Richie Hearn
Hearn practicing for the2007 Indianapolis 500
Nationality	American
Born	(1971-01-04)January 4, 1971 (age 55) Glendale, California, U.S.
Indy Racing LeagueIndyCar 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
CARTChampionship Car
Years active	1996–1999
Teams	Della Penna Motorsports
Starts	59
Wins	0
Poles	0
Best finish	16th in1998
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 inGlendale, California. He ran in theToyota Atlantic championship for two seasons, winning the title in 1995. In 1996, he began driving for John Della Penna in both theIRL andChamp Car ranks. He won an IRL race at theLas Vegas Motor Speedway to cap off the year and was the highest finishing rookie at theIndianapolis 500, finishing 3rd.

Hearn moved full-time into Champ Car in 1997 for Della Penna with high-profile sponsorBudweiser but failed to post significant results and by 2000 was surplus for sponsored driverNorberto 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 theStar Mazda series. He planned to move the team intoToyota Atlantic competition in 2006. Hearn returned from retirement to qualify on Bump Day of the2007 Indianapolis 500 in a car jointly entered byRacing Professionals andHemelgarn Racing.

Hearn is currently a driving instructor at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch'sRon Fellows driving school.

Hearn's parents were also racecar drivers, racing in amateurSports 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 twenty, he owned seven International Karting Federation titles.^[4]

Hearn then attended theWinfield Racing School at thePaul Ricard circuit in southern France, whose alumni includedAlain 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 theFormula Renault circuit, which is several tiers below theFormula One class.^[5]

In 1995, Hearn won theToyota Atlantic championship.^[2]

In 1996, Hearn won a pole at New Hampshire, won a race at Las Vegas, finished third in hisIndianapolis 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 theCART FedEx Championship Series. That season, he had seventeen starts, but his best finish was ninth.^[2]

The following season, Hearn's 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, andNorberto Fontana replaced him.^[8]

In 2002, Hearn finished sixth in theIndianapolis 500, his best finish since his rookie season.^[6] In 2003, he was hired byMenard Racing, winning the pole for that year'sIndy 200.^[9]

In 2007, Hearn got a last-minute ride withJon Herb's backup car withHemelgarn/Racing Professionals, even though he hadn't raced since the2005 Indy 500. With it, he qualified 32nd for theIndianapolis 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, Hearn started a racing team. One of its drivers wasAlexander Rossi, who would go on to win the2016 Indy 500. However, the team became unsustainable during theGreat 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 atBobby 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'sRon 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 doesiRacing, 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 atCitrus 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)

• Richie Hearn career summary at DriverDB.com

• 1971 births
• Atlantic Championship drivers
• Champ Car drivers
• Indianapolis 500 drivers
• IndyCar Series drivers
• Living people
• Racing drivers from Glendale, California
• International Kart Federation drivers
• Arrow McLaren SP drivers
• A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from February 2024