This amazing reality competition show stopped by in Huntsville

The Amazing Race stops by in Huntsville. — One of the teams standing in front of the Pathfinder Shuttle Stack at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. (CBS / “The Amazing Race” / October 11, 2005)

If you’re a fan of reality competition TV shows, you’ve probably heard of “The Amazing Race.” The Emmy Award-winning game show, which has been airing since 2001, has taken its contestants around the globe.

Did you know in 2005, during the eighth season of the show, there was a Pit Stop in our very own Huntsville?

What is “The Amazing Race”?

The Saturn V rocket featured in the episode. — The famous Saturn V rocket. (CBS / “The Amazing Race” / October 11, 2005)

In “The Amazing Race,” several teams have to race across the world for a prize of $1 million. Along the way, the teams must solve various puzzles to reveal their next destination. At the end of each leg, there is a checkpoint called a Pit Stop — the first team to reach it is awarded a prize, and the last team is eliminated from the rest of the race.

Season 8 of “The Amazing Race” was a unique season as it was the one and only season in which the ten competing teams were composed of four family members each, thus making it the “Family Edition.” All other seasons feature teams of two adults.

The competitors had to race through a Huntsville landmark

Two competitors riding the centrifuge. — A competing team rides the G-Force Accelerator, an astronaut training . (CBS / “The Amazing Race” / October 11, 2005)

Once teams arrived at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, they had to complete a set of mental and physical challenges before they could reach the Pit Stop situated in front of the Pathfinder Shuttle Stack. Among these tasks, they had to:

Ride the G-Force Accelerator until gravity pressed on them at 3.2g
Enter the Space Museum where they had to find a computer station + log onto America Online (AOL) for the next clue

Teams who made it to the Pit Stop in time then traveled to Anniston, where they visited the World’s Largest Office Chair, then Talladega, where they visited the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the Talladega Superspeedway. This was the one and only time (so far) that “The Amazing Race” has come to Alabama, and we’re proud to say Huntsville was a featured Pit Stop.

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