Maybe I'm the only one, but I actually like this new "penalty" better.
Many times, we have seen the other teams "help" out the penalized team (remember Meredith & Gretchen a few seasons back?) where the penalty of losing the possessions [for the rest of the race] and money [for that leg of the race] really wasn't a hurdle at all. At least with this new "rule", there is a definite consequence if the last place team does not come in first the next leg.
With the amount of bunching that happens on most legs, anyways, I don't know that this penalty will be that hard to overcome, either. I guess we'll just have to wait and see this week!