Heart Attack Kills Driver During Petty Driving Experience

A man celebrating his 60th birthday died of a heart attack while driving at the Daytona International Speedway on Sunday.

Robert Boswell, of Apopka, Fla., was driving a stock car in the Richard Petty Driving Experience when he reportedly crashed into the inside wall on the Daytona backstretch.

Boswell's death was the first at the track under the Driving Experience program, according to speedway spokesman David Talley.

Driving Experience media relations spokesman Chris McKee told FloridaToday.com Boswell was driving about 70 mph behind an instructor when the instructor noticed Boswell driving erratically. Boswell had completed half of an eight-lap program.

McKee told FloridaToday.com Boswell's first three laps appeared to be normal, with his third lap timed at 125 mph.

"On Lap 4, he got down to Turn 1 and started driving sort of some jerky motions at the wheel. The instructor in front of him noticed he was having a problem, looked, and appears as though the participant had kind of slumped over the wheel and lost control of the car and slowed down off Turn 2" before hitting the inside wall, McKee told FloridaToday.com.

This is the third death linked to the Richard Petty Driving Experience. All three have been linked to heart attacks. Before drivers can get in the stock cars, they must fill out medical forms and liability waivers.

McKee said the Driving Experience engineers will closely examine the car for possible mechanical problems.

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Speedway Death due to Prior Medical Condition
The cause of death for a 60-year-old Apopka Florida man who died while participating in a NASCAR hands on racing school for amateurs at Daytona International Speedway was due to a medical condition and not the ensuing accident according to police.

The Richard Petty Driving Experience says Robert Boswell had completed his fourth lap at 125 MPH. Boswell had slowed down to about 70 miles per hour going into turn two when he began driving erratically. A instructor reported seeing Boswell slumped over moments before he crashed the car into a concrete retaining wall Sunday. He was pronounced dead at Halifax Memorial Hospital.

Monday afternoon the Daytona Beach police department said that an autopsy performed on the victim showed that he died of a medical condition not related to the accident. They added that they have closed their investigation. RPDE's spokesperson Chris McKee says Boswell had a heart attack.

Class participants are required to fill out paperwork that asks about any pre-existing health conditions and medications a person takes. The spokesperson told FOX 35 they have turned applicants down. He also said nothing on Boswell's paperwork raised a red flag.

A family friend who answered the phone at Boswells home this afternoon told FOX 35 Boswell had received the RPDE as a gift. And, that Boswell's son took the class with him Sunday.

Speedway officials said this was the first Richard Petty Driving Experience death at Daytona. Participants pay from $135 to more than $2,000 to ride or drive a NASCAR-type car.