One Too Many Races
#4 of The Amazing Race 3
Previously on the Amazing Race, our teams got a taste of Tallahassee. Their artistic skills were tested and their strength was pushed to the limit. The Zootopian police officers locked up first place. However, the baristas, Daisy & Sa'mone, came in last and were sent home. 16 teams remain. Do any of them have potential to win? Probably. But probably not. This is... the Amazing Race.
***
"Welcome back to sunny Florida," Toner starts. "And boy is it sunny today. I swear, it must be ninety degrees. Anyways, yesterday's winners will leave first..."
Judy steps up to the clue box and reads the tip. "'Take the train to Daytona Beach and search the station for the next tip'."
Teams must travel to Daytona Beach, a city known for its love of NASCAR and beaches so firm you can drive a truck over it. Once they arrive at DeLand station, they'll find the clue box with their next instructions.
Judy & Nick run off with the cab drivers and beneficial friends soon behind them. When it's Josee & Ryan's turn, she asks, "How come we're not in the Top 3 yet?"
"I don't know," Ryan says in a snarky manner.
"Promise me we'll never act like them," Pepper says to his partner. Cinnamon nods and gets the tip for his team next. More and more teams get the clue to head for Daytona Beach and while Cal & Ren and April & Maggie are the last ones to depart, the first five teams catch the first train to the city.
"Come on, dad, we can still make the next train!" Mac urges his dad onwards after missing the first one.
"Relax, kiddo," Kaleb reassures. "The next one won't leave for another twenty minutes. We're just fine."
"I cannot believe we're heading into NASCAR's hometown," Echo says in the taxi. "It's almost as if we're heading into one of the races ourselves. Oh wait... we already are in a race."
"Mhm." Majira reaches into a bag on the floor and takes out a shirt with the Tallahassee Titans logo on it. "Check this out. A salesperson recognized me and gave me this shirt for free. He said I'd look great in these colors." He quickly puts it on. "How do I look?"
"Definitely awesome."
"Can I get a selfie with you?" Zack asks his partner.
Chris huffs. "Z, this is not a vacation; it's a race."
"Awwww, come on, just one pic of me and my best friend in Florida?" Before he can answer, Zack digs out his phone, smiles and snaps a photo of them both.
"NASCAR is a seriously famous franchise," Carla points out. "Remember that time we were turned down that role for starting in that speed movie?"
"I know!" Carrie exclaims. "We should not have been turned down that role."
"Exactly! We would've made great race car drivers."
Lucius looks out his window as the city passes by. "How come we don't have this sort of thing at the Fox Empire?" he asks.
"What? Races?" Max asks.
"No. Well, yeah, I mean NASCAR. You'd think out of all the places it is in the world, it's not in a culturally diverse place like ours."
Max looks ahead and his tail gently sways. "There's the train station!" The emperors quickly leave their taxi once it parks. They come to find Karen & Carol panting and sweaty outside. "Oh my! What happened to you guys?"
"We ran all the way here," Carol pants. "We couldn't get a taxi to stop for us."
"Who cares?" Karen breathes. "We're here so let's get on the train."
While some teams get on trains two and three and take off, those on train one have arrived in Daytona Beach. "There's the clue box!" Toby points. The five teams get their next tip and Toby reads it to his partner. "Roadblock time. Whose turn is it?"
"Yours. What's the challenge?" Felix asks.
"'Tight spaced... drag race'?"
For this Roadblock, whichever teammate didn't draw the portrait gets to slip on body-tight spandex and drive a go-kart around the International Speedway. If they can complete one lap around the track in under sixty seconds, a local pit crew worker (black sun bear) will hand them the next tip.
Nick whistles. "Taxi!"
The first five teams race to catch a cab all the way to the speedway. As they begin to pile in, they find neon orange spandex with their names on it next to a changing room. Judy and Donna come out first.
"See you on the flip side, mall cap." Donna hops into the first kart she sees and starts it.
Judy hops and flips, landing into the kart next to her. "We'll see about that, sister." The rivalry takes off.
Toby comes out next. "What do you think?" he asks his partner. Felix just gets wide-eyed, looking all over at how perfect the spandex shows off his friend's body.
"I uh... uhhhh...." The brown fox is still speechless.
Toby chuckles and says, "Silly fox. Gotta go, wish me luck."
Ryan and Pepper soon join in on the action. Josee whistles when she sees her wolf. "You look great baby!!!" she calls from the sidelines. Ryan winks at her.
"Wish me luck, dude!" Pepper shouts. Cinnamon gives him a double thumbs up. As the guys take off, the girls are still fighting for the lead. Donna, being a cab driver from New York, knows how to go faster than those around her. She uses this knowledge to her advantage and manages to slip past Judy.
Donna reaches the pit crew bear first. "Tip me, Spanky!" she shouts when she sees her time (53 seconds). Just as the bear does, Judy rams her from behind, pushing into her spot.
The bear just stares in awe as she takes a tip. "Thank you," she says.
Nick runs up to her. "Woah. I never thought I'd ever see you do something that cool! What's the next challenge?"
"It's a Detour." Judy turns off the kart and stands. "'Wheels or Weenies'?"
Teams have to make their way to the Daytona Beach Boardwalk. Once there, they either ride the Ferris wheel once or work together to eat 10 hot dogs. Once completed, they must take one of 16 speedboats all the way to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the next checkpoint lies. Last team to show up, could be sent home.
The officers and cab drivers continue to fight for first. And the daters are not far behind.
"Yeah! That was awesome!" Ryan whoops. Josee runs up and takes her wolf out, squeezing him tight.
"I knew you could do it, baby. Now what's next?" With the daters catching up, the second train has arrived. Those six teams have trouble catching a ride to the Speedway, but they slowly make it one by one.
"Well, my wife always wanted me to get a spandex outfit for some reason." Kaleb is clearly trying to make the best of a bad situation.
Carrie just exits the changing room posing as if a red carpet was nearby. Carol comes out running for the kart. "First place, here we cooooooooooooome!!!!!" She ends up screaming as her foot presses the accelerator.
Lucius quickly kisses Max before running out onto the field. "You've got this, honey!" Max cheers.
"Woohoo! Go, Chris!" Zack sits with the others on the side.
Although the wolf/husky heard him, he doesn't respond, secretly worrying that the fox is looking at him too closely. Yet the thought secretly makes him excited. "No," he tells himself. "I can't think about boys. Have a race to win."
"So I just have to make it in under a minute?" Majira asks. "That doesn't sound too hard." He quickly catches up to the others; especially Toby and Pepper, who are still there. Mac, Carla, Karen, Felix, Cinnamon, Max, Echo, and Zack cheer on their partners in the task.
Toby starts over again, but is hot on the others' trails. Majira, Chris, and Lucius are neck and neck to get the next tip; with Carol and Carrie not at behind. Kaleb swerves a little because his big paws aren't used to being in a tiny vehicle.
Surprisingly, the red fox finishes next with 59 seconds. "Nice one, partner!" Echo hops on over to Majira where they get the next tip. "To the boardwalk!" As they run out, she asks, "How did you learn to go so fast on a go-kart?"
"Well, they say that video games don't help people out in real life situations," Majira explains. "Those people are wrong."
Toby finishes next. When his friend comes over, he says, "Sorry, homie, I guess I'm not good at this sort of thing."
"It's fine." Felix smiles and pats him on the head. "Besides, five other teams are not even here yet. We're good."
Pepper stops his car in front of the sun bear. "How'd I do?" he asks. The pit crew worker shows his final time of 49 seconds. "Awesome!"
"That was fast!" Lucius says. His fur is a bit poofy from the wind. The sun bear shows his faster than a minute time and the emperors head out for the Boardwalk.
As some teams begin to arrive at the Boardwalk, train three has arrived. The last five teams struggle to keep up; but some have already started the Detour.
"Wheels," Judy decides.
"Wheels," Vito says confidently. Of course, the officers and cab drivers continue to fight for the lead.
When Josee & Ryan arrive, they choose... "Wheels, obviously. It's more romantic." She kisses him on the cheek.
"Well who am I to argue with a lady?" Ryan winks and they get in line to ride the wheel.
With the YouTubers' arrival, the competition heats up at the beach. "Definitely Wheels," Majira declares. "I'm not eating 10 hot dogs; gross."
The others three teams eventually arrive. "This is an easy choice," Max says. "Weeniers! How often do you get to eat that much?"
Lucius chuckles and pulls his partner towards a few blue tables set up for the Weenies task.
"I say we do... Wieners," Felix suggests.
"That's fine with me," Toby says. "Besides, I do this sort of thing everyday. Just with real people and not food." The two quickly laugh before joining the emperors.
"Easy, Wieners," Pepper says. "I'm awesome at eating competitions."
"I know you are," Cinnamon says with ASL.
***
Parker comes out of the changing room with just his spandex on. He runs over to Chloe, who has the keys to the kart. "You can do this, Park."
"I know. I'll be back in a minute."
Maggie and Bert come out soon, both with determined looks on their faces. "Now remember, we can't come in sixteenth again because it means we'll be in last. Got it?" April's prep speech isn't the greatest to Maggie, but it lights a fire under her belly.
"If you go at the recommended 150 mph, you should be able to make it there in exactly a minute," Arnold calculates.
"Got it. Thanks, my friend." Bert starts his kart and drives off.
Sindy quickly runs out of the changing room, frantic my hopping into her kart and starting it up. "Calm down," Sally says. "We're not in last place."
"I know, but it can happen!" Sindy shouts. She quickly gets on the track to race like the others.
"Cal! Hurry up! We're in last place!" Ren shouts.
The door opens to reveal the large bear in his spandex, the neon orange showing off his fat curvy body. Ren just stares, unable to say anything as Cal squeezes into a kart and drives off.
With nine teams desperate to finish the Roadblock and seven teams eager to finish the Detour, it really is anyone's game.
The actors and shop owners finish next; with Chloe & Parker and Arnold & Bert right behind them.
"Dad! Hurry!" Mac squeaks. His dad has went around the track several times and still hasn't passed yet. But, the sound of his son makes Kaleb press the gas down all the way and he instantly goes faster.
Chris finishes next. "Nice job teammate of mine!" Zack says. "What's next?"
"Boardwalk. Detour. Let's go!" Chris & Zack then run to catch another taxi.
Kaleb crosses the finish line in 44 seconds before he crashes into a wall. "I'm ok!" he shouts. But his limbs hurt a little bit from the sudden stop.
***
With three teams still struggling with the Roadblock, those who finished it now have to choose between the Ferris wheel or an eating challenge. Some teams choose Wieners (Chloe & Parker, Karen & Carol, and Chris & Zack) but others decide on Wheels (Kaleb & Mac, Carla & Carrie, and Arnold & Bert).
"It was no contest," Carla rants. "I was not going to stuff my face with some sort of mystery meat."
The actors are sharing a car with the geeks. "Actually, it's not a mystery," Bert says. "The average hot dog is made from pork, beef, and chicken."
Arnold adds, "Which are three common ingredients that make someone put on weight more; especially if it isn't burned off soon."
Carla just looks at them and then goes back to reading a fashion magazine.
"I haven't gotten to be on one of these since I was about your age." Kaleb decided that the time on the wheel should be a good father/son bonding time. What makes it easier is they have it to themselves.
Mac keeps looking at the ground, his fear of heights kicking in a little.
Josee & Ryan just snuggle and make out alone.
Sadly, Nick & Judy and Vito & Donna were forced to share one of the cars. "Don't even think about leaving the car before us," Vito states.
"You can't stop us from thinking it," Nick growls.
"Oh yeah? Bring it on, mall cop." Donna growls back.
Back on the ground, the last three teams have arrived. "Another eating challenge?" Cal asks. "It's like Toner is inside my brain."
"Let's ride on the Ferris wheel," Maggie suggests.
"You're right," April says. "The last thing we need is to break out Weight Watchers diet."
"I'm with them," Sindy says. "Plus, I'm not a very fast eater."
The feria stops to let the officers, cab drivers and YouTubers off. "That was pretty fun," Echo says as they run for the boats.
"I know," Majira squeaks. "When this race is over, I'm definitely coming back to Florida." The three teams hop into one of the boats and they start driving for first place.
"Cal, we might want to hurry." Ren starts munching on one hot dog, which happens to be bare. "We're already in last place and we can't afford to..."
Looking over, the plate in front of the bear is already empty. Cal burps and says, "Sorry, what were you saying?"
The other teams just give a jaw-dropping stare. "What the hell?" Toby asks. "Did you guys just arrive?"
"I can explain," Ren pipes up. "Cal's been known to clear his play pretty fast. In fact, it's the reason why he was banned from one of the all-you-can-eats. I went to use the bathroom for five minutes and all the cinnamon rolls were gone. Just... gone." He realizes what's happened and quickly nibbles on the rest of his wiener. "Done." The engaged couple quickly gets seats on another speed boat and they head southeast.
"Hurry!" Chris says to his partner. The emperors, shop owners, beneficial friends, and the strippers pick up their pace with the challenge.
Meanwhile, the race for first is still up for grabs. "Hey officers!" Donna yells. "Eat seaweed, losers!!" Vito speeds up and splashes Nick & Judy with the salt water of the ocean.
"Now can I destroy them?" Nick asks.
Judy contemplates this, but happily lets go of the wheel. "Be my guest," she says, think back to the Speedway. The fox grabs the wheel and steers them towards the cabbies for revenge.
***
At the checkpoint, Toner is asleep on a recliner with a newspaper covering his face. He suddenly shifts awake when he hears two people run up to the rug. "Must you disturb my nap?" he snaps.
"How'd we do?" Majira asks.
"Oh..." Toner shakes his head and gets back into host mode. "... I haven't seen any other teams. You're the first to arrive."
Echo squeals. "First place! I can't believe it!"
"You better believe it, sister." The red fox wraps an arm around his partner and the two run off together.
The sound of more boats approaching fills Toner's eardrums and he stands up, ready to give the teams their placing. The next one he sees is Ren & Cal. When they stand on the rug, he says, "Second place."
To Vito & Donna: "Cabbies, third." Which in turn earns a fist twitch from Donna.
***
When the mothers get off the Ferris wheel, April looks around and makes a panicking discovery. "Fuck! We're in dead last!" Her voice is echoed as the other teams have already finished.
"Oh no! Not again!" Maggie shouts.
"Hurry! We might still be able to make it!"
***
Toby holds Felix's paw as they walk onto the rug. "Fourth place," Toner declares. The friends kiss each other before the tiger carries him off.
The officers then walk on. "Fifth."
Josee & Ryan- 6th place
Cinnamon & Pepper- 7th place
Karen & Carol- 8th place
Max & Lucius- 9th place
A polar bear and a pink cat wearing tourist clothes show up.
"Uh... who are you?" Toner asks. "Are you supposed to be on this show?"
Chris & Zack- 10th place
Kaleb & Mac- 11th place
Chloe & Parker- 12th place
Carla & Carrie- 13th place
Sindy sees the checkpoint and practically pulls Sally onto the beach and towards the rug. "Ladies," Toner says, "fourteenth place."
"Whew!" Sindy relaxes. "Once again, that was too close."
That leaves the geeks and mothers. Both teams are neck and neck in the water, both looking determined to send the other home. "Arnold, I have an idea," Bert speaks up. The wolf takes the wheel and speed them up further and cuts the mothers off. "Get ready to jump for it!"
Bert finds something heavy and leaves it on the accelerator. When they get on the beach, the two hop off onto the carpet, just in time to see the boat crash into a tree.
"Woah!" Toner says in astonishment. "That's the most epic thing I've seen all season. In the most destructive way possible, the computer geeks take fifteenth place."
A told hi5s Bert and they walk off. April & Maggie then run on. "Are we too late?" the former asks.
"Mothers, you're in last place," Toner announces. April's ears and tail droop. Maggie pats her on the back, as she knew she came here on the show for her family. But when the host speaks up again, it shocks them both. "... but this is a non-elimination round; you both get to stay."
"Yes!" Maggie squeals before hugging her friend tight.
The red dog walks away from the mothers and looks into the camera. "Well, we had sixteen and sixteen are still here; but not to worry, we'll be sending someone home next time on... the Amazing Race!"