Write a commentiHeart Oswego sat down for a brief interview with driver Brett Hearn shortly after he arrived in Oswego. According to DirtTrackDigest.com, Brett Hearn is one of the repeat winners who currently holds the most Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified wins in 2012, 1995, 1993, 1991, 1990 and 1985.
He is on the Madsen Motorsports team and his car, No. 20, is sponsored by Wentworth Custom Homes-Benjamin Moore Paints-Kruger-WLR Construction-BPG/TEO.
According to superdirtcarseries.com: “Collecting checkered flags at more than 30 tracks on the DIRTcar circuit, Hearns is one of just four drivers to surpass the century mark in DIRTcar feature wins at a single track. Hearn holds the standard at Orange County Fair Speedway (140 Big-Block) and has twice earned DIRTcar NE Driver of the Year accolades.”
IHO: What brings you and the Number 20 car to Oswego?
BH: “The new and revamped DIRT week. This is completely new for everybody. I haven’t been to Oswego since the early 90s when we ran what they called a dirt/asphalt race at the time. But my first trip to Super DIRT Week was in the 70s where I’ve got quite a history at Syracuse and with Super DIRT Week. But coming here to Oswego, where they’ve laid dirt down on this track, and bring all these people here... well it’s pretty different, it’s pretty exciting.”
IHO: What do you think this event will do for the city, since you’ve got the experience and we don’t?
BH: “Well, if it brings the type of business that it brought to Syracuse, it’s going to be booming for this area.”
IHO: What is the fan base for Dirt racing? How many people are you expecting?
BH: “They claim tens of thousands of people. I mean campers started moving in last night (Sunday) and they’ll be here through next Sunday night at least. The majority of people will start getting here on Tuesday and Wednesday and they will be here through the entire weekend.”
IHO: The RVs we saw lined up yesterday (on City Line Road). Are they drivers and their families?
BH: “They’re actually fans. Most of the campers I saw weren’t drivers.
When I started going to Super DIRT Week in the 70s, the majority of the ‘campers’ were tents or pop-up campers. I have an RV of my own to stay in. A couple of the guys always stay with the equipment, but I personally stay in my own RV.”
IHO: What do you think you’ll do between races, apart from checking the car?
BH: “Well, part of Super Dirt Week also includes what they call satellite races. So after we practice here on Wednesday, we have to take a trip down to Weedsport to run a race at night. Thursday we’ll go to Brewerton and run a race there that night.”
IHO: So you’re racing every day?
BH: “Racing every day, and sometimes day and night.”
IHO: Amazing. How much sleep a night do you get?
“Usually not enough. By the time we get done having a couple of beers, we’ll get maybe five hours sleep. It’s one of those weeks where you work hard to get thorough the week, and you know you’re not going to get a lot of rest. There’s going to be a lot of pressure to prepare and to perform for the coming weekend. That also means a lot of practice, a lot of adjustments to the car...so it’s a pretty hectic pace.”
IHO: I would imagine that driving a car on a dirt track is constant bumps. I mean it’s not smooth. That must take a lot out of you, physically.
BH: “It’s not much worse than some of the tough tracks we've run on, but I no longer feel it.”
IHO: We’ll stay in touch with you throughout the week to share your perspective with our readers on your experiences in and around Oswego.
BH: “It looks like it’s going to be a nice warm week...Just a great stretch of weather for this time of the year.”
