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Updated at 1:10 p.m.

By MARK DeCOTIS
FLORIDA TODAY

An Apopka man celebrating his 60th birthday by driving a stock car in the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Daytona International Speedway was pronounced dead Sunday afternoon after his car hit the inside wall on the track’s backstretch.
The man has been identified as Robert Boswell. The speedway said the accident happened about 5 p.m. and Boswell was taken to Halifax Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
The death was the first in the Driving Experience’s presence at the speedway that began in 1998, speedway media relations director David Talley said.
There are no SAFER barriers on the backstretch wall at the speedway. The steel and foam barriers, designed to lessen the impact of crashes, are installed in the turns and the frontstretch trioval at the 2.5-mile speedway.
Boswell was driving a Chevy Monte Carlo-bodied stock car behind an instructor in another car on the fourth lap of an eight-lap driving program called Daytona High-Banks 8, said Chris McKee, the RPDE director of media relations. He estimated Boswell was traveling at an estimated 70 mph when the instructor noticed Boswell’s car driving in a “herky-jerky” motion,
“The first three laps everything seemed to be fairly normal,” said McKee, adding Boswell’s third lap was timed at a top speed of 125 mph.
“On lap four, he got down to turn one 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 it appears as though the participant had kind of slumped over the wheel and lost control of the car and slowed down off turn two” before hitting the inside wall.
McKee said Boswell was wearing a helmet, head and neck restraint and the standard five-point safety harness. The speedway impounded the car, Daytona Beach Police said. McKee said the Driving Experience will break the car apart to investigate for any possible malfunctions.
McKee said while it appears Boswell suffered a heart attack it was speculation at this point. There have been two other deaths in the 16-year history of the program founded by seven-time NASCAR champion and seven-time Daytona 500 winner Richard Petty and both were linked to heart attacks, McKee said.
The program was suspended for the day immediately following Boswell’s crash. It is scheduled to return to Daytona on Feb. 11 and 12. The program, which features both driving and ride-along programs, has a presence at 25 tracks nationwide including Homestead-Miami and the speedway at Walt Disney World.
McKee said participants sign a liability waiver before driving as well filling out a medical form that asks questions including if they have high blood pressure, are pregnant.
Daytona Beach Police spokesman Jimmie Flynt would not comment on the circumstances of the accident saying they were awaiting results of an autopsy scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Judging from that report it definately sounds like a heart attack. Guess we will have to wait for the official coroner's determination, but unless thier was some catastrophic failure of the safety equipment there is really no reason for anyone to die in a 70 mph crash in a NASCAR vehicle.

The erratic movements, and report the driver looked like he was slumped over the wheel tends to lead toward heart attack. Another possibility is that his body couldn't handle the G-forces of the speed and 38 degree banking and he passed out.

participant had kind of slumped

This doesn't sound right. The head is restrained back to the seat. Unless he detached his helmet from the restraints (which is a pain in a stopped car) I do not believe this piece of the story.