“At least an hour on them” The Amazing Race Season 37 winner Jack Dodge reveals what actually happened during the finale 

Behind the dramatic editing and nail-biting moments of The Amazing Race Season 37 finale lies a different reality, according to the season's victorious duo. Podcast hosts and self-described "gaymers" Carson McCalley and Jack Dodge have pulled back the curtain on what viewers saw at home versus what actually transpired during their million-dollar win.

In a candid post-show interview with TVLine, Dodge revealed the surprising truth about their margin of victory:

"They edited it to be really close. I think we had at least an hour on them."

This bombshell admission challenges the neck-and-neck narrative presented on screen, where producers crafted an illusion of three teams racing toward a photo finish.

The reality competition show, which follows teams as they dash around the globe completing challenges for a shot at the grand prize, apparently took some creative liberties with the timeline during the season finale, making the win appear much more contested than it actually was.

What exactly was edited out of The Amazing Race finale?

The Amazing Race is known for its high-stakes challenges and dramatic conclusions, but according to the winners, this finale featured more production sleight-of-hand than usual.

Carson elaborated on their substantial lead:

"After that hoverboard, we felt like we took a huge lead. We saw how many attempts that took for everybody, like 21 attempts, 25 attempts."

The hoverboard challenge proved pivotal, creating separation that the show's editing downplayed. When they reached the boating segment, their advantage had grown even more substantial.

"We were hand-paddling. There was no wind. We were hand-paddling around a whole island. It took an hour-and-a-half maybe," Carson explained.

Elaborating:

"When we were coming back, we saw them heading out. So we knew we had at least [90 minutes]."

The Amazing Race finale's competitive narrative wasn't entirely manufactured. Jack acknowledged that unforeseen circumstances affected their closest competitors.

"I think Han and Holden got doubly messed up by the car accident, so that probably also played a hand in that time gap," he noted.

This mishap, combined with the challenging wind conditions during the boating segment, further cemented their lead.

Behind the scenes prep and the victory

The Brooklyn-based friends attribute their success to more than physical preparation. They took an unusual approach to preparing for the race's notorious interpersonal challenges.

"The No. 1 most important thing to our race was before we left, we went to therapy together, which is not something that friends normally do," McCalley revealed in a separate interview with TheWrap.

This pre-race mental conditioning focused on managing expectations and maintaining communication under extreme pressure.

"It's about self-soothing, taking the responsibility upon yourself," Dodge added.

Elaborating:

"If we have the same way of thinking, then we're both showing up the best we can and we can trust that the other person is doing their best."

Their victory didn't just earn them the million-dollar prize - it has opened doors to new opportunities. The pair expressed interest in tackling other reality competitions, with Jack eyeing "Survivor, The Traitors, or The Challenge" while Carson hopes to compete on "Big Brother."

After traveling through nine countries, 18 cities, and covering over 29,000 miles, the duo joined the distinguished list of The Amazing Race champions - and perhaps more significantly, they've pulled back the curtain on reality television's carefully constructed narratives, reminding viewers that what we see isn't always the complete picture of what actually transpired.

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You can watch The Amazing Race Season 37 live on CBS every Wednesday, with episodes available for streaming on Paramount+ after airing.

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