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About Pop Off Valve

 

Pop Off Valve [POP awf vālv] - noun 1. A spring-loaded relief mechanism on a turbocharged engine that releases excess pressure within the engine manifold; 2. An IndyCar blog intended to release excess opinion within the fan community.

Acronym: P.O.V.
(see also: Point of View)

"Running my mouth, that's my pop-off valve. It gives me a little bit of relief so I could get back to what I was doing."
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

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The Paddock Pulse: September 1 Edition

A kind of eventful week since the last issue, amirite? A possible owner revolt, a thrilling yet sparsely-attended and underpromoted race at Chicagoland, dogs and cats living together... MASS HYSTERIA!

But it's September now, and that means that it's time to leave all of that in our rear-view and look forward to OMIGOSH OMIGOSH PAUL TRACY IS BACK IN THE SERIES! (faints) This is the best Canadian thing to happen to September since NHL training camp!

Phew. Okay, now that we've had our Snoopy Dance for the day, let's get straight to our selections from the blogosphere to act as icing on the cake.

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4 comments |

For Paul Tracy, making his pitch now part of the game

IZOD IndyCar Series driver Paul Tracy throws out the opening pitch prior to AL baseball action between the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees in Toronto on Friday, June 4, 2010. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)

More photos » Darren Calabrese - AP

IZOD IndyCar Series driver Paul Tracy throws out the opening pitch prior to AL baseball action between the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees in Toronto on Friday, June 4, 2010. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)

As Paul Tracy prepares for his fourth IZOD IndyCar series start of the season at Kentucky Speedway, the transformation from brash racing superstar to grizzled veteran qualifies as a makeover worthy of  Dr. Phil's couch.

Gone, it seems, is the gruff exterior and the win-or-leave-a-pile-of-shredded-carbon-fiber mentality.

Now Tracy heads a personal marketing team that pulls together sponsorship packages to create racing opportunities and values the idea of finishing races as much as starting them.

Somewhere, Gerry Forsythe is chuckling at the irony, along with a bevy of former engineers and crew chiefs.

Poll
Does Paul Tracy still have what it takes?

  42 votes | Results

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0 comments |

Haiku Tuesday: Breathe into a bag edition

JOLIET IL - AUGUST 28:  Ryan Briscoe of Australia in his #6 Team Penske Dallara Honda leads the field during  the Indy Car Series PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 28 2010 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet Illinois.  (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

Jonathan Ferrey - Getty Images

5 days ago: JOLIET IL - AUGUST 28: Ryan Briscoe of Australia in his #6 Team Penske Dallara Honda leads the field during the Indy Car Series PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 on August 28 2010 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)

Wowie-kazowie! That was one heck of a barn burner at Chicagoland Speedway, wasn't it? (Sits back and waits for flood of ticket renewals) Ohhhhhhhh wait. That's right, I forgot. We're not going back there, are we?

That's too bad, because it really looked like I could get some awesome seats (and, importantly, leg room) for next year's event. But I guess that ain't happenin'.

That's okay. I'll consider this week's Haiku Tuesday to be a wake for the dearly departed Peak Indy 300. We hardly knew ye...

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1 comment |

Chicagoland Speedway thriller shows best, worst of IndyCar

CHICAGO - AUGUST 28:  Dario Franchitti of Scotland driver of the #10 Breathe Right Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda beats Dan Wheldon of England driver of the #4 National Guard Panther Racing Dallara Honda to the finish line on the final lap of the IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on August 28 2010 in Chicago Illinois.  (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Streeter Lecka - Getty Images

5 days ago: CHICAGO - AUGUST 28: Dario Franchitti of Scotland driver of the #10 Breathe Right Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda beats Dan Wheldon of England driver of the #4 National Guard Panther Racing Dallara Honda to the finish line on the final lap of the IndyCar Series PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on August 28 2010 in Chicago Illinois. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Oh, Craig Rust. Your decision to replace the IZOD IndyCar Series next year with a NASCAR Chase race and a Nationwide Series event at Chicagoland Speedway is not sitting well with IndyCar fans after last night's amazing event.

Last night's Peak Indy 300 at Chicagoland had everything that IndyCar fans love about racing. It was as good an advertisement for IndyCar-style oval racing as you could hope for. It was so good that NASCAR fans on Twitter were trying to get their compadres to tune in during the late stages.

And yet, you couldn't help but notice the vast expanses of empty seats in the grandstand, any more than you'll be able to pretend that the abysmal TV ratings that will be announced over the next couple of days do not exist.

Two things were obvious last night - the IZOD IndyCar Series is capable of showcasing one of the most exciting products in modern motorsports, and the number of people that care about that is very small.

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19 comments |

Does IndyCar have a future at Chicagoland Speedway?

This may be the only way racing fans at Chicagoland Speedway will see Danica Patrick in 2011 - racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Jason Smith - Getty Images for NASCAR

This may be the only way racing fans at Chicagoland Speedway will see Danica Patrick in 2011 - racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

And each time I roam, Chicago is,
Callin' me home, Chicago is,
One town that won't let you down;
It's my kind of town.
Frank Sinatra - My Kind of Town
Sweet home Chicago.

It's a town that simultaneously garnered a World Series and the MLB record for World Series absences in the same decade. It's a place that is arguably the Mecca of deep-dish pizza. The nation's tallest building is only a few blocks away from some of the most impressive museums this side of New York City. And it is the current home of the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup trophy, thanks to the Chicago Blackhawks.

It is also home to the track that has featured some of the most thrilling oval racing and some of the closest finishes in IZOD IndyCar Series history. Chicagoland Speedway, located just outside Chicago in Joliet, has been a fixture on the IndyCar schedule for a decade and has only Texas Motor Speedway as its rival for the best value in IndyCar oval events outside of the Brickyard itself.

But if things shake out the way everyone expects them to, this will be the last IndyCar race at a track that, ironically enough, began its life as a joint partnership between International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
>

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1 comment |

IndyCar "owner revolt" rumors an unwelcome reminder of a best-forgotten era

"The Captain" Roger Penske is allegedly not happy with the prospect of building a new inventory of IndyCars in 2012. According to SPEED.com's Robin Miller, his fellow owners may be planning an outright revolt against the idea. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

Donald Miralle - Getty Images

"The Captain" Roger Penske is allegedly not happy with the prospect of building a new inventory of IndyCars in 2012. According to SPEED.com's Robin Miller, his fellow owners may be planning an outright revolt against the idea. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Robin Miller (apparently after talking to Mike King's Breakfast Spectre) has dropped the big bombshell that some of the IZOD IndyCar Series owners are up in arms about the 2012 IndyCar and the ICONIC committee recommendations. Robin titled his piece "Owners Reject 2012 Car" and led with this sphincter-tightening thought:

What happens if the IZOD IndyCar Series builds a new car for 2012 and most teams refuse to buy it? We just might find out.

Now, Robin being Robin, this breathless inducement to panic doesn't quite play out the way you'd expect in the article. It's a hook designed to get your brain screaming and your eyeballs dangling from their sockets.

Still, there's plenty in Robin's story to get in a tizzy about, and probably the biggest is the fact that some of the IndyCar owners seem to be regressing into some very disturbingly familiar thought patterns.

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9 comments |

The Paddock Pulse: August 25 Edition

There are rumors to the effect that this weekend's race at Chicagoland Speedway might be the last, and people seem to be pretty upset about that.

For my part, the only circular-shaped things in Chicago that I really care about are the pizzas that issue forth from the ovens at Gino's East. If you've ever wanted to know what a tongue-gasm feels like, you will want to fly post-haste to Chicago and head downtown for a Gino's deep dish.

I've really got to stop posting these articles around lunchtime. *eats desk calendar*

This week's succulent pepperoni-laden extra-cheese-topped pan full of bloggy yumslices follows the jump...

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0 comments |

Haiku Tuesday: Ludicrous Speed Edition

Okay, so you know the whole controversy surrounding whether or not Roger Penske has some "special parts" for his team's Dallaras? I'm not qualified to speculate on that - either from an engineering or paranoia standpoint - but I know one thing for sure, and that's the fact that the only special part Penske needs in his cars at a road course is WILL BLEEPING POWER.

Can you believe this guy didn't have a full-time ride before this season? Well, actually, yes I can, because it seems like there are lots of talented IndyCar-capable drivers without full-time (or even part-time) rides these days. But Will's got one now, and unless Penske decides that cocker spaniel pictures and wakeboarding reports on Twitter are more important than RACE VICTORIES AND TROPHIES, he's going to keep it even if Roger downsizes going into next year.

But don't take my word for it - ask the poetry gods!...

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3 comments |

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