The footage battles, which many believed showed de facto favoritism to FSN, led to a large number of complaints, both from viewers and television critics.
Ironically, the two shows were produced only a few miles apart in south Charlotte, NC and a large chunk of the original Totally NASCAR production staff was made up of former RPM staffers.
The host was Jill Arrington, in her first regular network assignment in several years (she had married a Hollywood agent and become a mother).
[1] The program largely consists of segments re-aired from NASCAR RaceHub, which is a four-day-a-week show on Speed, which is also owned by Fox Cable Networks.
Totally NASCAR aired at 6 p.m. local time Monday through Friday from 2001 to 2003 and re-aired at 6:30 pm ET on Speed Channel.
The time shift made the original feed unavailable in most of the country, due to scheduled live play-by-play coverage that aired on FSN affiliates and ratings suffered.