Olds were in position to earn $5,000 -- $2,000 for being the third team to arrive and possibly $3,000 more for the fastest run from White Mountain to Nome.
With hundreds of miles left, the race was up for grabs for any of the top teams.
Riding Arctic Cats, Palin and Quam showed plenty of river-running speed on the Yukon River earlier, averaging 88 mph on the 98-mile stretch from Galena to Kaltag, a full 8 mph faster than the next-fastest team.
Teams will have a day-long break before heading for the Fairbanks finish line on Thursday morning.
The team of Wasilla rookies Wade Bailey and Brad Rigdon pulled out of the race in Galena, bring the list of scratched teams to eight.
Reach Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.
By MIKE CAMPBELL
mcampbell@adn.com