Team Kaiser made it across the Finish Line of the 2019 Kuskokwim 300 in the early morning hours looking like they were ready for another 300 miles. Wagging their tails and happy, the Team, the true stars of the show were just beautiful to watch.
After the excitement of the evening, the question on everyone’s mind was- “Where is Nic Petit?” Nic apparently left his tracker in Tuluksak, so we all were wondering where he was.
Matt Failor crossed the Finish Line at 7:02 to claim his first K300 Crown and then, wouldn’t you know it, there was another headlamp and Nic Petit showed up!
Nic apparently got off the trail and followed Church Slough into Bethel. Unfortunately for Nic, this slough is not part of the racecourse and the Kuskokwim 300 Race Committee has another bit of work to determine what this lapse in judgement will cost the Girdwood musher.
For Pete and the Team it means that finish order is still undetermined. Although following Petit in to Bethel, it may be that the penalty will cause the order to change. The official word from K300 is that Petit’s case is being reviewed.
So we have drama (again) at the Finish line, but that did nothing to dampen the spirits of Pete or the folks at the line. It was very cold with the windchill and one of my cameras got pretty unhappy (Sorry for the photos in advance). Pete had nothing but praise for his Team. “We made a gamble and it didn’t work out, I’m nothing but pleased with the Team’s performance,” said Pete in an interview.
After meeting and greeting, it was off to Kaiser Central (Mom and Dad’s house) where we all sat and ate scrumptious breakfast bites and contributed from friends and family. A fine finish for the Team! Everyone is very happy!
Here are the photos from the finish. (Thanks Nili and Cindy for helping out)
Go Team Kaiser!
