Fresh off a starring role in Dan Sullivan's successful bid to become a U.S. Senator from Alaska, Soldotna's Cory Davis appeared as the featured presenter for a Monday rollout of what is planned to be the first Anchorage start for the Iron Dog snowmachine race early next year.
Davis, the son of seven-time Iron Dog champ Scott Davis and a snowmachine driver of some note himself, scored a lot of face time on Alaska TV during the U.S. Senate race. He was featured in an advertisement poking fun at incumbent Sen. Mark Begich's efforts to portray himself as an Alaskan-of-the-people by jumping onto a snowmachine and speeding off across the tundra of the North Slope.
Known for his aerial acrobatics on those machines, Davis noted in the advertisement that he knows snowmachines, and just watching Begich he could tell the Democrat doesn't. It was a little good-natured dust tossed into a campaign that was heavy with down-and-dirty mudslinging on both the part of Begich and Republican Sullivan.
Davis showcased himself as a first-class pitchman in the campaign ad, and he was at it again as television cameras gathered on the second floor of the Hard Rock Cafe downtown on Monday for the unveiling of the Iron Dog's ceremonial Anchorage start and more.
It's all set for Feb. 21 downtown.
Unlike the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race's annual Anchorage start in March, the Iron Dog start won't cover much of the city. Racers will travel about half a mile, from in front of the Fourth Avenue Theater along the street to the Hard Rock and then left down E Street to the Alaska Railroad. From there it's off across the port to Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson.
Snowmachine racers, for whom the real deal starts the next day at Big Lake, will ride across the military base and north to Birchwood, but that will mostly happen out of sight.
Not to worry, said Davis and Iron Dog executive director Kevin Kastner. There will be plenty going on downtown on Iron Dog weekend. Before the Iron Dog start comes a "Vintage Snowmobile Parade'' and just after the racers zoom out of downtown, the "Iron Pup'' kids snowmachine celebration hits the street.
Later in the afternoon the "Flying Iron Freestyle Show'' opens at the EasyPark lot near the Anchorage Hilton.
On Monday, Davis spoke about the "outside talent'' coming north to help him put on that display of snowmachine acrobatics. An X Games silver medalist earlier this year and a noted sno-cross racer, Davis is a veteran of two Iron Dogs but has yet to win.
He and partner Ryan Simons from Alberta, Canada, led the Iron Dog to the Bering Sea Coast this year, but ended up back in ninth place at the Fairbanks finish. The Iron Dog covers about 2,000 miles from Big Lake north to Nome and then from Nome south and east to Fairbanks.
It is by far the world's longest, toughest snowmachine race. Racers are required to compete as teams for safety. More than a few have been saved by their partners after a crash.
Davis, whose dad Scott finally hung it up this year at the ripe old age of 55, says he and Simons, another X Games medalist, are expecting to win the 2015 race.
That won't be easy. They face some tough competition. This year's champions, Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad from Wasilla, are back to defend the title on their Polarises, and 2012 and 2013 champ Mark McKenna from Anchorage has found a new sled sponsor in Polaris and a young partner in Allen Hill from Big Lake.
Former partner Dusty Van Meter -- a 44-year-old, five-time champ -- joins Scott Davis among the notables sitting out 2015. He and McKenna finished second, only 22 minutes back, this year.
McKenna attended the Iron Dog announcement on Monday, but didn't get up to say anything publicly. He's been very quiet since his September birthday bash erupted into a Palin family riot and became one of the city's most talked about pre-election stories.
Todd Palin, hubby of former governor and celebrity Sarah, is an Iron Dog champ who illustrates the two-degrees of separation in Alaska snowmachining and politics.
Todd won when teamed with Scott Davis, Cory's dad, and with VanMeter, McKenna's one-time partner. Sarah was a Republican like Sullivan, and Cory, who plans to take over his father's Kenai Peninsula business, said he has been interested in Republican politics since he was a kid.
Contact Craig Medred at cmedred(at)alaskadispatch.com