Pop Off Valve, for IndyCar fans

In this week's Media Roundup, we take a quick break from the 24/7 Bruins coverage to spend a few minutes on a sporting event that nationally has become identified with Memorial Day Weekend -- the Indianapolis 500.

HVM Racing's Simona de Silvestro walked away from a terrifying crash in practice for the 95th running of the Indianapolis 500. An equipment failure caused the car to get airborne in turn 3, then get airborne again in turn 4, turning upside down and tearing the catchfence before coming to rest upside down and on fire. De Silvestro was helped from the car by Holmatro Safety Team workers and walked to an ambulance.

Marshall Pruett at SPEEDTV.COM reports that Jay Penske has signed Scott Speed, recently of Red Bull NASCAR and Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula 1, to drive in the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500.

The series, entitled "Indianapolis 500 Centennial Era Moments," will feature video clips from classic Indianapolis 500-Mile Races and interviews with IMS legends. A new video will appear every Friday through May. Some of the classic races featured in the series are the duel between A.J. Foyt and Eddie Sachs in 1961, Al Unser's second victory in 1971, the controversial finish between Bobby Unser and Mario Andretti in 1981, Bobby Rahal's victory in 1986, Rick Mears' fourth victory in 1991 and Helio Castroneves' first victory in 2001. Other feature subjects include Roger Penske, Andy Granatelli, Chip Ganassi, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Arie Luyendyk, Tom Sneva, a close-up about the incredible career of Foyt and more.

SPEED.com reveals that IndyCar is in the final stages of negotiations to bring Chevrolet back to the Indy 500 and IndyCar racing in 2012.

My 2010 Indy 500 preview for SBNation.com is up - go take a look! (For the record, this is the first IndyCar story that has made it to SBN's front page - you can thank me later!)

Panther Racing announced today it has partnered with Vision Racing and will enter Ed Carpenter in the No. 20 Dallara Honda during next month’s 94th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. The collaboration between the two IZOD IndyCar Series teams will pair Carpenter with full-time Panther driver Dan Wheldon, pilot of the No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing entry.

"Right now, we are in discussion with the IZOD IndyCar Series to remove the fuel-mixture switch from the car completely. This would make the driver responsible for controlling the amount of fuel consumed with his or her right foot."