The Amazing Race 6 is the sixth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world. This season visited four continents and ten countries, traveling approximately over twelve legs. Filming took place from August 13 to September 12, 2004. Starting in Chicago, Illinois, racers traveled through Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Senegal, Germany, Hungary, France, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, and China, before returning to the United States, traveling through Hawaii and finishing in Chicago. New elements introduced in this season include the double-length leg and limiting the number of Roadblocks that each team member could perform. The season premiered on CBS on November 16, 2004, and concluded on February 8, 2005.
Engaged models Freddy Holliday and Kendra Bentley were the winners of this season, while dating couple Jon Buehler and Kris Perkins finished in second place, and exes Adam Malis and Rebecca Cardon finished in third place.
Format
The Amazing Race is a reality television show created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, and hosted by Phil Keoghan. The series follows teams of two competing in a race around the world. Each leg of the race requires teams to deduce clues, navigate foreign environments, interact with locals, perform physical and mental challenges, and travel on a limited budget provided by the show. At each stop during the leg, teams receive clues inside sealed envelopes, which fall into one of these categories: Route Info: These are simple instructions that teams must follow before they can receive their next clue. Detour: A Detour is a choice between two tasks. Teams may choose either task and switch tasks if they find one option too difficult. There is usually one Detour present on each leg. Roadblock: A Roadblock is a task that only one team member can complete. Teams must choose which member will complete the task based on a brief clue they receive before fully learning the details of the task. There is usually one Roadblock present on each leg. Fast Forward: A Fast Forward is a task that only one team may complete, which allows that team to skip all remaining tasks on the leg and go directly to the next Pit Stop. Teams may only claim one Fast Forward during the entire race. Yield: The Yield allows one team to force another team to stop racing for a predetermined amount of time before they can continue the race. Teams may use the Yield only one time during the entire race. Most teams that arrive last at the Pit Stop of each leg are progressively eliminated, while the first team to arrive at the finish line in the final episode wins the grand prize of US$1,000,000.
Production Development and filming
In May 2004, CBS ordered the sixth season of the show, despite the fact that The Amazing Race 5 had not yet aired. Early renewal was likely due to the success of the changes made in season 5. CBS also delayed the airing of season 6 until late in the fall and moved it out of its proposed Saturday timeslot in order to create a "cool down" period between races, hoping that this would help continue the newfound ratings success.
The Amazing Race 6 spanned a total of over ten countries on four continents. The 30 days of filming began on August 13, 2004, and finished on September 12.
This season was the first in which team members had to complete an equal number of Roadblock tasks. No team member was permitted to complete more than six Roadblocks on the entire race. Throughout the season, host Phil Keoghan verbally stated this rule when introducing each leg's Roadblock. This season also reduced the number of times the Yield appeared to three, compared to the previous season, where the Yield had been featured in nearly every leg.
A task in the second leg marked the first time that teams were required to work with each other. The 10 teams had to split themselves into two groups of five, each of which had to row a Viking boat across a fjord.
According to Aaron Crumbaugh, the sixth leg was originally planned as two separate legs with the first part being a non-elimination point, where the losing team would have been stripped of their money. However, those planned legs were combined into one after producers realized that begging was illegal in Hungary.
This season featured a visit to Sri Lanka, where filming occurred just a few months before the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. The episodes aired four weeks after the earthquake had devastated the locations the teams had visited. A special message was inserted at the beginning of the episodes in Sri Lanka, dedicating them to the victims and to those helping with the recovery.
Contestants
This season's cast included 11 teams. Early Show hosts Harry Smith and Dave Price ran the season's first leg with the actual teams as part of a special segment on their morning show.
ContestantsAgeRelationshipHometownStatus 32High School Buddies Brooklyn, New YorkEliminated 1st(in Grindavík, Iceland) 32 Ventura, California 26Best FriendsQueens, New YorkEliminated 2nd(in Voss, Norway) 26 23SistersPleasant Grove, UtahEliminated 3rd(in Häggvik, Sweden) 26 69GrandparentsPortola Valley, CaliforniaEliminated 4th(in Berlin, Germany) 66 50Father & Daughter Gaithersburg, MarylandEliminated 5th(in Budapest, Hungary) 24 Los Angeles, California 42Married EntrepreneursLos Angeles, CaliforniaEliminated 6th(in Lalibela, Ethiopia) 32 33Married Pro WrestlersMolino, FloridaEliminated 7th(in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka) 38 25Dating ActorsChicago, IllinoisEliminated 8th(in Xi'an, China) 25 27Formerly DatingLos Angeles, CaliforniaThird place 29 30Dating Long DistanceLong Beach, CaliforniaRunners-up 29 Scottsdale, Arizona 34Engaged ModelsMiami, FloridaWinners 25 Future appearances Jonathan & Victoria appeared on a special episode of Dr. Phil to try to improve their marriage. Jonathan & Victoria then competed on Battle of the Network Reality Stars. Later, in a celebrity version of Fear Factor, Victoria attacked contestant Jon "Jonny Fairplay" Dalton (of Survivor: Pearl Islands), and Jonathan attacked host Joe Rogan, resulting in their expulsion from the show. Aaron competed on the twelfth season of Food Network Star and on Cutthroat Kitchen.
Results The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order. A placement with a dagger () indicates that the team was eliminated. An placement with a double-dagger () indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg. As a penalty, they were stripped of all their money and were not given any at the start of the next leg. An italicized placement identifies a team's placement at the midpoint of a double leg. A indicates that the team won the Fast Forward. A indicates that the team used the Yield and a indicates the team on the receiving end of the Yield. +Team placement (by leg) Team 1 2 3 4 5 6a 6b 7 8 9 10 11 12 Freddy & Kendra 4th 7th 6th 5th 1st 1st 6th 2nd 4th 3rd 2nd 2nd 1st Kris & Jon 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 4th 5th 2nd 4th 3rd 1st 3rd 1st 2nd Adam & Rebecca 7th 6th 5th 6th 6th 6th 5th 1st 5th 4th 3rd 3rd Hayden & Aaron 1st 4th 1st 4th 3rd 4th 4th 1st 2nd 1st Lori & Bolo 6th 5th 7th 3rd 7th 7th 1st 3rd 2nd Jonathan & Victoria 5th 2nd 4th 2nd 2nd 3rd 3rd 5th Gus & Hera 10th 3rd 3rd 7th 5th2nd Don & 9th 8th 8th Lena & Kristy 3rd 9th Meredith & Maria 8th Avi & Joe Notes
Race summary
Leg 1 (United States → Iceland)
Episode 1: "The Game's Afoot" (November 16, 2004) Prize: A vacation to Hawaii (awarded to Hayden and Aaron) Eliminated: Avi and Joe Locations Chicago, Illinois (Buckingham Fountain) (Starting Line) Chicago (O'Hare International Airport) Chicago → Reykjavík, Iceland (Keflavík International Airport) Suðurland (Seljalandsfoss Waterfall) Suðurland (Vatnajökull) Hornafjörður (Breiðamerkursandur) Svínafell (Hótel Skaftafell) Hornafjörður (Jökulsárlón) Grindavík (Blue Lagoon) Episode summary From Buckingham Fountain, teams had to race into downtown Chicago and travel by subway to O'Hare International Airport, where they had to fly to Reykjavík, Iceland. Once there, teams were instructed to drive to the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, where they found their next clue. At the base of Vatnajökull, teams had to sign up for a shuttle bus to take them to their next clue at the glacier's edge. Teams then had to drive a snowmobile across the glacier to a camp, where they had to choose a tent and a departure time for the next morning. The next morning, teams took a shuttle bus back down the glacier, where they retrieved their next clue, instructing them to drive to Breiðamerkursandur to find their next clue. This season's first Detour was a choice between Ice Climb or Ice Search. In Ice Climb, teams had to travel to the Hótel Skaftafell and climb the face of an ice wall to reach their next clue at the top. In Ice Search, teams had to travel to a nearby glacial lagoon and use a boat to search the lagoon with thousands of icebergs for an orange buoy with their next clue. After the Detour, teams had to check in at the Pit Stop: the Blue Lagoon in Grindavík.
Leg 2 (Iceland → Norway)
Episode 2: "I'm Not His Wife, He Doesn't Need to Scream at Me" (November 23, 2004) Prize: A seven-night cruise in Alaska (awarded to Kris and Jon) Eliminated: Meredith and Maria Locations Grindavík (Blue Lagoon) Reykjavík → Oslo, Norway Oslo (Holmenkollbakken) Brandbu (Raukr Viking Village) Hønefoss → Vossavangen Voss (Bridge) Voss (Nesheimstunet) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to fly to Oslo, Norway. Once there, teams had to travel to the Holmenkollbakken to find their next clue. In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to climb to the top of the ski jump and then ride a zipline to the bottom to receive their next clue. After the Roadblock, teams had to travel to the Viking village at Brandbu, where the ten teams were split into two groups and each group had to row a Viking ship across a fjord to their next clue. Teams were instructed to travel by train to Voss and then drive to a specific bridge, where they found their next clue. This leg's Detour was a choice between Endurance or Accuracy. In Endurance, teams had to roller ski down a course to receive their next clue. In Accuracy, teams had to complete three Viking games – kubbs, axe throwing, and archery – to receive their next clue. After the Detour, teams had to check in at the Pit Stop: the Nesheimstunet in Voss.
Leg 3 (Norway → Sweden)
Episode 3: "Counting Bears Is Not Rocket Science" (November 30, 2004) Prize: A seven-night cruise to the Mexican Riviera (awarded to Hayden and Aaron) Eliminated: Lena and Kristy Locations Voss (Nesheimstunet) Voss → Oslo Oslo → Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm (Nordic Sea Hotel – Ice Bar) Stockholm (Kungens Kurva – IKEA) Stockholm → Häggvik Häggvik (Bögs Gård Farm) Häggvik → Stockholm Stockholm (Skeppsholmen – af Chapman) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to return to Oslo by train and then travel by bus to Stockholm, Sweden. Once there, teams had to travel to the Ice Bar of the Nordic Sea Hotel, where each team member had to slide ice shot glasses across the bar. If either team member landed a glass on a target at the end, they could receive their next clue, which directed them to the IKEA store in Kungens Kurva. If both members missed, they had to go back to the end of the line before trying again. This leg's Detour was a choice between Count It or Build It. In Count It, teams had to count the number of cooking pots, frying pans, and stuffed animals in three large bins and give the correct number to the supervisor to receive their next clue. In Build It, teams had to properly assemble a desk using all of the provided parts to receive their next clue.