AROUND THE OVALS Motorsports news

Japanese IRL driver excited: Kosuke Matsuura feels right at home this week, racing in the IRL event at Japan's Twin Ring Motegi circuit. It will be the IndyCar Series rookie's first time on the 1.5-mile Motegi oval. But he already won twice at Motegi's road course, in April 2000 on the way to clinching the Japanese Formula Dream Series championship. The 24-year-old driver went on to race in European formulas from 2001-03. Now Matsuura, who is from Toyoake City, is back in his homeland with another dream: taking his first IRL victory. "I am getting very excited," said Matsuura, who drives for Super Aguri Fernandez Racing. "After the Homestead and Phoenix races, I have gained more confidence in myself, so I am looking forward to racing at Motegi. It has been four years since I last raced in Japan, so this is a very special race for me. There will be a lot of people coming to see me race, and I will try not to put too much pressure on myself and relax." Matsuura, the IRL's leading rookie, had a pair of 11th-place finishes so far and was 13th in the season standings, just six points out of the top 10 heading into Saturday's Bridgestone Indy Japan 300. "Our big thing here is to keep everything in perspective and try to stay focused on being very competitive this weekend," said Tom Anderson, the team's managing director.
Flying low: Margaret Ringenberg spent most of her younger days flying through the skies in military airplanes. Now, the 82-year-old pilot from Fort Wayne, Ind., has taken her love of speed to the asphalt oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Never Too Late, a foundation that grants wishes to seniors, and Sinden Racing Service, gave Ringenberg the chance to live out one of her dreams. Last weekend, she displayed the spunk of a teenager, striding down pit row in a flame-retardant suit at the track. She slid into the rear seat of a modified open-wheel race car with IRL driver Sarah Fisher. "I like," Ringenberg said, pausing to search for the right words, "things that go fast." Ringenberg ferried military planes across the country during World War II before serving as a flight instructor and competing in numerous air races, including an around-the-world race at age 72. Her adventures earned her a chapter in Tom Brokaw's "The Greatest Generation," a book documenting heroes of the World War II era. Fisher gave her a fast ride last Saturday, getting around the Speedway's 2.5-mile oval in about 60 seconds, or an average speed of about 150 mph. "Margaret's just pumped up. She's got that look in her eyes," said Bob Haverstick, founder of Never Too Late. "She's just a walking, talking inspiration." After her two-lap ride, Ringenberg compared it to "sitting in a vibrating chair" and expressed amazement over drivers like Fisher being able to withstand the physical strain on their bodies for an entire race. She gave the experience two big thumbs up.
-- Associated Press