As in the original "Jeopardy", all three contestants on "Split Second" were allowed to keep their cash earnings, but only the winner was allowed to play the bonus round to win a car, returning for the next installment if he or she didn't win the car.
Except for 21 shows - six of which can be seen on You Tube, particularly the 1975 series finale, while all the others are reposing in UCLA's Film and Television Archives - the remaining episodes of "Split Second" are *lost forever,* because ABC "wiped" the tapes around 1976 to use for other programs. (Some of the "Split Second" episodes UCLA has in their library were recorded on a video format that is not compatible with their present playback equipment, and as yet have not been dubbed onto an accessible format.)