Richie Hearn | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Born | Glendale, California, U.S. | January 4, 1971
Indy Racing League IndyCar Series | |
Years active | 1996, 2000–2005, 2007 |
Teams | Della Penna Motorsports Pagan Racing A. J. Foyt Enterprises Team Menard Hemelgarn Racing Hemelgarn/Racing Professionals |
Starts | 25 |
Wins | 1 |
Poles | 2 |
Best finish | 4th in 1996 |
CART Championship Car | |
Years active | 1996–1999 |
Teams | Della Penna Motorsports |
Starts | 59 |
Wins | 0 |
Poles | 0 |
Best finish | 16th in 1998 |
Previous series | |
1994–1995 | Toyota Atlantic |
Championship titles | |
1995 | Toyota Atlantic Series |
Richard Edward Hearn [1] (born January 4, 1971) is an American former racing driver.
Hearn was born in Glendale, California. He ran in the Toyota Atlantic championship for two seasons, winning the title in 1995. In 1996, he began driving for John Della Penna in both the IRL and Champ Car ranks. He won an IRL race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to cap off the year and was the highest finishing rookie at the Indianapolis 500, finishing 3rd.
Hearn moved full-time into Champ Car in 1997 for Della Penna with high-profile sponsor Budweiser but failed to post significant results and by 2000 was surplus for sponsored driver Norberto Fontana. He contested a few more Indy 500s, with a best result of 6th in 2002. In 2005 following the Indy 500 he retired as a driver and started Hearn Motorsports LLC that ran in the Star Mazda series. He planned to move the team into Toyota Atlantic competition in 2006. Hearn returned from retirement to qualify on Bump Day of the 2007 Indianapolis 500 in a car jointly entered by Racing Professionals and Hemelgarn Racing.
Hearn is currently a driving instructor at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch's Ron Fellows driving school.
Hearn's parents were also racecar drivers, racing in amateur Sports Car Club of America events on the West Coast. They belonged to the Corvette club, and owned two Corvettes. [2] His father owned a go-kart shop. [3] When he was nine years old, he began racing go-karts. By the time he was 20, he owned seven International Karting Federation titles. [4]
Hearn then attended the Winfield Racing School at the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France, whose alumni included Alain Prost. His go-kart competitors helped pay for his tuition. He became the only American to qualify for Winfield's school competition. [4] He managed to win, and was able to earn a year of sponsored racing on the Formula Renault circuit, which is several tiers below the Formula One class. [5]
In 1995, Hearn won the Toyota Atlantic championship. [2]
In 1996, Hearn won a pole at New Hampshire, won a race at Las Vegas, finished third in his Indianapolis 500 debut (the best rookie finish for that race) and was fourth in series points. [2] [6]
In 1997, Hearn and team owner John Della Penna moved full-time to the CART FedEx Championship Series. That season, he had 17 starts, but his best finish was ninth. [2]
The following season, his team made upgrades and he was able to improve in his finishes. In a race in Rio de Janeiro, he finished in a career-best seventh place. [2]
In 1999, Hearn crashed coming off turn two on lap four of the Marlboro 500, bringing out the first caution flag of the race. He was not injured, but several laps later, Greg Moore crashed in the exact same spot and was killed. [7]
Hearn did not return for the 2000 season, as he didn't have a sponsor, and Norberto Fontana replaced him. [8]
In 2002, he finished sixth in the Indianapolis 500, his best finish since his rookie season. [6] In 2003, he was hired by Menard Racing, winning the pole for that year's Indy 200. [9]
In 2007, Hearn got a last-minute ride with Jon Herb's backup car with Hemelgarn/Racing Professionals, even though he hadn't raced since the 2005 Indy 500. With it, he qualified 32nd for the Indianapolis 500. [10] That would be the final Indianapolis 500 he competed in. [6] In seven seasons, he drove in 84 races. [11]
After retiring from racing, he started a racing team. One of its drivers was Alexander Rossi, who would go on to win the 2016 Indy 500. However, the team became unsustainable during the Great Recession. Due to this, he became bankrupt and did odd jobs such as driving a forklift, and coached a successful flag football team. He then got a job at Bobby Flay’s restaurant at Caesars Palace. However, this wasn't satisfying for him, so he became a part-time instructor at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch's Ron Fellows driving school, and eventually lead instructor once he quit his job at the restaurant. [11]
Hearn still races. In 2014, he competed in the 18th SKUSA SuperNationals. [12] From 2016-17, he competed in the “Indy Legends” Charity Pro-Am. [13] [14] In his free time, he does iRacing, a virtual reality racing video game [11]
Hearn was married, but they divorced when he got bankrupt. He has a daughter. [11]
Hearn attended college classes at Citrus College. [5] Years later, after seeing a commercial for the Cordon Blue Culinary School, he enrolled and earned an associate’s degree in the culinary arts in two years. [11]
(key)
Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Rank | Points | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Della Penna Motorsports | Reynard 95i | Ford XB V8 t | MIA | RIO | SRF | LBH 10 | NZR | 500 | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR 25 | MIS | MDO | ROA | VAN | LS 17 | 29th | 3 | [15] | ||||
1997 | Della Penna Motorsports | Lola T97/00 | Ford XD V8 t | MIA 11 | SRF 13 | LBH 27 | NZR 18 | RIO 14 | STL 9 | MIL 23 | DET 23 | POR 14 | CLE 28 | TOR 27 | MIS 22 | MDO 13 | ROA 9 | VAN 22 | LS 25 | FON 15 | 21st | 10 | [16] | |||
1998 | Della Penna Motorsports | Swift 009.c | Ford XD V8 t | MIA 13 | MOT 27 | LBH 23 | NZR 10 | RIO 7 | STL 28 | MIL 6 | DET 23 | POR 10 | CLE 18 | TOR 7 | MIS 5 | MDO 24 | ROA 13 | VAN 16 | LS 11 | HOU 9 | SRF 18 | FON 8 | 16th | 47 | [17] | |
1999 | Della Penna Motorsports | Swift 010.c | Toyota RV8D V8 t | MIA 23 | MOT 10 | LBH 11 | NZR 20 | RIO 19 | 22nd | 26 | [18] | |||||||||||||||
Reynard 99i | STL 13 | MIL 21 | POR 22 | CLE 10 | ROA 10 | TOR 16 | MIS 12 | DET 13 | MDO 12 | CHI 16 | VAN 6 | LS 16 | HOU 8 | SRF 23 | FON 27 |
Year | Team | Chassis | No. | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Rank | Points | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Della Penna Motorsports | Reynard 95i | 4 | Ford XB V8 t | WDW 19 | PHX 4 | INDY 3 | 4th | 237 | [19] | ||||||||||||||
1996–1997 | NHM 14 | LVS 1 | WDW | PHX | INDY | TXS | PPIR | CLT | NH2 | LV2 | 33rd | 59 | [20] | |||||||||||
2000 | Pagan Racing | Dallara IR-00 | 75 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | WDW | PHX | LVS | INDY 27 | TXS | PPIR | ATL | KTY | TX2 | 47th | 3 | [21] | ||||||||
2001 | Tri-Star Motorsports | Dallara IR-01 | 60 | PHX | HMS | ATL | INDY DNQ | TXS | 27th | 50 | [22] | |||||||||||||
Sam Schmidt Motorsports | 99 | PPIR 9 | RIR | KAN | NSH | KTY | STL | CHI 6 | TX2 | |||||||||||||||
2002 | Dallara IR-02 | Chevrolet Indy V8 | HMS | PHX | FON 14 | TXS 9 | 15th | 204 | [23] | |||||||||||||||
20 | INDY 6 | PPIR 12 | RIR 7 | KAN 10 | NSH 4 | MIS 10 | KTY 24 | STL | CHI | TX2 | ||||||||||||||
A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 11 | NZR 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
2003 | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | G-Force GF09 | 99 | Toyota Indy V8 | HMS | PHX | MOT | INDY 28 | TXS | PPIR | RIR | KAN | NSH | MIS | STL | KTY | NZR | 28th | 39 | [24] | ||||
Team Menard | Dallara IR-03 | 2 | Chevrolet Indy V8 | CHI 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Hemelgarn Racing | 91 | FON 21 | TX2 18 | |||||||||||||||||||||
2004 | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | G-Force GF09B | 33 | Toyota Indy V8 | HMS | PHX | MOT | INDY 20 | TXS | RIR | KAN | NSH | MIL | MIS | KTY | PPIR | NZR | CHI | FON | TX2 | 30th | 12 | [25] | |
2005 | Panoz GF09C | 70 | Chevrolet Indy V8 | HMS | PHX | STP | MOT | INDY 25 | TXS | RIR | KAN | NSH | MIL | MIS | KTY | PPIR | SNM | CHI | WGL | FON | 33rd | 10 | [26] | |
2007 | Racing Professionals Hemelgarn Racing | Dallara IR-05 | 91 | Honda HI7R V8 | HMS | STP | MOT | KAN | INDY 23 | MIL | TXS | IOW | RIR | WGL | NSH | MDO | MIS | KTY | SNM | DET | CHI | 31st | 12 | [27] |
Years | Teams | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums (Non-win) | Top 10s (Non-podium) | Indianapolis 500 Wins | Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9 | 6 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Reynard | Ford-Cosworth | 15th | 3rd | Della Penna |
2000 | Dallara | Oldsmobile | 23rd | 27th | Pagan |
2001 | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Failed to Qualify | Tri-Star | |
Stood by as relief driver for Tony Stewart | |||||
2002 | Dallara | Chevrolet | 22nd | 6th | Schmidt |
2003 | G-Force | Toyota | 28th | 28th | Schmidt |
2004 | G-Force | Toyota | 30th | 20th | Schmidt |
2005 | Panoz | Chevrolet | 20th | 25th | Schmidt |
2007 | Dallara | Honda | 32nd | 23rd | Hemelgarn/Racing Professionals |
Takuma Sato, nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. He competes part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 75 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win the race more than once. Before winning the Indianapolis 500, Sato became the first Japanese-born driver to win an IndyCar Series race when he won the 2013 Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Toranosuke "Tora" Takagi is a Japanese former racing driver.
Gil de Ferran was a French-born Brazilian professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for Team Penske and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 500. He also finished runner-up in the American Le Mans Series LMP1 class in 2009, with his own de Ferran Motorsports.
James "Jimmy" Vasser Jr. is an American former racing driver who competed primarily in the CART series and Champ Car. Vasser won ten CART series races and won the 1996 CART championship with Chip Ganassi Racing. Vasser was the last American to win the CART title. Vasser won the 1996 U.S. 500, and had a best finish of 4th at the Indianapolis 500 twice.
John Andrew Andretti was an American professional race car driver. He won individual races in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series, and NASCAR during his career. A member of the Andretti racing family, he was the son of Aldo Andretti, older brother of racer Adam Andretti, nephew of Mario Andretti, and the cousin to CART drivers Michael and Jeff Andretti. He is also the first cousin once-removed of Marco Andretti.
Bruno Junqueira is a Brazilian race car driver who most recently competed in the IRL IndyCar Series. He is a former Formula 3000 champion and three-time runner-up in the Champ Car World Series.
Oriol Servià Imbers is a Spanish racing driver who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series. He raced for Dragon Racing in the 2014–15 Formula E season, and left the series prior to the 2015 Miami ePrix to become managing director for the technical and commercial partnerships of Dragon Racing. Servià holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Since 2018 he also serves as pace car driver at IndyCar races outside the Indianapolis 500.
Alexandre Tagliani, nicknamed "Tag", is a Canadian professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Canada Series, driving the No. 18 Chevrolet Camaro for 22 Racing.
Scott Everts Brayton was an American race car driver on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, beginning with the 1981 event. Brayton was killed in practice after qualifying for the pole position for the 1996 race.
Townsend Bell is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar Series coverage.
Scott Harrington is a second generation American former auto racing driver, formerly active in the Indy Racing League and sportscar racing. He is now a private racing driver coach. His father, Gene Harrington, was a veteran of both SCCA and IMSA competition.
Geoffrey John Brabham is an Australian racing driver. Brabham spent the majority of his racing career in the United States.
William Theodore Ribbs Jr. is a retired American race car driver, racing owner, and sport shooter known for being the first African-American man to have tested a Formula One car and to compete in the Indianapolis 500. Ribbs competed in many forms of auto racing, including the Trans-Am Series, IndyCar, Champ Car, IMSA, and the NASCAR Cup Series and Gander Outdoors Truck Series. After retiring, he became a sport shooter in the National Sporting Clays Association.
David Jay "Davey" Hamilton is a race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series and Stadium Super Trucks. He has made 56 series starts and while never winning a race, finished second three times. He placed second in series points in the 1996–1997 season and again in 1998 season.
Michael Dennis Groff is a former race car driver who competed in CART and the IRL IndyCar Series and was the 1989 Indy Lights champion. His younger brother Robbie was also a CART and IRL driver from 1994 to 1998.
Mark Dismore is a former driver in the Indy Racing League and the 1990 Toyota Pacific champion as well as the winner of the 1993 24 Hours of Daytona with Dan Gurney's All American Racers in a Toyota GTP car with co-drivers Rocky Moran and P. J. Jones. He made 3 CART starts in 1991 but was badly injured in a practice crash for the Indianapolis 500, when his car veered sharply towards the entrance of pit road at the exit of Turn 4 and back-ended the fence, only to careen across the pit lane and smash virtually head on at sizeable speed against the edge of pit wall; this second impact tore off the front of the car leaving Mark's legs exposed. Amongst the injuries he suffered, the most severe was a broken neck. He was largely out of open wheel racing until the 1996 Indy 500 where he drove for Team Menard though he did try to qualify in the 1992 Indianapolis 500 for Concept Motorsports in an outdated Lola/Buick. In 1997 he drove a second car at the Indy 500 for Kelley Racing and would become a full-time fixture there until the 2001 season. He returned to Menard for a partial season in 2002. Dismore has a single IRL win coming in the fall 1999 Texas Motor Speedway race and also finished a career-best third in points that season. Among his 62 career IRL starts he won four poles. He also represented the IRL in the International Race of Champions in 2000 and 2001.
Johnny Unser is a former race car driver. He is the son of open wheel driver Jerry Unser Jr., cousin of Al Unser Jr. and Robby Unser, nephew of Al Unser and Bobby Unser, and first cousin once removed of Alfred Unser. Unser's father, Jerry, died in a racing accident when Unser was seven months old. He made 5 starts in CART in 1993 and 1994 with a best result of 15th. He joined the Indy Racing League in its inaugural 1996 season but had a transmission failure during the pace lap of what would've been his first Indianapolis 500 and was not credited with completing any laps. In 1997 he made his first start in the Indy 500 starting in the 35th position after League and Speedway owner Tony George added his and Lyn St. James' car to the field because slower cars than theirs were guaranteed starting positions because of prior races. He went on to finish 18th, his best "500" result in 5 starts. Unser drove the majority of his IRL races for Hemelgarn Racing and in his 14 career IRL starts he had a best finish of 9th in his very first series start in 1996 at Phoenix International Raceway. His last major open wheel race was the 2000 Indy 500.
Rocky Moran, Sr. is a retired American race car driver. Moran, Sr. started three Indianapolis 500-mile (800 km) races with a best finish of 14th in 1989.
Conor J. Daly is an American racing driver. He is best known for competing in the IndyCar Series, last driving the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing. He also competes occasionally in NASCAR, and has also raced in the GP2 Series, and Road to Indy.
Matthew A. Jaskol is an American professional auto racing driver and spotter who competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang for MBM Motorsports. He has competed in a variety of different racing disciplines including kart, open-wheel, and stock car racing. As a spotter, Jaskol won the 2016 Indianapolis 500 as the spotter for Alexander Rossi.