RPM 2Night
| RPM 2Night/RPM 2Day | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Format | Auto Racing news program |
| Starring |
John Kernan Kenny Mayne Rece Davis Whit Watson Benny Parsons Jerry Punch Bill Weber Robin Miller Jon Beekhuis Matt Yocum Mike Massaro Marlo Klain Sally Larvick Tom Higgins |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (22 minutes plus commercials) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ESPN 2 |
| Original run | September 1995 – November 16, 2003 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
RPM2Night is a former American nightly news program seen on ESPN2 that was devoted entirely to motorsports.
The program aired six nights a week (except Saturday) from Labor Day weekend, 1995 to November 16, 2003. Contributors were as follows:
| Hosts | Tenure | Analysts | Tenure | Sanctioning Body Covered | Reporters | Tenure | Sanctioning Body Covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Kernan | *Labor Day weekend in 1995 - November 16, 2003 | Benny Parsons | 1995 - 2000 | NASCAR | Bill Weber | 1995 - 2000 | NASCAR |
| Kenny Mayne | Weekends, 1995 - August, 1997 | Jerry Punch | 1995 - 2003 | NASCAR, CART, and IRL | Matt Yocum | 1999 - 2000 | NASCAR |
| Rece Davis | Weekends, August 20, 1997 - 2000 | Bill Weber | 1995 - 2000 | NASCAR | Mike Massaro | 2001 - 2003 | NASCAR |
| Whit Watson | Weekends, 2000 - August 2003 | Robin Miller | 2001 - 2003 | CART and IRL | Marlo Klain | 1997 - 2003 | CART and IRL |
| Jon Beekhuis | 1995 - 2001 | CART | Sally Larvick | 1996 | IRL |
- On weekends where ESPN or ABC covered a Cup Series race, the weekend host would fill in on Fridays, and Mondays (if the race was postponed until then).
All forms of racing were included, whether it was the big-league racing of NASCAR, IndyCars, or Formula One, 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, along with the segment Open-Wheel Wednesday.
On Sunday mornings. a version titled RPM 2Day aired as a pre-race show before major events. During the month of May in 2002-2003, the daily coverage of the Indianapolis 500 practice was billed RPM 2Night at Indy.
The Monday through Friday versions of the show originated from ESPN Regional Television studios in Charlotte, NC, while the weekend versions originated from ESPN's main headquarters in Bristol, CT.
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 Sprint Cup Series 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 and claimed that they merely wanted to give ESPN an incentive to provide NASCAR more exposure on SportsCenter, which had a higher viewership.
RPM2Night signed off for the last time on November 16, 2003.
ESPN produces shows devoted to the NHRA and IndyCar Series that air on race days only. They can be said to be spin-offs of RPM 2Night.
See also
NASCAR Now- ESPN's new NASCAR news and analysis show that began broadcasting in February 2007.
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