The Paddock Pulse: Feb. 3 Edition

Nothing at all happened over the past week. Trust me.

Seriously, folks, enjoy the veal.

This week's Paddock Pulse is just gonna be chock-full of references to two Big Events - and I'm not talking about Danica being on CSI: NY, either. First, the shuttering (and the defying-the-odds appeal to fans and Letters of Reference campaign) of Vision Racing sent the blogosphere all a-Twitter (pun intended - you should have seen the tweet-valanche). Then the Indy Racing League sparked off the largest bull-riding-related-title-pun contest in the history of the Internet by hiring PBR exec Randy Bernard as the new league CEO. After that, well... there wasn't really a whole lot to talk about other than Dreyer & Reinbold hiring Justin Wilson away from Dale Coyne.

So let's get all of this out of the way now with a sampling of some of the blogsplosion:

• Vision Racing shuts down, plus the fan letter outreach: A Man Without a Vision is Blah Blah Blah [Is It May Yet?], A significant loss of Vision [My Name Is IRL], Tony George’s Free Fall [Oilpressure], Vision ... Dimmed [pressdog.com], Vision Racing Will Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night [The Silent Pagoda], Ed Carpenter speaks out about Vision Racing [Planet-IRL].
• New Indy Racing League CEO Andy... er, Randy Bernard: We have a new leader [My Name Is IRL], Bernard Saddles up a Truly Bucking Bull of a Job [pressdog.com], IRL Hires New CEO [16th And Georgetown], On the new CEO of the IRL, Randy Bernard [Planet-IRL], A Quick Word on Randy Bernard [The Silent Pagoda].

We do have a couple of links to content on topics other than these two for your perusal:

• A verbose retrospective of the Tony George era [My Name Is IRL]
  Jeff Iannucci of My Name is IRL is our favorite fellow blogger here at POV, not just because he's a fellow resident of the Grand Canyon State. In this rather lengthy entry (for him, anyway), Jeff ruminates on the legacy of Tony George and takes issue with some of the parting shots levied at George following his resignation from the Hulman-George companies.

• Travel [Drive Hard, Turn Left]
  In the midst of the TG resignations, Vision Racing's suspension of operations, and our new "No Bull" CEO, Drive Hard, Turn Left was still able to post a normal blog not related at all to any of those issues. SPOILER ALERT: There is advocacy for a Las Vegas night race in there.

• Where Is Loyalty Today? [Oilpressure]
  George over at Oilpressure has a bone to pick with today's racers - the lack of loyalty. It seems to be a commodity that most folks can't afford, even though it has no ties to the recession. I wasn't going to post this link but I felt I had to out of loyalty for George. (Actually, I was just going for a stupid joke, George. You're still the man!)

• A yardstick for Danica? That sounds like a good swap! [My Name Is IRL]
  Another entry from ol' Jeff, and the epic title is only topped by the awesomeness of the article below it. It concerns Danica Patrick's ARCA debut, because really, what other storyline is there to promote in that race? Read, be amazed and entertained, and tell him I sent you because I get an M&M every time I give Jeff a page view.

Final thoughts

Please remember to go write a letter for Vision Racing's Letters of Reference campaign. Why? Because this team works harder than any other in racing to reach out to and incorporate the fans. And even in the face of adversity they aren't asking for your money - only your recommendation as they apply for a job as a sponsor representative. That's class, folks.

Also of note, you may notice that we have a new Multimedia section at POV. Against their better judgment, the IRL has decided that I should have permission to access their IndyCar audio and video, and who are the beneficiaries of this? YOU. Oh, and FYI - I'll also be posting some of my late friend Earl Ma's videos in this section from time to time. You'll get a kick out of them, I promise.

Lastly, I should remind you that we have a Pop Off Valve Store that has all sorts of cool stuff in it, including T-shirts like this one and this one. Why am I pimping this? Because all of the proceeds from the store go to charity. So buy stuff. Please?