RPM 2Night

RPM2Night is a former American nightly news program seen on ESPN2 that was devoted entirely to motorsports. The program aired six nights a week from Labor Day weekend, 1995 to November 16, 2003. Contributors were as follows: ⁕On weekends where ESPN or ABC covered a Cup Series race, the weekend host would fill in on Fridays, and Mondays. 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.