One of my all time favorite episodes Michael
From Wiki:
Penalties and time credits
The standard penalty for minor rule infractions is 30 minutes plus the time advantage gained (if any) by disobeying the rule. When the team arrives at a pit stop, Phil Keoghan will state "you are the nth team to arrive", and then he will inform them of the penalty or the missed clue. This penalty is known to apply when taking the wrong form or a prohibited mode of transportation, not following the instructions on the clue, or interfering with other teams in ways such as (inadvertently) taking another team's assigned car or taking more than one clue from a clue box
If a team realizes they performed an infraction of the rules before they move on to the next task or check in, they can go back to the point where the infraction occurred and repeat the task as per the rules without any penalty outside of the time wasted to return to the task, unless their actions have interfered with another team, in which case a penalty is still applied. In some cases, a team that skips a Route Marker or performs a task incorrectly does not receive a penalty; rather, the racers will not be able to check in at the Pit Stop and will be told by host Phil Keoghan to complete the missed tasks.
If a team should quit a Roadblock, they are assessed a four-hour penalty starting from when the next team arrives. If a team should quit a Detour, they are assessed a 24-hour penalty (though this has only occurred once, when Nancy & Emily quit the Detour in Season 1).[26]
If a team's vehicle breaks down through no fault of their own or otherwise becomes inoperable, they may request a replacement vehicle without receiving a time penalty. However, no time credit is given for their wait in this unlucky situation.[27] (See The Amazing Race 2 Trivia).
In Season 10 and Season 11, teams that arrive last in non-elimination legs are assessed a 30-minute penalty upon completing the following leg unless they have arrived first, in which case no penalty is applied.
Teams that fly on business class tickets are assessed a 24 hour penalty.
Sometimes, teams are delayed by production difficulties. In early seasons, several teams were awarded time credits because of such difficulties