FAIRBANKS - In one of the closest finishes in Yukon Quest history, Sebastian Schnuelle of Whitehorse held on to top spot with a new race record, edging out American musher Hugh Neff by fewer than five minutes.

This was Schnuelle's sixth time competing in the 1,600-kilometre Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, in which he has placed no lower than 10th with the exception of his scratch in the 1999 event.

However, this is the first time the Whitehorse resident has won the race and the first time a Yukoner has finished as Quest champion since Frank Turner captured the honour in 1995, with what was then a new record 10 days, 16 hours and 20 minutes.

Schnuelle completed his championship run in nine days, 23 hours and 20 minutes, at just over four hours faster than the most recent trail record of 10 days, two hours and 37 minutes established in 2007 by four-time Quest champion Lance Mackey of Alaska.

The sounds of cheers, applause and bells could be heard as Schnuelle raced down the Chena River towards the finish line to put his stamp on the trek.

"Well, it sure kept me on the edge of my seat," he said not long after crossing the finish line about the final run into Fairbanks. "I could tell (Neff) was getting close on the river. For every corner I looked around to see if he was there."

Schnuelle, who listened to ACDC on the trip into Fairbanks, benefited from some good fortune late in the race, when he was able to make up a lot of time on the leaders after three mushers had trouble ascending Eagle Summit on Monday.

From Eagle Summit and on, he knew he had a shot at catching them for two main reasons: The number of leaders on his team and the amount of rest he had been giving them previously in the race.

"I had been resting a lot more than those guys, so I knew when it came down to speed, I should have some speed left," he said, adding that Neff had a fast team too.

Schnuelle's schedule for the majority of the race involved getting up early at around 5 a.m. and running until 11 a.m. or noon. He then would usually camp for the afternoon and then he would normally run from 5 p.m. to midnight.

"I kept on doing that no matter where I was," he said. "So I didn't see many people and I guess not that many people saw me."

He said he wasn't even in race mode until he came up to Eagle Summit and saw the three mushers who were ahead of him. The three mushers included William Kleedehn, Jon Little and Neff.

Schnuelle also benefited from a two-hour time penalty that was assessed against Neff earlier in the race for running his team on the road instead of the trail, while heading from Circle into Central's checkpoint.

He was gracious about pointing that out.

"In all honesty, I really think that Hugh actually won this race," Schnuelle said. "He would have been two hours ahead of me if it wouldn't have been for his time penalty. He clearly had the better team, so he knows that and I know that. I think for us it's the most important thing."

Schnuelle plans to compete in the 2009 Iditarod in March and said he likes how his dogs look for that race.

With plans to retire from competitive dog mushing in 2010, Schnuelle didn't hide the fact that this might be his final Yukon Quest sled dog race.

When asked if it would be difficult now that he is the defending champion to follow through on this statement, Schnuelle replied: "Well no. How much easier can it be? Step off on a good note. It's perfect."

With Schnuelle's new record for fastest time, Canadians now hold records both fastest and slowest races.

The late Bruce Johnson of Tagish won the 1986 Quest in a time of 14 days, nine hours and seven minutes.