‘That cowboy never-quit attitude’ McCoy family not surprised by Amazing Racers’ resilience

PUEBLO, Colo. (March 1, 2011) - Nikki Callison never thought she’d see her brothers Cord and Jet McCoy in kangaroo suits, but she was confident they would pull through the second episode of “The Amazing Race.”

Sunday night, the extended McCoy family gathered to watch last week’s episode, knowing the two brothers “are pretty tough.”

Cord, a PBR veteran since 2004, is currently ranked 40th in the Built Ford Tough Series standings.

“They’ve got that cowboy never-quit attitude,” Callison said, “and even though they knew they were toward the last, they just headed toward the airport and made it in time and were off on the next adventure.”

Callison, the lone sister among four brothers, said the McCoy siblings were raised on a ranch and taught from a young age that “if the work has to be done, then it has to be done, and there’s no two ways around it.”

“We just all grew up that you hang in there and do the job that’s before you, and do it with a good attitude,” she said.

So it was no surprise to her that Cord and Jet stayed the course and wound up going from last place to third place in the first half of the episode, as they continued racing their way around world for the winner-take-all $1 million prize.

Callison also spoke Sunday night with Jet about how the brothers finally found City Hall, and explained how Jet and Cord, who have affectionately become known to viewers as “The Cowboys,” met a man on the street who was unable to help them.

Two hours later they saw him again. By then he had found where they needed to go, and helped them out, which was not part of the edited TV show.

“You have to remember they knew how they handled each task,” Callison explained, “but they don’t know how the other teams handled the tasks until they watch each episode. It’s been interesting, because they didn’t know how many of the teams were just giving each other information, rather than figuring out the clues themselves.

Over the next few weeks, Callison, Cord’s wife Sara Best-McCoy, and his mother Janet will be analyzing the episode from the weekend before and offering insight. “The Amazing Race” airs every Sunday night on CBS at 8 p.m. ET.

Callison’s thoughts on Episode 2 can he heard here.

News and Notes

Keep up with Cord with a special website devoted to him and his “Amazing Race” experience, at pbr.com/cordmccoy.

—by Keith Ryan Cartwright

© PBR Canada, Inc. 2011