It was a confidence that many couldn’t handle – a confidence that led to jealousy and resentment from rival teams during Hearn’s climb.
But he had the talent – they grudgingly gave him that – and players like Hall of Fame driver Budd Olsen took notice. Hearn was working at Olsen’s South Jersey speed shop — until Budd reckoned Brett would do the business more good racing out on the road than mooning around the shop.
Budd and Doug Olsen provided the cars and parts; Hearn provided the engines. And they sent him out on tour to compete with the Super DIRT Series.
“That was what got me to the point where I could run professionally; it was with their support,” a grateful Hearn said of the Olsens. “And it just kept getting better and better as the years clicked off.”
His first major road victory came in 1981 at Lebanon Valley Speedway, a 100-lapper in July. He followed that up by winning the Lebanon Valley 200 in September, and his second Eastern States 200 at his home track the next month. Hearn was 23 years old.
Out on tour, competing against the circuit’s toughest scrappers, Hearn and team drew attention with their spit-polished image, impressive early career stats, top-notch equipment – and that mistaken attitude.
“Being from New Jersey, I always felt a little bit of an outsider,” Hearn said of the New York-based series. “We just did our own thing and tried to be the best we could. Nobody could believe we weren’t cheating. We were making a lot of ground-breaking changes so we focused on that.”
Hearn has run corporate colors for Pepsi, Auto Palace, Budweiser and others over the years, and driven for some top car owners: Bob Hummer, Guy and Brian Madsen, John Majka, Pete Chesson, Vinny Salerno, Jody Gable, Hastings & Knoth, Glenn Hyneman – and, of course, there was his 1989-91 stint with Ray Bramall’s Freightliner Trucks of Newburgh team.
In the course of three seasons, Hearn and Bramall racked up 99 wins, three SDS Mod titles, the overall Mr. DIRT Modified crown, two DIRT Asphalt Series championships, three Modified and three small-block titles at Orange County, a modified championship at Rolling Wheels, and two consecutive Super DIRT Week big-block victories.
“Those were probably my most productive years but my three most agonizing,” Hearn admitted. “We won everything in sight, yet I didn’t feel good about it. The team jelled and the equipment was top-notch and always on the money. But there were so many other things that made me want to go back and run my own deal.”
In an earlier departure from Northeast modifieds, Hearn took a stab at NASCAR’s Busch Series in 1985 and ’86. With help from the Olsens and others, he managed a best run of 10th at Dover Int’l Speedway. But like many other talents before him, he found NASCAR a bottomless money pit. And when you’re hot on the dirt short tracks, it doesn’t make economic sense to pursue it.
“When he went down to North Carolina to race there was no doubt in my mind that he had the credibility, the personality, the looks and the talent to become a Cup star,” said Balough, who also took a swing at the big time, and conferred with Hearn about the opportunity at the time.
But it wasn’t in the cards.
“I would have liked to have stayed in NASCAR but it’s not a regret in my career,” reflected Hearn, who says the knowledge and work ethic he gained propelled him to even greater success in the Mods. “That experience allowed me to come back and build cars with the Freightliner team that were really light years ahead of everybody else.”
On familiar turf, and calling his own shots, Hearn changed it up in 1996, leaving his long-time home track of Orange County for an off-and-on stint at Lebanon Valley, before returning to OCFS in 2019.
“We raced at the Valley for 16 full seasons and won 13 championships,” said Hearn. “That was fun for us, but it was also nice to return to Middletown for the end stage of my career.”
Dickie Larkin, one of the Valley’s winningest drivers, is happy Hearn wasn’t a career regular.
“We weren’t friends because Brett didn’t really make friends with people – he was all business,” said Larkin, who was Lebanon Valley’s modified champion in 1990 and ’94.
“I’m just so thankful he spent his first 15 to 20 years at Middletown, not Lebanon Valley, because all of our records and trophy cases would look a little different. We didn’t even have him in the prime of his career and look what he did at LV! By the time we got him, he was in his 40s and 50s.
“He just set a whole different standard for Lebanon Valley,” Larkin concluded. “I sure respect what he’s accomplished. . . Brett Hearn was one of the best there ever was, if not the best.”
Hearn’s upcoming Hall of Fame induction will not find him hanging up his helmet. He plans to drive select shows for the Madsen team this season while also focusing on his new role as Orange County’s Director of Motorsports.
“I’m really excited about the next chapter,” said Hearn, who has promoted the successful “Big Show” annually at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. He’s nervous yet excited about steering the ship for Chris Larsen at OCFS. “If I was getting ready for a big race, I would wake up in the middle of the night with my mind racing, get up and make notes so I didn’t forget anything by morning. I’m finding myself doing that again about the track, so I know I’m in a good place.”
Hearn looks forward to celebrating his career milestone Hall of Fame honors with family and friends in July.
“My career has been such a family thing — my brother [Bobby] is a well-known chassis builder, my nephew [Matt] is a crew chief, my sister [Bonnie] and my parents [Gordon and Kay] have gone to the races my entire career,” said Hearn. “How lucky am I that 40 years later they are still chasing me around in a motorhome?”