Lance Mackey capped off a race for the ages as he joined his dad and his brother as Iditarod champion in a time of 9 days 5 hours and 8 minutes. The emotional Mackey was hugged by many including his wife and brother in the finish chute on Front Street in Nome. Next he spoke to his father and the governor of Alaska on phone. Later he would hug the manager of Anchorage Chrysler Dodge as he was handed the keys to a new Dodge pickup truck. Paul Gebhardt crossed the finish line 2 hours and 28 minutes later for second place. Meanwhile, back at the Safety checkpoint 22 miles from the finish, Zack Steer and Martin Buser passed through within 2 minutes of each other in a real dogfight for 3rd place. Steer’s team is running at a slightly faster pace having departed the White Mountain checkpoint 20 minutes after Buser. They should reach the finish line about 3:20 this morning.