Today, one of these three players...
will be our new champion, and will be trying for a bonus of <insert amount>, plus a chance to win one of these new Pontiac's...
Today on...
And now the host of our show..
Tom Kennedy!
Broadcast History
Airdates: March 20, 1972-June 27, 1975, ABC
Host: Tom Kennedy
Announcer: Jack Clark
Origination: Studios D and E, ABC Television Center, Los Angeles
Packager: Stefan Hatos/Monty Hall Productions
First Round
Split Second was a
lightning fast show. To start, a question was asked by showing three choices on
a board. 
Then,
a question was asked pertaining to all three of them. A player could buzz in and
answer the question pertaining to one of those choices. 
If
a player buzzed in 
during
a question, they didn't hear the rest, but the full question was read after they
answered. When a player answered correctly, the second person buzzing in had to
choose one of the other two answers, and if correct, the third was left with the
last. Also, questions could be presented in a list (read by Tom Kennedy), and
the players would choose an answer from the list. Once per day, there was the
"Memory Buster" question, where Tom Kennedy would read a list of
things, ask a yes or no question about the things named, and the players could
answer yes or no to one of the choices. 
In
round one, if a player was the only to get a question right, they would win $25
(and a prize for being the "singleton"), if two answered correct
they'd win $10, and if all three answered correctly they'd win $5. Round one
ended when a bell rang. Round two was played the same way, but with one correct
answer worth $50 (with a prize), two worth $25, and three worth $10.
After
the second round, the game moved into the Countdown Round.
Countdown Round
The
Countdown Round decided the winner of the day. The players had to answer a
certain amount of questions in order to win the game. The player in the lead had
to answer 3, the second place 4, and the third place player 5.
Three choices were shown as before, and when a player buzzed in, this time they
could answer until as many until they missed, or until they answered all three.
Winner of this round goes onto the car round.
Car Round
The
winner of the day would try and start the right car in order to win it. Five
cars were shown on stage, and the champion was given a key. They would then
choose one of the cars to try and start. 
If
they started it, they would win that car and a cash jackpot (started at $1,000
and increased by $500 per day until the car was won), and retire. If the car
didn't start, 
they
would choose from the remaining four if they won the next day. When a player won
5 games, they automatically won the cash jackpot and chose any of the five cars
that they wanted.
Monty Hall and Jay Stewart make cameos on the final
episode
Future Night Court actress Markie
Post worked on the staff of Split Second
Facts
-The cars in the bonus round were always Pontiac's
-Split Second was Tom Kennedy's return to ABC after 13 years. The last show he did on ABC was Doctor IQ. He had hosted many shows on NBC since, including You Don't Say!
-Tom Kennedy returned to ABC the Monday after Split Second was cancelled, on The New You Don't Say!
-Monty Hall hosted a revival of Split Second, taped in Canada, in 1986.
-Split Second followed Password on ABC, and were both cancelled the same day.