Hearn Hits Milestone; 800 DIRTcar Wins
WEEDSPORT, N.Y.—August 11, 2011—The career of Brett Hearn is one that may never be recreated. The legendary driver has more Super DIRTcar Big-Block Series victories and championships than any other driver, has five Super DIRT Week big-block victories, fifty career track and series championships, and with a pair of wins last night at Fonda Speedway, now has an astonishing 800 career victories.
Hearn collected $9,000 for his pair of wins at Fonda Speedway. In the first feature event, Hearn made a late race pass on veteran Alton Palmer and was able to cross the line just a few feet in front of Palmer. Hearn took the lead much earlier in the second feature event, but had to hold off a hard-charging Matt DeLorenzo for the milestone victory.
The pressure of the added media attention as Hearn approached his impeccable 800th win didn’t faze the Sussex, N.J. driver, “I kind of know what (Derek) Jeter was going through getting his 3,000th hit. We’ve been running real good we just couldn’t quite seal the deal,” explained a jovial Hearn from victory lane.
What does 800 DIRTcar wins mean to Hearn? “It means that we’re still relevant after 35 years of doing this,” explained Hearn to Race Pro Weekly’s Mimi Lazzaro. “We’ve still got a great race team after all these years and we’re still here to win races.”
However, Hearn is not one to reminisce over his accomplishments. “I’m a person who really prefers to look forward. When the day comes that I hang up my helmet, I’ll go back and look at it and I’ll enjoy thinking about it, but right now every day it’s about going forward, about what’s going to happen next.”
Hearn looks to continue his historic season as he looks to capture championships at his home tracks Accord Speedway and Lebanon Valley Speedway, where he currently leads points.
Hearn also hopes to continue his momentum into the higher profile events at the end of the season, starting with the Mr. DIRT Track USA race at Lebanon Valley Speedway continuing onto Super DIRT Week XL at the New York State Fairgrounds October 5th-9th, and concluding at the World Finals at the Dirt Track at Charlotte in November.
For interview requests or further information on Brett Hearn or DIRTcar racing, please contact Jeff Hachmann at JHachmann@dirtcar.com or call DIRTcar Northeast offices at 315-834-6606.