FAIRBANKS - Nine days, 23 hours and 20 minutes, that's how long it took Yukoner Sebastian Schnuelle to make Yukon Quest history.

The Whitehorse musher received cheers and applause from an enthusiastic crowd as he made his way toward the finish line here late Tuesday morning.

Schnuelle's trail time set a new benchmark for the 1,600-km competition, eclipsing the previous record by more than three hours.

The former fastest finish was set by four-time Quest champion Lance Mackey in 2007. He did not run in this month's race.

It was a dramatic victory, following a two-man race between Schnuelle and American musher Hugh Neff.

Although the two never actually saw each other during the final stretch, they both knew the other was close by.

In fact, Schnuelle barely had time to get off his sled before Neff was seen coming toward the finish line.

In what was the closest Yukon Quest finish, Neff crossed the line just four minutes after Schnuelle did.

Tuesday's time difference between first and second finishers was one minute faster than the former Quest record, set in 1991 where Charlie Boulding beat Bruce Lee.

This year's two frontrunners were in good spirits during the media scrum that followed, joking around with each other and reporters.

Schnuelle was quick to bring up a two-hour penalty Neff had received earlier in the race for using the road instead of the marked trail.

He said Neff was more deserving of the championship as a result.

"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."

Neff was the first musher to arrive at Two Rivers, which this year was the final checkpoint before the finish line.

However, his time penalty resulted in Schnuelle having a 35-minute head start in the final push toward Fairbanks.

Schnuelle, who has been mushing dogs for 12 years, has competed in the Quest six times.

Tuesday, however, marked the first time he had ever won the race.

He said he wasn't the least bit stressed out leaving Two Rivers.

"I would have been fine either way," he said. "I mean, I was enjoying myself to the fullest."

Schnuelle, who plans to race next month's Iditarod, said he has liked what he has seen so far with his dog team.

"They are doing good; no complaints at all," he said.

Schnuelle plans to retire from mushing competitions in 2010 and had previously said he would not take part in the Quest.

Asked if being the defending champion might cause him to rethink this statement, he said: "Well, no. How much easier can it be? Step off on a good note. It's perfect."

Neff received a loud ovation when he made his way up on the makeshift podium that was set up for the media scrum.

The Quest veteran said he had some time to make up in the last couple of runs, so he had to push the dogs pretty hard.

"I knew Sebastian was going to a long run (Monday), so I did a long run (Monday)," Neff said. "Basically, Sebastian and I never really saw each other for the last week, maybe, so it's pretty funny that we would end up four minutes apart from each other at the end."

He said leaving Two Rivers, he didn't think it was possible to catch Schnuelle.

"With a 35-minute head start in a 40-mile run, that's pretty much impossible."

Despite not winning the race, Neff was pleased with his 2009 Quest run.

"It was easily my best Quest run ever," he said. "Except for one moment, but besides that, it was like living in a fantasy world for a week and half.

"I feel like I have just come back to reality, all of a sudden. Now I am just thinking of a nice shower, a good sauna and a cold beer."

Neff said he is just looking toward the future and is happy for Schnuelle.

"Hopefully, one of these days, I can get a chance to win a race as well," he said. "I don't really worry about the time penalty; that's history; now I'll worry about the future, and that's the Iditarod."

Finishing in third place with an overall trail time of 10 days, 0 hours and 28 minutes was Alaskan musher Jon Little. Little's time was also faster than the previous 2007 record.

Some of the other mushers to finish this year's race include former Iditarod champion Martin Buser, who placed fourth, while Tagish-area resident Michelle Phillips came in fifth .

Fellow Yukoner William Kleedehn finished in the sixth spot.

The $150,000 purse breakdown included the first place musher receiving $30,000, while second spot earned $22,000 and third took home $18,000.