We are sad to inform our friends and customers that on Saturday,
December 15th we lost one of our own. Patrick Guy Heywang, 33, was a
passenger in a lethal car accident Sunday December 9th which resulted in
the death of another driver and left Pat clinging to life and on life
We are sad to inform our friends and customers that on Saturday,
December 15th we lost one of our own. Patrick Guy Heywang, 33, was a
passenger in a lethal car accident Sunday December 9th which resulted in
the death of another driver and left Pat clinging to life and on life
support. Pat underwent several surgeries during the past week and
remained on life support until Saturday night when he finally succumbed
We considered Pat a family member rather than a 15 year employee at
Wilson Manifolds. His dedication, work ethic and input have been
instrumental to the success Wilson Manifolds has experienced since he
joined the company. Although Pat's primary function was in the porting
room, his contributions were felt in every service we offer. Keith often
had Pat work on special projects because he knew Pat wouldn't sign off
on a project that was anything less than the best in quality and
performance. Pat's input was invaluable in our New Product Development
Engineering meetings including our nitrous products.
Pat was one of our top airflow engineers and he played a large part in
the manifold development for manufacturers and teams in all forms of
professional motorsports. (John Force Racing, Kalitta Racing, Dodge and
Toyota just to name a few of them) Keith often chose Pat to travel with
him to the Talladega test sessions with Joe Gibbs Racing to help with
their restrictor plate program, to Mooresville to assist with the Ken
Black Racing Team of Greg Anderson and Jason Line, and other private
test sessions. In addition to the high profile teams Pat often worked
with, he always enjoyed working with the weekend racers.
Pat worked as a crew chief on Brandon Switzer's Pro 5.0 car and worked
with Rob Mansfield when Rob ran his Quick 8 program prior to heading to
Pro Stock. The highlight of Pat's crewing experience came in July 2006
when he was part of the crew helping Rob Mansfield achieve his first
career IHRA Pro Stock win at the Canadian Nationals in Toronto.
Pat will be missed for many reasons, but none more than for just being
the man he was. Pat was a loving son, brother and uncle and a great
friend. Although his life ended far too soon, we are grateful to have
had the time with him that we did.
Pat is survived by his loving parents Charlie & Amy Heywang, brother
Chris Heywang, sister-in-law Jessica Heywang, nephews Kyle & Ryan, niece
Jenna, his 20 extended brothers at Wilson Manifolds and a multitude of
A web page has been setup for visitors to sign a guestbook and see
Pat's service will be held on Saturday December 22nd from 9:30am --
11:30m at the Forest Lawn Memorial in Davie, FL. After the services,
there will be a "celebration of life" for Patrick held at Signature
Grand from 1pm -- 4pm. For directions please visit