Richie Hearn

Richard Edward Hearn (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 sixth 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.

Early life 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. His father owned a go-kart shop. When he was nine years old, he began racing go-karts. By the time he was twenty, he owned seven International Karting Federation titles.

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.

Professional career

Toyota Atlantic In 1995, Hearn won the Toyota Atlantic championship.

CART Championship Car In 1997, Hearn and team owner John Della Penna moved full-time to the CART FedEx Championship Series. That season, he had seventeen starts, but his best finish was ninth.

Hearn did not return for the 2000 season, as he didn't have a sponsor, and Norberto Fontana replaced him.

Return to Indy Racing In 2002, Hearn finished sixth in the Indianapolis 500, his best finish since his rookie season.

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. That would be the final Indianapolis 500 he competed in. From 2016 to 2017, he competed in the “Indy Legends” Charity Pro-Am. In his free time, he does iRacing, a virtual reality racing video game

Hearn attended college classes at Citrus College. 1997 Della Penna Motorsports Lola T97/00 Ford XD V8t

1998 Della Penna Motorsports Swift 009.c Ford XD V8t

Swift 010.c

Reynard 99i

IndyCar Series

Indianapolis 500 Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team 1996 Reynard Ford-Cosworth 15th 3rd Della Penna 2000 Dallara Oldsmobile 23rd 27th Pagan 2001DallaraOldsmobile 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