Spiral and NASCAR

Here I sit Sunday about to start reading the third book Loop when I realize if I dont write the synopsis before I start I may get very confused, or forget things I would have otherwise included. But while I am trying to do this, Chase is watching the stupid Daytona 500. I dont terribly mind most sports but I hate NASCAR, who can get behind watching people whose sole purpose is marketing drive in an oval shape for 500 laps and like a minimum of 3 hours. You cant even tell how fast they really go while watching on TV at least if you are present at the race there is a sense of speed and excitement. But whatever, after I write my review I will put in my ear plugs and read Loop, maybe Ill get it done in less than a week! Because honestly the 4th book has me extremely intrigued at this point. Birthday.
Ok back to Spiral, this book starts with a new main character who is a medical examiner at the same college that one of our previous main characters of Ring worked at, the main character of Ring was the reporter Asakawa and the second main character was Ryuji. Our medical examiner is Ando and he knew Ryuji from college as well as now working at the same school. Ando meets Mai who was Ryuji's teachers assistant and close friend, everyone thought they must be involved but they were not. Ando has a friend who works in his office who he ends up sharing the information he gathers with and who helps him solve the mystery. Basically, the story starts off with Ando learning of the deaths Asakawa had previously connected and he starts to try to learn the cause of the deaths as well as the new fates we learn has happened to our old main characters. He finds Asakawas report of the events he and Ryuji had experienced during their "week". Ando uses his medical knowledge and all the factors he gathers from Mai and shares it with his friend who helps him come up with new "ideas" and leads. The story is how the Ring virus mutates from a video, to a story, to something much more real. By the end of the book the Ring virus had taken on a completely new and more dangerous form, which allows it to spread more quickly. I am interested about Loop but I can sort of see where it might be going although I havent always been correct when I try to figure things out before I read them. I imagine this third book will also have new main characters I just wonder if any of the previous main or secondary characters come into play in this story as they did going from the first to the second.