'The Amazing Race' ousts Joey "Fitness" Lasalla and Danny Horal

The Amazing Race's twentieth season eliminated Joey "Fitness" Lasalla and Danny Horal during Sunday night's broadcast of the CBS reality competition.


The "Friends" team became the fifth team eliminated from the around-the-world competition after they arrived at the Race's sixth Pit Stop at Esplanade Estakada in Baku, Azerbaijan in last place.

"We were just starting to get better, but we made it six legs and for a couple of kids from Rhode Island, that's not bad at all," Danny said following his team's ouster.

"Everything we've done in this Race was knew to both of us, so we have to be just thankful that we experienced new places," Joey explained. "We made it six legs. I'm pretty happy. I don't think any of our friends would even think we'd be able to pull something like this off, so I can't wait to go home because we're going to tear it up!"

The sixth episode of The Amazing Race's twentieth season began where last week's broadcast left off, with the Race's seven teams meeting with The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan and leaving the course's fifth Pit Stop at Landhannes Farm, a 200-year old working dairy farm, in Ehrwald Austria, Germany.


Since they had been the team to finish in first place at the Race's fifth Pit Stop, "Border Patrol Agents and Friends" Art Velez and J.J. Carrell were the first team to depart from Landhannes Farm at 8:48AM.

They were then followed by Joey and Danny at 9:17AM, "Dating Divorcees" Vanessa Macias and Ralph Kelley at 9:19AM, "Married Couple" Dave Brown Jr. and Rachel Brown at 10:57AM, "Engaged Couple" and former Big Brother houseguests Brendon Villegas and Rachel Reilly at 11:17AM, "Friends" William "Bopper" Minton and Mark Jackson at 11:41AM, and "Federal Agents and Friends" Nary Ebeid and Jamie Graetz at 11:42AM.

Upon opening their departure clues, the teams were instructed to fly more than 2,000 miles to Baku, the capitol of Azerbaijan, a former Soviet Republic in Turkey, and once there, make their way to the Temple Ateshgah -- where they would find their next clue.

Brendon and Rachel R. immediately booked it to a travel agency in attempt to get seats on the earliest available, while the other Racers went straight to the airport and discovered the same 6:20PM flight. The 6:20PM flight was the earliest flight they could take and learned it would arrive in Baku at 4:10AM the next morning, and all the teams ended up landing at the same time.

Once the teams got to the temple, everyone participated in a cultural dance and then received their next set of clues. Rachel B. and Dave were the first team to snag the clue and they were soon followed by Joey and Danny, Nary and Jamie, Art and J.J., Rachel R. and Brendon, Bopper and Mark, and Vanessa and Ralph.


The teams were then instructed to choose between taking on a Fast Forward task in which, upon completion, a team could skip a full task and go directly to Pit Stop or continue on with the leg normally.

The Fast Forward task required the teams to unload 150 bales of hay and stack them 20 across, three wide and five high. The first team to correctly stack their bales of hay would win the Fast Forward and be able to automatically advance to the end of the leg.

If the teams opted to pass on the Fast Forward because they wanted to avoid the risk of losing and then lagging behind the other teams, they had to make their way to Occupational Training International to find their next clue.

Rachel B. and Dave and Joey and Danny decided to attempt the Fast Forward task since they were already in the lead at that point, while all the other teams skipped the opportunity and went straight to the Occupational Training International.

Art and J.J. wanted to do the Fast Forward task, but they said The Amazing Race rules stated if a team had already completed one Fast Forward during a season, they were ineligible to compete in a subsequent one during the same season.


Rachel B. and Dave and Joey and Danny arrived to their Fast Forward task before any of the other teams arrived at Occupational Training International. Bopper and Mark were the first team to receive their clue at the training center and they were then followed by Nary and Jamie, Art and J.J., Brendon and Rachel R., and Vanessa and Ralph.

Upon arrival at the Occupational Training International, the teams learned it was time to complete a Roadblock task. The Roadblock task required one member from each team to get strapped down to to a helicopter mock-up. After being submerged into water and capsized, they must then escape from a craft simulation and upon reaching the surface, they must swim to find their next clue.

Rachel B. and Dave ended up beating Joey and Danny at the hay-stacking task. As a result, Joey and Danny stopped the Fast Forward task in their tracks and headed right to the training center to attempt to complete the Roadblock task instead -- ultimately getting there after all the other teams.

Joey and Danny were hoping another team would make a mistake or run a bad leg so they'd have a chance to catch up and avoid coming in last place. 

Meanwhile, Rachel B. and Dave were driving to the Race's sixth Pit Stop at the Esplanade Estakada expecting to finish in first place after completing the Fast Forward task.


At the training center, J.J. opted to do the Roadblock task for his team, and he was later joined by Bopper, Jamie, Brendon, Vanessa, and Danny.

The task didn't come easily for all the team members, although it seemed fairly quick to complete. J.J. ended up swallowing some water because he couldn't open the window of the craft simulator at first, while Vanessa had a fear of closed spaces and being underwater.

Nary and Jamie were the first team to complete the training Roadblock, and they were soon followed by Art and J.J., Bopper and Mark, Brendon and Rachel R., Vanessa and Ralph, and Joey and Danny.

Once the teams finished the task at the training center, they learned they must make their way to Old Town Baku and then search for the Toghrul Karabakh Carpet Shop, where they would receive their next set of clues.

Meanwhile, Rachel B. and Dave arrived at the Pit Stop mat and met Phil in first place. For finishing the leg before any of the other teams, each person won a brand new 2013 Ford Taurus vehicle.


Although Rachel B. and Dave were done with the Race's sixth leg, the other teams were still vying for second place. Art and J.J. were the first team to grab the clue at the carpet shop, and then it became time for them to complete one of two Detour tasks: "Apples" or "Oil."

"Apples" required the teams to rummage through nearly one ton of apples to look for one specific apple marked with the Race's flag, which they could exchange for their next clue.

"Oil" required the teams to make their way to a health center and clean off a man who would be soaking in an oil bath. Using a metal shoe horn, they had to scrape the oil off the man and then remove any excess oil by using water and sponges. Once the bather was oil-free, they'd receive their next clue.

Following Art and J.J., Nary and Jamie then grabbed their clue at the carpet shop. They were soon followed by Bopper and Mark, Brendon and Rachel R., Vanessa and Ralph, and Joey and Danny.

Art and J.J., Bopper and Mark, and Brendon and Rachel R. took on the "Oil" Detour task, while Nary and Jamie, Vanessa and Ralph, and Joey and Danny tested their luck looking amongst all the apples.

The oil task proved to be the much faster of the two Detour tasks, as Art and J.J. were the first team to complete it and they were followed by Bopper and Mark and Rachel R. and Brendon. Following behind them was Nary and Jamie, Vanessa and Ralph and Joey and Danny.


Vanessa and Ralph's cab had to stop for directions after they left the Detour task -- causing them frustration as their cab driver wandered off in search of help and left them alone wondering where he had gone. During that same time, Joey and Danny seemingly finished the "Apples" Detour task extremely quickly. Therefore, the show portrayed it to be a Race to the finish for Vanessa and Ralph and Joey and Danny. 

Art and J.J. then arrived at the Pit Stop mat and met Phil in second place, while Bopper and Mark subsequently secured third place.

Rachel R. and Brendon then became team number four, while Nary and Jamie were declared the fifth place team.

Vanessa and Ralph then made it to the Pit Stop and snagged sixth place.

Joey and Danny were then greeted by Phil, who told them they had finished the sixth leg in seventh -- and last -- place.

"Joey 'Fitness' and Danny, I am sorry to tell you that you are the last team to arrive. And I'm sorry to tell you that you have been eliminated from the Race. How are you feeling?" Phil asked the team.


"I'm kind of disappointed man. I think we could have won this Race. We just made one mistake and I think any team that's left, we could have took them," Joey said.

"Yeah, it wasn't our day today, you know?" Danny added.

"We had a good run though," explained.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski