We are sad to inform our friends and customers that on Saturday, December 15^th we lost one of our own.  Patrick Guy Heywang, 33, was a passenger in a lethal car accident Sunday December 9^th 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 to his injuries.

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 friends.

A web page has been setup for visitors to sign a guestbook and see images of Pat.  Visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/patrickheywang for more information.

Pat's service will be held on Saturday December 22nd from 9:30am - 11:30am at the Forest Lawn Memorial in Davie, FL.