Behind 13 tough dogs, many running their second 1,000-mile race in a month, Lance Mackey of Fairbanks drove his team out over the Norton Sound sea ice before dawn on Monday, less than 175 miles from history.

Just 20 days ago, Mackey stood in downtown Fairbanks and celebrated his third consecutive victory in the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race that began in Whitehorse, Yukon. If he can hold his lead in this Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Mackey would become the first to win the distance mushing double back to back, something few thought even remotely possible weeks ago.

He'd also join his father Dick and half-brother Rick as Iditarod champions.

Mackey left Shaktoolik at 2:41 a.m. Monday, the first to venture onto the Norton Sound ice.

He was also the first to arrive in Shaktoolik, with a slim 12-minute lead over Paul Gebhardt of Kasilof. But more important, perhaps, was that Mackey had made the 42-mile trip from Unalakleet to Shaktoolik in five hours, 17 minutes -- a full 31 minutes faster than Gebhardt and 45 minutes faster than a pair of four-time champions, Jeff King and Martin Buser.

"Never before have I been so close," Mackey said Sunday in Unalakleet, while hugging his lead dog. "I knew when we got on the hard, fast trail we would pick up some time."

"They are starting to get fired up," he said of his team. "They know if they perform well the next race they won't have to worry about getting there. They'll be driving in a new truck. ... I can almost smell that new truck smell."

The winner will get about $69,000 in prize money and a new quad-cab pickup worth more than $40,000. Mackey drives a 14-year-old truck.

Four-time Iditarod champions Martin Buser and Jeff King arrived in Shaktoolik at 3:45 and 3:47 respectively after making a six hour, two minute run from Unalakleet.

In Unalakleet, Buser conceded his team was having trouble. "Not very good at all," he said of his dog team, "but I'm here. I'm glad to be here."

Buser, who initially had the fastest team on the trail, has had problems in the last third of the race. He's had to carry tired dogs in his sled bag, busted up his knee in a crash and, perhaps most significantly, lost one of his best lead dogs to injury in a dog fight. Since that happened, Buser has slowed significantly.

"I haven't put a good run together" since before Unalakleet, Buser said.

Surprising Zach Steer of Sheep Mountain was comfortably holding down fifth place, with Ken Anderson of Fairbanks was sixth and Ed Iten of Kotzebue seventh.