Rivals

Notes about the Mackey - King Rivalry from Kyle Hopkins - adn.com:

While Mackey said the rivalry between them isn't personal, he also said the two champions have traded verbal barbs at checkpoints over the past few years and that King made "a nice smart comment" to him this year in Ruby.

“We do it to each other. We jab each other and make the other one think about the other one for the next day or so," Mackey said while unpacking gear to feed his dogs. "If ... I’m thinking about Jeff, then I’m going to be taking away from my racing performance and focus on my team if I’m sitting there thinking and worrying about him. And vice versa."

Mackey wouldn't say what King said to him. “It was uncalled for and all it did was fire me up a little bit," he said.

Mackey started the verbal duel himself in 2007, he said, when he asked King if "he was scared yet" at a checkpoint. Last year, King made the same comment to him, he said.

I asked him about the rivalry with Mackey. He said it exists, but "There's not too many guys I'd rather be racing against." What did he say to Mackey in Ruby? "Same thing I said the last couple years, which is: 'Are you worried yet?'"