While most of this year’s Iron Dog field was taking a long layover in Nome — the unofficial halfway point of the race — Ashley Wood was seeing her race come to an end short of the finish line.
Wood, a 27-year-old who was born and raised in Soldotna, scratched out of the race Wednesday morning along with rookie teammate Rachel Kidwell when the pair encountered trouble just outside of Koyuk.
According to reports, Wood and Kidwell hit an ice shelf, which resulted in a broken suspension piece and a hole in the bulkhead on one of their Polaris machines.
The two were attempting to become only the second all-female team to complete the 2,031-mile Iron Dog, which is considered the toughest snowmachine race in the world. That record will have to wait another year.
The rest of the remaining competitors were arriving in Nome throughout the night. Race leaders Scott Faeo and Eric Quam pulled into Nome at 6:21 p.m. Tuesday, and were followed by 21 other teams for the next 20 hours.
55-year-old Soldotna race veteran Scott Davis remained in second place after experiencing a crash Tuesday evening just outside of White Mountain. Davis pulled into Nome just 17 minutes after Faeo and Quam. According to reports, Davis was well enough to continue and finish the ride to Nome.
Davis is teamed with Anchorage veteran Aaron Bartel, and is hunting for a record eighth Iron Dog victory.
Cory Davis, the 26-year-old son of Scott Davis, also remains in Nome in the position he entered Tuesday night, sixth place. Davis is paired up with fellow X Games competitor Ryan Simons of Alberta, Canada.
