Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: IRL veteran hopes to get back on track in Japan

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 | 9:36 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

One of Scott Sharp's two major sponsors is based in Japan and the other has large operations in the Pacific Rim, which is part of the reason Sharp is looking forward to this weekend's Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi.

The other reason is that Sharp scored his last Indy Racing League victory in the inaugural race at the 1.5-mile egg-shaped oval in 2003.

"I immediately felt comfortable with my first few laps at Motegi and, together with winning in 2003, the track is high on my list of favorites," said Sharp, who is visiting Motegi for the first time with his new team, Fernandez Racing.

"The team has been very strong and I'm looking forward to challenging for the race win. Motegi starts a number of special races where I expect the Delphi Fernandez team to be very competitive and help us climb the championship points ladder."

It has been a rough start for Sharp this season. He was involved in a multi-car accident in the season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway and relegated to a 13th-place finish. After a solid fifth-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway, Sharp again was caught up in an accident on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., and finished 18th.

Sharp, who has been driving in the IRL since its inception in 1996, is 12th in points going into Saturday's race.

"It was a shame that we were taken out in Homestead and St. Pete when we were just trying to finish and get good points," he said. "It's hard not to think that we're going to want those 20 or 25 points at the end of the year, but I am confident that we are going to make up some ground starting this weekend."

LIVE FROM MOTEGI: While the Japan Indy 300 will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on ESPN Saturday morning (9 a.m., PDT), fans with high-speed Internet access can watch the race live beginning at 8:59 p.m. (PDT) Friday on ESPN's broadband outlet, ESPN360.

Though normally offered only through select high-speed Internet providers, ESPN360 is being offered free to all high-speed Internet users April 27-May 1. The video offered by ESPN360 is encoded at a high bit rate that enables a fast transmission for viewing high-quality video content.

For more information on how to obtain ESPN360, go to www.espn360.com.

DRIVER WANTED: With the announcement this week that Matt Jaskol was leaving Las Vegas-based Hearn Motorsports to concentrate on the ASA Speed Truck Challenge series, team owner Richie Hearn is looking for a driver to replace Jaskol in the Star Mazda Series.

"We are looking for someone with the talent and the funding that wants to run up front," Hearn said. "There is no doubt the car and the team are capable of winning races. We have a great seat available for someone to step into right now."

Jaskol piloted the No. 70 car to two podium finishes in the first two races of the season. The team's next event is May 22 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

"Right now, our focus is to put two race-winning cars on track at each race," Hearn said. "The 70 car is capable of winning races; Matt showed that in the first two races and (Raphael Matos, the driver last season) showed that last year. There isn't a better ride in the paddock than what we are offering right now, ready to go for Mid-Ohio."

Interested drivers should contact Hearn at richie@richiehearn.com.

OUTLAWS UPDATE: Daryn Pittman earned his first World of Outlaws A-main victory since Aug. 3, 2003 when he led all 35 laps and won Saturday night's Wichita Twister Showdown at 81 Speedway in Wichita, Kan.

"They're all good, but this win ranks probably as high as my first one," Pittman said. "It's been so long since we won a race. I've had a lot of really good people stay behind me throughout that whole time. They probably wondered if we were ever going to win another one and it had entered my mind a lot, too."

Steve Kinser finished second and increased his lead over Craig Dollansky in the WoO standings to 63 points. Jason Meyers (-146), Kraig Kinser (-148), Donny Schatz (-183) and Danny Lasoski (-216) round out the top six in the standings.