Toni and Dallas Imbimbo eliminated from 'The Amazing Race 13'

Despite beginning the leg in first place, the "Mother and Son" team of Dallas and Toni Imbimbo became the eighth team to be eliminated from The Amazing Race 13 after finishing last in a mistake-filled leg that saw all but one of the four remaining teams slowed by significant errors.


"After running [The Amazing Race] I have so much pride in my mom as well as myself because I realize that everything that I am is because of my mom," Dallas said following his elimination. "I always knew I could count on her  but this has brought it to a whole new level."

"I feel closer to my son than I ever have," Toni added. "I have the deepest respect and pride for the man that he's grown up to be. This has been the best experience of my life and I wouldn't change a thing that we did, not one."

The Amazing Race 13's tenth leg began with the four remaining teams leaving Neskuchny Sad Park, a "fun garden" in Moscow, Russia that served as the Pit Stop for The Amazing Race's ninth leg.

Following the mandatory rest period between legs, Toni and Dallas were the first team to depart the Pit Stop for the race's tenth leg. They were followed by the "Separated Couple" Ken and Tina Greene and the "Brother and Sister" team of Nick and Starr Spangler.  


Upon leaving, the teams were given a clue instructing them to travel via taxi to a retired Russian nuclear submarine, and receive their next clue from a former The Hunt For Red October actor who was waiting in the submarine's Sonar Room.

Leaving the Pit Stop fourth were "Fraternity Brothers" Andrew Lappitt and Dan Honig, who finished last in the previous leg but had survived because it was a non-elimination leg. However, as a penalty for finishing last Andrew and Dan were told that they would have to overcome a Speed Bump, a special task that only they would have to complete, at some point during the tenth leg.

"I think Andrew and I are a team that needs all the help it can get, because our track record has been spotty," Dan said prior to leaving on the leg. "We've made an incredible amount of mistakes, but we're the comeback kids."

"To be in the Top 3, that would be a miracle," added Andrew.

With the exception of Dan and Andrew, the teams all arrived at the submarine and were let into it at the same time. After searching through the sub, Toni and Dallas were the first team to find the Sonar Room and receive their next clue, which instructed them to travel to the Park Iskusstv, a park filled with old Soviet monuments and statues. They were followed closely by Ken and Tina in second place and Nick and Starr in third.


Andrew and Dan arrived at the sub as Nick and Starr were leaving and were the last team to find the clue.

Due to bad Moscow traffic, Nick and Starr were able to jump into first place and became the first team to arrive at the park.  Once there, they learned it was time for the leg's Roadblock task, which required one member of each team to scour the park and correctly count the number of statues of former Soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin.

After finding the right number of statues (there were six of Lenin and two of Stalin) the team member had to combine the numbers together to form "62," travel to an antique bookstore and tell the number to the shop keeper in order to receive a book from her. If the team member guessed an incorrect number, they would have to wait ten minutes before being able to guess again.

Upon receiving the book, which was written by Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov, the team member then had to turn to page 62 of the book and learn the location of the apartment Bulgakov used to live in. After traveling to the apartment, the team member would reconvene with their teammate and receive their next clue.

Nick decided to perform the task for his team, as did Dallas after he and Toni arrived in second place and Tina after she and Ken arrived in third.


After being assured by their driver that he knew where to take them, Andrew and Dan were struck by bad luck once again when they were brought to the wrong park after driving for 40 minutes. After eventually arriving at the Roadblock after the other teams, Andrew decided to participate in the challenge.

After finding the appropriate statues, Nick was the first to leave the park as he slyly stole Tina's cab, which was equipped with a GPS, to travel to the book shop.

"At this point in the race there are no alliances left," Nick said later. "If stealing their cab sets them back an hour or two hours, that's fine with me."

Nick arrived to the book shop first and correctly guessed the number of statues to receive the book and head to the apartment where he would reconvene with Starr, however, Dallas wasn't as fortunate.

After thinking that he had found three Lenin statues instead of two, he left for the book shop and was eventually rejected by the shop keeper and forced to wait for 10 minutes. His second guess was unsuccessful as well, allowing Tina to catch up to him. However, after Tina guessed incorrectly as well, she and Dallas decided to work together and tell each other their guesses until one of them got it correct.


Upon arriving at the apartment first, Nick and Starr received their next clue -- which told them to travel via taxi across town to Sokol'niky Park and search its grounds for a woman with a Shetland pony that would give them their next clue.

After one more incorrect guess from Tina and two more from Dallas, Tina finally guessed the correct number and received her book from the shop keeper. While she told Dallas the correct number as she left, he still had to wait the balance of his ten-minute period before receiving his book.

While Tina arrived at the apartment in third place and left for the park with Ken without issue, Dallas committed the fatal error for his team when, upon leaving his cab near the apartment, he left the bag containing all of his team's cash and his passport in the cab.

After unsuccessfully chasing after the cab and then walking back to the apartment, he and Toni decided to try and continue in the race by begging strangers for money as they needed it.  After getting some money and advice from a pair of Russian teenagers, Dallas and Toni decided to take a subway to the park, although the directions specifically said they needed to take a taxi.

Upon arriving at the park and finding the woman with the Shetland pony, Nick and Starr received a clue that informed that that it was time for them to complete one of the leg's two Detour options: "Ride The Rails" or "Ride the Lines."


"Ride The Rails" required the teams to make their way on foot to a Metro station and use the city's subway system to travel to a stop where they would find a pasty shop. After being given a special pastry, the wrapper would contain instructions that would require them to take another subway train to another station.

Once they arrived at the station, the teams would have to walk to a nearby park and find a babushka sitting near a statue who would give them a postcard containing the name of the final Metro station they would have to travel to. After taking the subway to the last station, the teams would search outside the station for their next clue.

"Ride The Lines" required the teams to make their way to a nearby bus stop, board a trolley bus and travel to a specific bus stop where they would find a key maker who would give them a key for a storage locker at a specific bus station. Once they had the key, they would then have to take another trolley train to the bus station and find the locker that their key would open.  After opening their locker, the teams would find a postcard containing the name and photo of the same Metro station the "Ride The Rails" teams had also been told to travel to. After taking a trolley bus to the station, the teams would search outside the station for their next clue.

Nick and Starr decided to draw on Nick's experience riding the subways in New York City and  chose "Ride The Rails." After arriving in second, Ken and Tina chose "Ride The Lines."

While Andrew struggled with the Roadblock challenge and took two tries to guess the number correctly, he and Dan were able to gain ground on Toni and Dallas and catch up to them at the park. However, before taking part in the Detour, they had to complete their Speed Bump challenge, which required them to correctly perform one dance with a group of traditional Russian dancers.

The Speed Bump task allowed Toni and Dallas to be the third team to meet the Shetland pony woman, however they discovered they were not able to receive their clue because they had taken the subway to the park instead of using a taxi -- and given they were once again out of money, they had to ask strangers for help once again.


Luckily for Toni and Dallas, they found a couple of men who gave them all of their money from their wallets, which allowed them to take a bus back to the apartment and then take a taxi back to the park as per the clue's instructions.

Meanwhile, although Andrew and Dan struggled through the dance the first time, they completed it correctly on their second attempt and moved on to the Detour where they chose "Ride The Lines."

After starting the challenge in second place, Ken and Tina made a crucial mistake that almost dropped them to third place when they began traveling on regular buses instead of trolly buses.  After realizing they were on the wrong type of bus and doing the Detour task incorrectly, the couple traveled back to the park and started the Detour over.

As the other teams struggled, Nick and Starr had no trouble navigating Moscow's complicated subway lines and were the first team to complete the challenge and receive the leg's final clue, which instructed them to make their way on foot to VDNKh Park, a memorial park that would serve as the leg's Pit Stop location.

After arriving at the Pit Stop and being greeted by The Amazing Race Host Phil Keoghan, Nick and Starr were informed that they had finished in first place, won a trip for two to the Caribbean island of Anguilla, and would be one of three teams competing for The Amazing Race's $1 Million prize in the upcoming final leg.

Ken and Tina arrived at final Metro station next in second place and Andrew and Dan followed in third place, however Toni and Dallas seemed to fall far behind and only began their "Ride The Lines" Detour as the other teams were already traveling to the final station.


Although Ken and Tina arrived at the final station in second place, they fell to third place after they had trouble finding the clue box. Upon seeing Andrew and Dan racing to the Pit Stop after having already found the clue box, Ken and Tina raced after them and tried to check-in without having found the leg's final clue.  However Phil rejected their arrival and told them they had to go back to the station to find the final clue before he could check them in the third and final team that would be racing in the competition's final leg.

While Ken and Tina struggled to find the clue box that contained the final clue that instructed them to travel to the Pit Stop, they were eventually able to check-in and become the third and final team to compete in the race's final leg.

After Ken and Tina had checked into the Pit Stop, Phil left the Pit Stop and found Toni and Dallas -- who were still attempting to complete the Detour task -- and informed them that they had been eliminated from The Amazing Race and would not be competing in the final leg.

"I feel bad that I let my mom down, my team down," said a disappointed Dallas after learning of his elimination.

"You didn't let me down. I had a great time," Toni responded.

The final three teams will compete for The Amazing Race 13's $1 million grand prize in its last leg next Sunday at 8PM ET/PT on CBS.






About The Author: John Bracchitta