Iron Dog leaders can leave Nome this morning

Rested from a 36-hour layover, the top Iron Dog competitors are scheduled to leave Nome this morning, although a snowstorm might not leave them with much of a trail.

Racers are scheduled to resume racing at 8 this morning, with the team of Marc McKenna and Dusty Van Meter leading the way.

McKenna and Van Meter beat the second-place team of Todd Palin and Eric Quam to Nome by less than four minutes Tuesday night to claim the halfway prize of $10,000. But they'll leave with a bigger edge, because they needed to spend a mere 2 minutes, 29 seconds working on their machines while in Nome. Any time drivers make repairs during the layover is added to their departure time.

That could prove costly to Palin and Quam, who spent 23:39 on their machines. That helped vault Tyler Huntington and Chris Olds, who were third into Nome, a minute behind Palin and Quam, into second place, because they spent 9:21 on their machines.

Nome is the halfway point of the 2,000-mile race across Alaska from Big Lake to Nome to Fairbanks, and as of late Wednesday night, only two teams had yet to get there -- Stacey Green and Cliff Johnson riding Arctic Cats and Robbie Muir and Jeremiah Jones aboard Ski-Doos.

The race website listed both teams as "breaking trail, still headed to Nome," late Wednesday. If they didn't get there before midnight, they will be dropped from the race's pro class to its trail class.

The team of Mike Fuller from Chugiak and Billy Long from Wasilla, who started Wednesday in last place, well behind everyone else, scratched later in the day.

Thirteen teams have scratched, leaving 16 in the Pro-class race.

Weather isn't expected to improve before the race finishes Saturday. "Our weatherman is predicting nasty weather till Sunday," Marlene Moto- Karlhere of Deering posted on the Iron Dog blog, reporting 50 mph easterly winds.

2011 Iron Dog

Standings Wednesday

Into Nome

1) Marc McKenna and Dusty Van Meter, Ski-Doo, 7:41 p.m. Tuesday; 2) Todd Palin and Eric Quam, Arctic Cat, 7:44 p.m. Tuesday; 3) Tyler Huntington and Chris Olds, Polaris, 7:45 p.m. Tuesday; 4) Scott Davis and Cory Davis, Arctic Cat, 8:04 p.m. Tuesday; 5) David Branholm and Matthew Spernak, Polaris, 8:48 p.m. Tueseday; 6) Doug Dixon and Wayne Wold, Arctic Cat, 8:57 p.m.; 7) Ryan Sottosanti and Andrew Zwink, Polaris, 9:39 p.m.; 8) Aaron Marks and Arnold Marks, Polaris, 9:53 p.m.; 9) Andy George and Tre West III, Arctic Cat, 11:09 p.m.; 10) Curtis Cherrier and Jim McAllen, Polaris, 11:21 p.m.;

11) Robert Hingsbergen and Steven Williamson, Arctic Cat, 12:52 a.m.; 12) Aaron Bartel and Jason Wichman, Ski-Doo, 3:39 a.m.; 13) Race Price and Eric Watson, Arctic Cat, 5:31 a.m.; 14) Jake Goodell and Theron Willard, Ski-Doo, 6:01 a.m.; 15) Vernon Albert and Kyle Malamute, Polaris, 6:01 a.m.

On the trail to Nome

16) Stacey Green and Cliff Johnson, Arctic Cat; 17) Jeremiah Jones and Robbie Muir, Ski-Doo.

Scratched

Wade Bailey and Brad Rigdon, Polaris; Lee Harrison and Charles Potter, Arctic Cat; Jana Peterson and Carl Swenson, Arctic Cat; Pam Harrington and Elaine Jackson, Polaris; Mike Fuller and Billy Long, Polaris; Ryan Bloom and Dennis Faldorf, Ski-Doo; Louis Miller III and Louis Miller IV, Polaris; Joe D'Amico and John Glass, Arctic Cat; Tyler Aklestad and Tyson Johnson, Ski-Doo; Derrick Johnson and Steve Piper, Arctic Cat; Jon Berry and Randy Gravatt, Arctic Cat; Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad, Polaris; Daniel Lowrie and Raymond Rapp, Arctic Cat.