RPM 2Night
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RPM2Night was a American nightly news program seen on ESPN2 that was devoted entirely to motorsports.
The program aired six nights a week (except Saturday) from 1995 to 2003. Hosts included Bob Jenkins, John Kernan, and Whit Watson.
All forms of racing were included, whether it was the big-league racing of NASCAR, IndyCars, or Formula 1, or the local Saturday night short tracks. "Eat My Dust," a Tuesday-night package of highlights of sprint cars and other vehicles racing on non-pavement tracks, was a cult favorite.
RPM2Night hit a major snag in 2001, when ESPN lost NASCAR rights in a consolidated TV package. Shortly after the sale of the rights, ESPN was told that it could only show NASCAR highlights on two programs: SportsCenter and ESPNEWS. From that point forward, RPM2Night could only show still photographs from the weekly Winston Cup (now NEXTEL Cup) race. Furthermore, ESPN's reporters had their track credentials pulled. Interviews with drivers and other principals took place either at the track's parking lots or at nearby commuter airports.
Media reports of the time suggested that NASCAR imposed the new procedures to give a benefit to Fox Sports Net, which was launching a similar NASCAR-only show, Totally NASCAR, at the time. NASCAR officials denied this.
RPM2Night signed off for the last time on November 12, 2003. However, in 2007, when ESPN got NASCAR back, they launched a daily show devoted to NASCAR called, NASCAR Now.
