What makes it really funny is that what Phil said is true: Marie is basically in control of the whole Race right now.
I disagree. I think she is seriously overestimating their racing abilities and the value of the second express pass.
Tim & Marie would have been in serious trouble this leg (#3) if not Chester & Ephraim had gotten that far behind. All the other teams managed to find faster flights. And I can only hope that they were quite sure that there was one team way behind them (by counting clues perhaps?), otherwise their decision to not use the express pass at the detour makes no sense.
And regarding the scene from next episode where Nicole asks for the second express pass in exchange for information. I think Nicole is getting tired of Marie dangling the express pass in front of the other teams all the time and just decide to call her bluff. I do not think that Nicole even expects to actually get the express pass, but then she doesn't see any reason to share information with Tim & Marie.