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Question:
How are you feeling today, is it kind of a relaxed day of casual racing for a
change?
Richie Hearn:
It's a lot of fun. This really goes back to my roots. I've spent a lot of
time in my life racing carts, and I really feel close to it, so anytime I can
get a chance like this and see a lot of old friends and race, it's a lot of
fun, it's like a vacation for me.
Question:
When was the last time you drove a Kart?
Richie Hearn:
I did a celebrity race like this right after Christmas.
Question:
Do you remember how you placed?
Richie Hearn:
I won that race. It was a good race for me. Alex Barron was there and I beat
him. It was on the cover of Kart News, so it was kind of cool. That was just
for fun.
Question:
Are these Karts identically prepared, you can't make any adjustments?
Richie Hearn:
I think that's how it's set up. We're just going to give it an eight-minute
practice session and then go right into the race. There's really not any
time to tune anything. It wouldn't be fair to do that anyway, because there
are some people like myself who have a lot experience, and there's other
drivers who don't, so I'd be able to have an advantage for sure.
Question:
Are you on the lookout for some good drivers when you're down here, some
youngster who might be your competition some day?
Richie Hearn:
Hopefully not, hopefully I'll be retired by then. [Laughs] I know there's a
lot of good drivers that are racing Karts now that are just starting to get
into cars. They are the future. Coming from go-carts here, you're going to
see that if you didn't start young, you're not going to make it, that's just
the way the sport's growing.
Question:
How old were you when you first got in a Kart?
Richie Hearn:
I started when I was seven, started racing when I was eight. I raced nonstop
since I was eighteen. I really haven't done much Karting since then,
sporadically here and there. Racing Champcars takes up most of my time.
Question:
Was it obvious to people that you were faster than the other seven and eight
year-olds?
Richie Hearn:
I don't know. I started when I was seven and my dad made me practice for a
year so I was fast enough to at least not get lapped and be in the way. I
spend a lot of time practicing. When I first started racing when I was eight
I was actually quite ready to run. I raced a lot of good guys, Alex Barron
and I started on the exact same go-cart race, it was both of our first career
race. I raced against Bryan Herta in Karts, and PJ Jones, and a lot of
people who are moving up now.
Question:
Did some of these guys have the same on-track persona and habits then when
you were racing them in Karts?
Richie Hearn:
A little bit yeah. I'm sure people say the same thing about me. Everybody
has certain driving traits that I don't think you can get away from.
Question:
What would people say about yours?
Richie Hearn:
[Laughs] I don't really know, I've never asked anybody. I guess I'm pretty
aggressive in the race. I give people respect out there on the track, and
hopefully they feel the same way. I'm just always looking for a good race,
whether it's for first, or for tenth, or whatever, I just like the
competition of the whole thing.
Question:
Are you a super-competitive person?
Richie Hearn:
Yeah, I'm motivated to win in anything I do. I could be playing pool with my
friends, or driving go-carts, playing cards... Anything I do I'm very very
competitive. Even when I play golf, I really don't even like to play unless
there's some sort of money or game on the line. I don't really get much out
of just beating the track, I get more out of beating the human element.
Question:
Are you a good loser, or a sore loser?
Richie Hearn:
I'm actually a very bad loser, and I'm an even worse winner. I like to rub
it in after I win with my friends. I think I do that to help motivate them,
because they get so pissed off if I win and rub it in their face, they want
to come back and try to beat me. It raises everybody's level. I've always
been like that. Sometimes it's good, sometimes maybe I go a bit too far, but
I'm not very graceful either way.
Question:
Are you especially motivated to beat Robby Gordon today?
Richie Hearn:
I'm motivated to beat everybody, but definitely any of the CART drivers I
want to beat.
Question:
So maybe we'll see some wheel to wheel action?
Richie Hearn:
I'm sure you'll see some of that. You'll see some tire marks on these Karts
when they come back, I think.
Question:
So what did you bring here, what do you need when just show up to a race?
Richie Hearn:
I just brought my helmet and my suit,. That's it, that's all I got.
Question:
Is it the same helmet that you use in your Champcar?
Richie Hearn:
Yeah, I've got the same suit, same helmet, same shoes, same gloves.
Fortunately my stuff's from last year, because I forgot to bring the new
stuff from the team truck. It's all the same stuff I wore last year.
Question:
How many helmets do you go through a season?
Richie Hearn:
I go through between seven and ten per year. They get beat up pretty bad.
You go to a place like Rio or Michigan, one time and they're trashed. You go
through quite a few of them.
Question:
Do you have somebody custom paint them for you?
Richie Hearn:
Yeah, I have Bulls Eye paint them. They're in Indiana. They did Zanardi's
helmet last year, they do Adrian's helmet. I've been with them for six years
now - they do a good job.
Question:
What were your favorite races in this year's Champcar season so far, where
you felt like you could get involved in the thick of the competition?
Richie Hearn:
I'd say we had a pretty good race going in Toronto until I had a little bit
of contact with Cristiano. I had a really good race going at Michigan and
had some electrical problems. We've had some sporadically good races, had a
good race at Motegi, but it's been kind of dry. The results haven't been
there. We've made a lot of changes this year, from the Swift to the Reynard,
and the Toyota and all that stuff. I think it was maybe a little too much
[change] for us to have that competitive of a year. We're going to keep
everything for next year and it's going to be a real good thing for us.
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Question: What happened to you there Richie, you were going to
give me a victory speech?
Richie Hearn:
Yeah Yeah, I was working on it. But I just got a little loose there in turn
one racing with Sean there, I wasn't going to lift, that's for sure, I never
lifted for the corner. Maybe I should have, but, there's a little pride
involved. It was all or nothing for me. I didn't care if I crashed I just
didn't want to get beat.
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Question:
Is there a possibility you guys might have a two-car effort next year?
Richie Hearn:
I've heard that from other people, but I really haven't heard anything from
John [Della Penna] about that. I think there are good things and bad things
about having a two-car operation, if you can do it without taking away
anything from the first-car team, sure why not. But I've only heard it from
rumors, I haven't heard it from the boss himself.
Question:
Are you and John Della Penna very close, are you mutually supportive?
Richie Hearn:
Oh yeah, we've been together for six years now. We're in this together, you
win together and you lose together. There's no blame or anything, you just
keep your nose down and keep trying.
Question:
Which of the remaining five races do think the equipment that you have is
going to give you the best shot?
Richie Hearn:
Probably Fontana. We started third last year, and were running fourth until
an overheating problem at the end caused us to finish eighth. I like the
500-mile races at superspeedways a lot, I like the strategy involved and the
planning. I'm looking forward to that race, plus it's a million dollars to
win it, so if you're going to win one that's the one you want to win.
Question:
Is there any extra fear at that high speed?
Richie Hearn:
Oh of course. You do not want to crash at those speeds, it is not a very
happy thing to do.
Question:
Do you feel much fear in the whole thing, do you just put it out of your
mind, does it crop up at unexpected times?
Richie Hearn:
Sometimes -- You could be going along and something breaks, sometimes it's
just out of your control. It's playing in the back of your mind, especially
if it's happened to you, which it has. I had a testing accident at Homestead
right after spring Training. The engine blew, I hit the wall, had to spend
the night in the hospital with a concussion. There was nothing that I could
do about it. You do kind of think about it [the fear] it's not something you
want to always think about, but it's there.
Question:
Do you ever get bruised or banged up just by racing the car?
Richie Hearn:
Oh yeah, definitely. After Mid-Ohio I was pretty sore, my shoulders were
really sore. You get bruised from the seatbelts, from the stopping and the
left and right turns. It just depends on the track, but you do get beat up a
little bit.
Question:
Do you have moments of pure joy in the car, where you still remember how much
fun it is to be driving one of the fastest race cars in the world, or is
there too much pressure to have that happen?
Richie Hearn:
It's not too much pressure, but you have your bad days and your good days.
Unfortunately for us, it's been pretty dry like I said. The last couple of
years have been real tough. We still have our good moments. Last year at
Michigan, I led the race, and finished fifth, had a chance to win. Those type
of moments you carry with you for a long time. I definitely have had some
good drives this year, maybe the results weren't there, but stuff that I've
enjoyed, and that's what keeps you going.
Question:
How did you feel about watching Juan Montoya, what does it make you feel like
to see a 23 year old rookie come in and be that good?
Richie Hearn:
It doesn't please anybody, that's for sure. We're all busting our balls out
there and he comes in with a really good ride and has great success right
away. You can't take anything away from him, he's doing a great job, he
hasn't made any big mistakes. He's definitely got a lot of talent, you can't
fault him for that.
Question:
Do you think it's going to be a similar situation like when Tiger Woods came
into golf? At first his drive was so long people were worried they couldn't
compete, but then some of the key players raised their level to match him?
Richie Hearn:
Definitely you rise to the level of your competition. If there really wasn't
anyone good out there, no one would be that good. That's what keeps you
pushing, is to beat that one guy. The better he is, the better it makes
everybody else.
Question:
Who's the toughest person to pass?
Richie Hearn:
I'd say there's a few guys out there. Robbie's pretty tough to pass, and
Paul's pretty tough to pass, and Mark Blundell is pretty tough. There's some
guys who are tougher than others, and it just depends on how their day is
going and what position you're fighting for, really.
Question:
Is there anybody who intimidates you when they appear in your mirrors?
Richie Hearn:
Not really, not anymore. When I first started in CART, I used to get a
little intimidated by people like Michael and Al, people you'd been watching
your whole life. But now you feel like you have to get over that. You have
to feel like you're one of them. You pass them once or twice and you feel
like you can race with them. I give them all respect and try to get the same
out of them.
Question:
Do hang out with any of the other drivers?
Richie Hearn:
I think everybody keeps to themselves a little bit. There's some drivers that
hang out with each other quite a bit. There's a couple of people that I'm
pretty good friends with. I'd say I'm pretty good friends with Jimmy and PJ,
there's some other guys that I talk to quite a bit. But really I kind of do
my own thing outside the track. You know when I'm hanging out with those guy
I really try not to talk about racing anyway, because it's our job, and it's
nice to do other things. I play golf with Jimmy and talk about other stuff.
There's other things besides racing in life, and I try to enjoy it all.
Question:
Who wins those golf matches between you and Jimmy?
Richie Hearn:
Jimmy's pretty good. He and I are actually pretty even. He lives on a
course so he plays quite a bit. We both can play about the same, it just
depends on how the day is going for you.
Question:
What did you feel like when you picked up that banner at Long Beach?
Richie Hearn:
It wasn't one of my best moments, but it got me a lot of press, that's for
sure. Fortunately nothing really bad happened out of it. It was kind of a
goofy thing, especially since it was a Toyota banner that I picked up.
Question:
We thought it was one of the great finesse driving moments of the year, just
wiping that banner off your helmet.
Richie Hearn:
I couldn't see anything. I was completely blinded. I think I was lucky just
to make it around the track without hitting anything.
Question:
What goes on when you're driving in the rain, are you getting wet and is
there water leaking inside the helmet?
Richie Hearn:
Not inside the helmet, but it depends on how much rain. At Cleveland this
year it rained pretty hard. The water was actually coming in through the
lower wishbones on the front and getting my feet wet.
Question:
Was there a bilge building up in the footbox?
Richie Hearn:
Yeah, I wish I had a bilge pump. You almost needed a rudder to get around
that track. It just depends on how hard it's raining and how slow you are
going. If you're going on the pace laps, yeah you're going to get wet, but
at speed you don't get wet.
Question:
Because of the airflow?
Richie Hearn:
Yeah, it just goes right over you.
Question:
When you're on a pace lap, is your steering wheel getting wet?
Richie Hearn:
Yeah, your hands are soaked and you're steering wheel is getting wet and
everything.
Question:
What's it like looking through that visor with all the moisture on it?
Richie Hearn:
If you want to find out, drive around without your windshield wipers on
behind a big semi in a rainstorm, and you'll know what it's like. It's
actually been bad enough at Portland last year and Cleveland this year where
I couldn't even see my dash. I was just kind of going by memory on how the
track was. It's not the safest thing you can do, but it's what we get paid
to do, and you just have to keep on pushing and it all works out. I like
driving in the rain, but racing in the rain stinks because you just can't
see, the visibility is just not very cool. Every time it rains, I have good
races, I finish in the points and everything. It's not something that I
always pray for.
Question:
Do you feel like a celebrity, are there places you go where you're treated
like one?
Richie Hearn:
I don't know, sometimes, not really. To tell you the truth, I really would
never want to get to that point where people recognize me. You gotta have
some privacy in your life. I really don't envy rock stars or hollywood types
that get recognized everywhere they go. The only time I really ever get
recognized is when I go to the go-cart tracks, because I did it for so long.
These people are involved in racing, they see me around. I would never want
to be recognized anywhere, it would be a real pain in the ass.
Question:
Except for the beautiful women, I guess?
Richie Hearn:
I'm getting married, so that doesn't play in my park. We're getting married
November 20th this year, right after Hawaii.
Question:
Is everybody going to attend, even the drivers that aren't entered into it?
Richie Hearn:
I don't think so. I'm not going to go if I don't get entered. Before that I
probably would have been gone 200 days out of the year, so it's nice to be
home, and there's no reason to go there and watch another race.
Question:
Maybe I can catch up with you for a minute after the celebrity race and you
can give me your post-mortem on your effort this afternoon.
Richie Hearn:
Victory Speech! [Laughs]
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