RPW Exclusive: There Was A Good Reason Brett Hearn Was In A Kenny Tremont Car Saturday At The Valley

Column By: DYLAN FRIEBEL / RPW – WEST LEBANON, NY – You would have thought the world was possibly ending Saturday night at Lebanon Valley Speedway. Allow me to explain.

Something happened that left many scratching their heads. Yes, it was a normal evening of racing at the Valley of Speed. It was championship night for the Modifieds, but there was more than just one narrative, even as two heavyweights, Brett Hearn and Ronnie Johnson, squared off.

An invader entered the mix with Peter Britten in attendance, and Keith Flach made a last corner, last lap pass of Eddie Marshall to grab a popular win. All of these were storylines that inevitably caught my eye.

As Britten’s 21A made its way through the pits to go out for hot laps, my eyes perked up. Seeing that car driving through the pits wasn’t the only thing that grabbed my attention, and it wasn’t just me who that noticed.

Several of my colleagues at Race Pro Weekly said, “Did someone say Brett Hearn’s driving Kenny Tremont’s car?”

As we looked over to the Tremont stable, from where we were standing, it was a straight shot. You saw multiple cars carrying the iconic 115. You had Ken’s Small Block sitting there, as it should since they already took hot laps, but you also saw new Bicknell Big Block that he’s been running at the Valley since July.

I didn’t think anything of it, so I went about my night as I had planned.

As hot laps were completed, I went to find Peter Britten to interview him for RPW. While waiting for him, one lonely car, the 115 came onto track. It didn’t look out of the ordinary, other than being the only car on track. The car took a few laps and pulled in.

As I completed my interview, I started back to talk with my editor who was at the track and he told me something that really made me thought he was telling a joke.

“Go look.” he said. “Brett Hearn’s getting out of a Kenny Tremont car.”

Then it clicked. Could it be? Was that Brett out there in the 115? Were the two ‘rivals’ working together?

What I then found out was that there was a brand-new 525ci. motor in the third 115 car, built by head tech inspector at the track Mike Petrucci. Many of you who follow RPW may know that name as one of our great photographers. Well, this is his father, and he’s one of the best motor men around.

As I approached Kenny’s pit, I noticed the back panels were being removed and it looked like everything had an oily sheen to them.

“We wanted to try out this new motor,” Tremont told me. “I took it out for a few laps and it’s not bad. This isn’t a full-blown high-dollar Big Block. We are looking into making a motor for the Sportsman and 358 guys to move up with…see if there’s a cheaper alternative to an all-out Big Block. We want to encourage some of these guys to move up and not break the bank.”

How did the initial test go?

“We’re happy with it,” he said. “Mike (Petrucci) built it along with some help from Carlquist Competition Engines. It’s an aluminum block engine and there’s a learning curve with that. We are running a little bit on the conservative side with some oil pressure issues so we hope to get them squared away sp we can test it again.”

But still, was the world coming to an end? A few years back, the Tremont family worked with the Corellis family to help then driver, Donnie Corellis, get a Troyer 4-link to work. That was a car Kenny made famous.

If the Tremont’s and Corellis’ can work together, why not Kenny and Brett?

It wasn’t just those in the pits who noticed Hearn getting into and out of a 115 car last Saturday night. Many fans did as well, but due to the oil issue, Hearn never got to turn a lap. Kenny said there was a good reason for having him in the car.

“We wanted an honest opinion,” he said. “Brett has a lot of experience and we wanted him to run it and give some feedback. Once we get all the issues squared away, We want him to take it out.”

He never got the chance though.

I stood there and asked myself why a guy like Kenny Tremont, a recent inductee to the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame, cares so much about the future of racing at Lebanon Valley. He still has a lot left in the tank, proving that every week, no matter where he races. He’s won in everything he’s raced this season at his three weekly tracks. However, father time has never lost. The simple fact that he’s taking that much interest into what the future holds is something we all should be taking notice of.

It’s something every driver should have in the back of their head. What can we do to make this sport more sustainable, 10, 15, 20 or even 50 years from now when no longer behind the wheel?

It’s been documented so much recently about the rising cost of running a Big Block Modified without, in many cases, the increase in purses to match. It’s more of a losing proposition…something racers do for the love of the sport. It’s refreshing to see veterans like Kenny and Mike take up the issue for the future of this sport that we all love.

This is something all us…racers, fans, builders, tracks and the like…should take a moment to think about.