Atlantic driver hurt in IPS car
07/06/07 Richard Heistand brought out an early end to the Pro Series practice session when he went off at Turn 8 and hit the tire barrier head on. From replays, it looked as though perhaps Heistand's throttle had stuck, as his rear wheels were under power during the entire accident. It was also reported that he had driven all 4 wheels over the curb at Turn 1 earlier on that lap, and that the Pro Series officials had wanted to check the car out.
Taking a look at the car after the incident confirms what was seen in the replays. Heistand's car seemed to kind of skip across the gravel trap before he made very hard contact with the tire barrier and the armco behind it. The front of the tub was intact as the crushing was mostly taken up by the bolt-on nose cone. The tub itself appeared to be intact and was not damaged except for maybe the pick up points for the suspension. Both the left and right side suspension parts were folded back considerably. The car was being examined in the garage area by IRL officials, as well as the crew led by Tim Whiting.
Heistand was taken out of the car on a stretcher, and it has since been reported that he is awake and alert and is being transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. Since Heistand's car had broken the armco on impact, the session was flagged to conclusion so it could be fixed. No driver managed more than 6 laps in the 11 minutes the session was green.