Richie Hearn
American racing driver / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Richie Hearn (born January 4, 1971) is an American former racing driver.
Richie Hearn | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Born | (1971-01-04) January 4, 1971 (age 53) Glendale, California, U.S. |
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 |
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.