‘The Amazing Race’s’ Juan and Shane explain how they wound up in New Jersey

Joyce Eng
·4 min read
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Juan Villa and Shane Bilek came up one spot short of the $1 million on “The Amazing Race 36,” but they did make history. During the final leg in Philadelphia, the military pilots were supposed go to the epicenter of one of America’s greatest rivalries — the corner between cheesesteak joints Pat’s and Geno’s — but they drove all the way to New Jersey instead. That lengthy detour cost them an hour and they knew they weren’t going to come in first once they realized they were in another state.

“We had our moment to kind of understand the gravity of what just happened: We lost a million bucks,” Shane tells Gold Derby (watch above). “And we took our three to four minutes in the car and then we were like, ‘OK, that was good. Compartmentalize it. And now move on. We’re going back to Philly. We have stuff to do. If we stay down in the dumps, not only are we not gonna win whatever there is to win at this point, but we’re probably gonna get Philiminated, like [Phil Keoghan] is gonna come find us in the streets and eliminate us.’ We’re cracking jokes, we’re bringing each other out of the dumps. And you saw that.”

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To be fair, Juan and Shane got bad info from the Lincoln Financial Field security guard, who told them that Pat’s and Geno’s were pizzerias. When they Googled on the man’s phone, the results showed the correct Pat’s and the N.J. pizzeria, which was 25 minutes away. They double-checked with the guard that Pat’s was that far away, to which the man said, “It’s a hike.” But Juan and Shane don’t blame him for their “Amazing Race” fate.

SEE ‘The Amazing Race’s’ Yvonne and Melissa had a crew issue that you didn’t see

“It was unfortunate that we didn’t get the ideal directions, but I would say the guy never got in the car with us and drove to New Jersey,” Juan says. “It was one of those things where we trusted our gut and it had been working up until then. And the cards fell where they did. Like Shane said, we were never lost because we knew exactly where were. It just wasn’t the right Pat’s. So when we came back, we tried to clean it up as best as possible and obviously were able to get our minds out of the bad place of, ‘Hey, you might’ve just lost this thing.’ And we finished off having a great time as always and I think you see that when we open the clue at Geno’s.”

And if you’re wondering how they didn’t realize they were crossing state lines that involves going over a bridge, there’s a simple explanation. “Oh, 100 percent we crossed a bridge, but I had never been to Philly or New Jersey, so I was like, ‘Oh, standard. Classic Pat’s and Geno’s visit,'” Juan quips.

Despite this massive faux pas that obviously dropped them to third, the pair made up ground and passed Rod and Leticia at the flag Roadblock at Betsy Ross House to ultimately finish the race in second place, about 40 minutes behind Ricky and Cesar. “Getting to the preamble, when we saw Rod and Leticia [and] our camera crew’s like, ‘So how are you feeling? You saw another team?’ And we were like, ‘Well, it’s not Ricky and Cesar, so we’re feeling pretty bad!'” Shane says. “Because we knew they were long gone! They stopped, high-fived that spot and then gone. And we knew they weren’t lost. But, no, it was certainly nice to start making up ground. Although at this point, we realize we’re not against Ricky and Cesar anymore, but we’re competing, so Juan and I were like, ‘Let’s go, baby! We’re not here to freakin’ lose to Rod and Leticia.’ So that’s what you saw.”

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