The man has been identified as Robert Boswell of Apopka, Fla. The speedway said the accident happened about 5 p.m. and Boswell was taken to Halifax Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy showed Boswell died of a heart attack, said Dave Byron, spokesman for the Volusia County (Fla.) Medical Examiner's office.

The death was the first since the Driving Experience came to Daytona in 1998, speedway spokesman David Talley said.

According to Chris McKee, the event's director of media relations, 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. He estimated Boswell was traveling at about 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.

There are no steel and foam barriers on either backstretch wall at the speedway. The barriers, designed to lessen the impact of crashes, are installed in the turns and the frontstretch tri-oval at the 2.5-mile track.

McKee said Boswell was dressed in the usual safety gear, which includes a firesuit, 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 participants sign a liability waiver before driving and fill out a medical form that asks questions including whether they have high blood pressure or are pregnant.

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. Both were linked to heart attacks, McKee said.