Richard Heistand / Orlando, FL / #39 JDC Motorsports / Masney Auto Transportation, Inc.

This will be Richard Heistand’s rookie season in the Star Mazda championship. He began his racing career in 2005 when he entered the Skip Barber National Championship -- and did so, remarkably, without any prior racing experience, karting or otherwise. In spite of this he achieved two top-5 finishes in his first season.  In his second season, 2006, he produced five podiums, one win, and one Pole in just eight events, racing against the likes of Alexander Rossi and others. That winter, he would be invited to test for A1GP Lebanon in England, before signing with Genoa Racing to contest what would arguably become the most competitive year in American open-wheel ladder series history, the 2007 Atlantic Championship. Despite the huge step and only one day of preseason testing out of 12 allotted, Heistand would outpace teammate Dane Cameron (the 2007 Star Mazda champion) on multiple occasions. Now, after 3 years away from racing, he returns, to fight for the 2011 Star Mazda Championship and earn himself a place on the Mazda Road to Indy.  He was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania on July 14, 1983, and currently lives in Orlando, Florida.