The Amazing Race 9: The Finish Line, Episode 6

This week we have the sad pleasure of getting to see Team Frink or Dave & Lori as they were known on The Amazing Race 9, on the Finish Line. Let's join Peggy Bunker and Jon Weiss (back from his mysterious travels) as they host Dave & Lori on this week's Finish Line.

Peggy starts the show by welcoming us and Jon Weiss. Yay! Jon's back. Peggy also welcomes Dave & Lori, or the Nerds as some folks call them. Peggy says she prefers to call them “the Lovers” since they're so sweet with each other. Dave & Lori are looking adorable today, in a very nerdy way. They're just so cute! Jon says he wasn't ready to meet them, because he really hoped Dave & Lori would go farther in the race.

Peggy asks Dave & Lori how the race went for them. Dave says it was amazing, everything they could hope for. Peggy asks if, when they were watching the showon TV, they could see something they could have done differently to stay in the race. Lori says what did them in was just exhaustion. They were very tired, hadn't eaten, and it was just too much. Jon says that if you look at how everyone started last night, by place, there wasn't much change in the order. By the time Dave & Lori got to the detour it had already opened, so they couldn't catch up there, and the teams didn't have anything like a flight or other big problems to switch up the order. Jon basically says he doesn't think there was too much Team Frink could have done to change the order. This is probably true. However, Dave & Lori did start the leg ahead of Ray & Yolanda. Dave didn't want to ask directions and they seemed to take too long getting to the detour compared to that team.

Dave says it was a shorter leg and that they were behind in the leg. Lori says the challenges weren't difficult at all, so it didn't give them a real chance to catch up. I've got to agree with her. It annoys me when the producers create a leg that doesn't allow for much movement between teams. On a short leg like this, the detour and roadblock need to be longer and provide more room for change in team status. But, hey, I suppose that's just the game designer in me speaking!

Peggy reminds us to call to talk to the Nerds or Team Einstein as she calls them now. She then says that the two were so sweet with each other, so did they make an agreement to treat each other well before the race? Lori says that they did. She says that while you're on the leg, it's business. There's no time to get upset. You need to work together and get it done. Jon chimes in saying that he knows Dave got upset with Lori during the statue roadblock in the previous episode, but he shouldn't give it a second thought. These things happen on the race. You're sleep deprived, not eating, stressing about the pit stop. Besides Dave told Lori he loved her many, many times during the race. Peggy points out how good Dave looks (and he does!). She says he's lost 40 pounds. Dave says, yeah, he's no longer “Fat Dave,” as Lake infamously referred to him. Have I mentioned just how much I dislike Lake yet?

Peggy asks if the race was an inspiration to get fit. Dave says yes and that on January 1st he decided to make a life change and start exercising and eating right. Peggy asks his secret. Dave wonders if he's aloud to say and then says he uses Herbalife. Peggy exclaims that she's going to run out and buy some RIGHT NOW!

Peggy says that the only time she really saw Lori get frustrated was doing the statue roadblock. She asks Dave what he found the most frustrating part of the race. Dave says it was production issues. He says you don't see them when you're watching on TV. It's something you can't do anything about, and all the teams have to deal with them. But he found it hard. Jon says it is frustrating for all the teams and that it takes several legs to work it out.

Jon goes on to say that what he liked about Team Frink was that when they read a clue they really analyzed it. So, like last night, they determined that carrying the fish would be faster than selling them and Jon agreed with their decision. He liked that they took a moment after reading the clue to make the best decision and then just did it.

Peggy now brings us our first caller of the show. It's Laura from California. She says she LOVED Dave & Lori and that she cried when they were Philiminated last night. She says she just loved them so much. Laura says she has a million questions. The first she asks is how long Dave & Lori have known each other. She says they have great chemistry and couldn't help wondering. They complement each other so well! Lori says they've been together a little over three years. Dave says they're truly each other's best friends and they're totally in love with each other. That's just how it is. Peggy and Jon chuckle at how sweet these two are together. Jon says he and his wife like watching them because they're so sweet.

Dave says he wouldn't change going on the race for anything. No one can take this experience away from them. Peggy says that even though they've been dating for three years people still learn things about each other in an experience like the race. So, what did Dave & Lori learn? Dave says he learned how amazing Lori is at keeping things organized and adapting herself to her surroundings, managing to locate herself in strange surroundings, and knowing which way to go. Lori says she was really impressed by Dave because he's really shy, yet he went out and talked to all sorts of people on the race. She says it was particularly great in Brazil since Dave speaks some Spanish and he could really use it to talk to locals. It really surprised her. Dave says he spoke “PortuSpanish” to make it work.

Jon now asks what their favorite and worst moments were on the race – what was most difficult and what was best. Dave says the things that made them feel the best were the crazy situations they throw you in that you would never find yourself doing in normal life. So, the tiny helicopter in Sao Paulo was a big moment for them. Peggy and Jon reminisce about the Nerds wearing the little helmets and looking so amazed on the trip. Lori says the test drive in the Mercedes was also amazing. Jon says it looked like a ton of fun.

Jon then prompts Dave & Lori for their worst or most difficult moments – but not being Philiminated, because we all know that's always bad. Dave says the statue was really bad. He had to stand about fifty feet from Lori and all they could do was shout at each other. They were too tired and drained to be effective and they just started yelling at each other in frustration.