Thirty-six-year-old Gary Terry of Davenport, Florida was killed on Sunday during a ride in a Lamborghini at Walt Disney World Speedway in Florida.
The driver, 24-year old Tavon Watson of Kissimmee, Florida, lost control of the car and crashed into a guardrail during a ride in the Exotic Driving Experience, which allows individuals to drive exotic cars on the former NASCAR racetrack. Watson was hospitalized with minor injuries. His passenger Gary Terry, a driving instructor and senior operations manager at the Speedway, died at the scene.
The Exotic Driving Experience is operated by Petty Holdings, which released this statement Sunday night:
On behalf of everyone in the organization, it is with a very heavy heart that we extend our deepest sympathies to those involved in today’s tragic accident in Orlando.
The company followed up with this statement Monday morning:
Yesterday we lost a longtime, valued team member of the Exotic Driving Experience family. Senior operations manager and professional driving instructor, Gary Terry, was fatally injured in an on-track incident at the Walt Disney World Speedway. Our thoughts and prayers are with Gary’s family and friends. He will be sorely missed.
Richard Petty Motorsports added later on Monday:
The entire Petty family, and everyone associated with Petty, is deeply addened by the passing of Gary Terry yesterday. Our prayers go out to his family and everyone affected by this tragedy. We are all thinking about the family and friends of Gary and all the employees of the Exotic Driving Experience.
The Richard Petty Driving Experience – which has been sold by Richard Petty since its inception – had formerly announced plans to leave Walt Disney World Speedway in the summer of 2015. The speedway will be closed Monday and Tuesday and it remains to be seen if this incident will impact the program’s closing date.
Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating the crash.
