You've spent months watching teams scramble through airports and navigate local subways. Now, everyone is hunting for the truth about the finish line. The 37th installment of CBS’s juggernaut reality series took us from the heights of Dubai to the hidden corners of Bulgaria. Honestly, it was a wild ride that felt a bit more old-school than the last few years.
The Shocking Reveal: Amazing Race Spoilers 2025
So, who actually won? If you haven't seen the tape yet, prepare yourself. Carson McCalley and Jack Dodge, the best friends and self-proclaimed "gamers" from Brooklyn, took home the million dollars. It wasn't even close at the end. They crossed the finish line in Miami with a massive lead—over an hour ahead of the second-place team.
The final standings shook out like this:
- Winners: Carson and Jack (Best Friends/Gamers)
- Runners-up: Han and Holden Nguyen (Siblings)
- Third Place: Jonathan and Ana Towns (Married Parents)
It’s kinda funny because earlier in the season, nobody really had their money on the "nerds." People were rooting for the retired firefighters or the Vegas performers. But Carson and Jack stayed cool. They used their Dungeons & Dragons backgrounds to solve logic puzzles that stumped the more physical teams. Basically, they out-smarted the race.
Why Season 37 Was Different
This wasn't just another lap around the world. Producers threw in a massive twist right at the start in Hong Kong called the Fork in the Road. It literally split the cast into two separate races for the first leg. You had half the teams doing a lion dance at Jao Tsung-I Academy while the others were struggling through Cantonese opera at the Xiqu Centre.
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Talk about stress. This led to a double elimination on day one. We lost both the sisters, Jackye and Lauren, and the fan-favorite firefighters, Mark and Larry, before the race even really got its legs. It felt brutal. Seeing veteran firefighters go out because of a "Sing or Dance" choice? That's the kind of drama that makes people scour the internet for amazing race spoilers 2025.
The Route: From Neon Lights to Medieval Villages
The route this time was ambitious. We’re talking 29,000 miles across nine countries.
- Hong Kong: The chaotic start.
- Japan: Osaka and Kyoto. This featured a "taiko drum" Roadblock that was way harder than it looked.
- Indonesia: Bali. This is where things got heated with a "Driver’s Seat" twist.
- UAE: Dubai. Teams literally jumped out of planes.
- Bulgaria: Sofia and the countryside. A first-time visit for the franchise!
- Italy: Naples. Pizza making—standard but classic.
- France: Strasbourg. It looked like a fairytale, but the water jousting was a nightmare.
- Portugal: Northern Portugal and Vila Nova de Gaia.
- USA: The final sprint in Miami.
The Most Controversial Moment
The "Driver's Seat" in Bali was probably the meanest thing the show has done in years. The first team to arrive got to decide how much rice every other team had to thresh. Jonathan and Ana took that power and ran with it. They gave themselves the minimum (15 pounds) and dumped 25 pounds on teams like the lumberjacks and the brothers. It created a massive rift in the cast. Honestly, it's probably why Jonathan and Ana didn't have many friends at the final finish line.
What Really Happened in the Miami Finale?
The finale in Miami was nearly ruined by Mother Nature. In June 2024, record-breaking floods hit South Florida right as production arrived. They actually had to pause the race for several days.
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This delay was a blessing for Carson and Jack. They were exhausted after Portugal. While the teams were cooped up in a hotel waiting for the rain to stop, Carson and Jack reportedly spent the time reviewing every single leg they’d run. When the sun finally came out, they were ready.
The flyboarding challenge in the final leg was the real deal-breaker. You had to hover for 60 seconds. Ana Towns, who has a massive phobia of open water, took 23 attempts to get it right. By the time she finished, Carson and Jack were already at the final memory puzzle.
Why the Gamers Won
Most people think The Amazing Race is about being fast or strong. It's not. It’s about not panicking. Carson and Jack went to therapy before the show to work on their communication. They didn't scream at each other once. Not when they got lost in Dubai. Not when they struggled with the haystacks in Bulgaria. They just worked the problem.
- Logic over Brawn: They treated the tasks like game mechanics.
- Navigational Luck: They got lucky with a few cab drivers, but they also knew how to read a map.
- The Power of Calm: While other teams were fighting, they were focused.
Lessons from the Finish Line
If you're a superfan, these amazing race spoilers 2025 probably tell you one thing: the show is moving back toward mental challenges. The producers are clearly bored with just watching people run. They want to see people think.
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If you want to stay ahead of the curve for next season, keep an eye on the "Sightings" threads on Reddit and Reality Fan Forum. That's where the real-time tracking happens.
To wrap your head around the full season, look back at the elimination order. Seeing teams like Alyssa and Josiah (the married nurses) fall at the very last hurdle in Portugal shows how thin the margin for error is. One wrong turn in a rental car, and a 90-minute lead vanishes. That's the beauty of the race.
Map out the locations from this season on a globe to see just how much ground these teams covered. It makes the "gamer" victory even more impressive when you realize they did it across four continents without losing their cool.