HEARN HAS IT BOTH WAYS : CANYON COUNTRY DRIVER IN MIDDLE OF INDYCAR FEUD.

Byline: Rochelle Kaplan Daily News Staff Writer

While players on both sides of the IndyCar war are busy dishing out propaganda, rookie IndyCar driver Richie Hearn is using it all to his advantage.

The Canyon Country resident - who has two IndyCar races under his belt coming into the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach this weekend - will be the only driver competing in both the new Indy Racing League as well as IndyCar this year.

Wanting to drive a limited season his first year, Hearn chose the cities in which he wanted to race before the IRL and CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) decided to part ways. With four of the cities eventually falling within the IRL schedule, Hearn decided it was best to race in both series.

``My sponsors had interests in markets like Phoenix, Long Beach, Laguna Seca and the Midwest, which includes Indy,'' said Hearn, the 1995 SCCA Player's/Toyota Atlantic champion and 1994 Rookie of the Year. ``So the split really didn't affect us.''

The split may actually benefit him because he will be the only driver competing in IndyCar to drive in the Indianapolis 500 - considered the premier race in IndyCar.

The feud between the IRL and CART became a war when the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - parent of the IRL - guaranteed 25 of 33 Indy 500 spots to IRL drivers. Infuriated by this, CART members - which include the best open-wheel racers in the world like Al Unser Jr., Michael Andretti and Bobby Rahal - retaliated by creating a rival race at the Penske-owned Michigan International Raceway. The U.S. 500 is scheduled on the same day (May 26) as the Indy 500.

``To get to Indy is everybody's dream,'' Hearn said. ``And just the fact it's come together, and I feel I earned my way up makes it fulfilling.''

Hearn's two-year association with team owner John Della Penna, a two-time Atlantic champion himself, has proved to be the stepping stone he needed to reach the big leagues. It was not just Hearn's talent that first attracted Della Penna, but his humility, too.

After winning a scholarship in 1991 at the prestigious Elf-Winfield school in Marseilles, France, which afforded him a year's worth of racing in Europe, Hearn returned to the States and volunteered his time with an amateur team. So impressed with his seriousness and driving ability, Della Penna took him under his wing.

Under Della Penna's guidance, Hearn won the Atlantic championship in '95, missing it by two points in '94. Della Penna - who also nurtured current PPG IndyCar points leader Jimmy Vasser through the Atlantic series - believes strongly that the Atlantic series is the best place for budding, talented drivers to get experience.

``With Atlantic, you can be inventive and really make a car better or faster than your competitors,'' Della Penna said.

Amid all the turmoil of the IndyCar split, Della Penna's three-year plan with Hearn is right on target. Looking at the positive side of the controversy, the team can get the best of both worlds, while driving a limited season.

``This is new to both of us and we didn't want to do too much too soon, ''said Hearn. ``We want to grow into the shoes we're going to fill one day.''

RICHIE HEARN Age: 25

Home: Canyon Country

IndyCar experience: Rookie

Player's/Toyota Atlantic championships: One

Career highlights: Winning the 1995 Player's/Toyota Atlantic championship. ``I wanted this so bad for myself and the team. This championship did a lot for my move into IndyCars.''

Race preparation: ``I always enter the car and exit the car on the left side. I've tried a bunch of different things, but I try to just be mellow. I never pre-plan a race, I just go out and do what the race dictates.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

Photo: Canyon Country's Richie Hearn will compete i n races sponsored by both rival IndyCar organizations this year.

(2) Richie Hearn

Special to the Daily News

Box: RICHIE HEARN (see text)