Race broadcaster Gary Lee passes at 63

Gary Lee interviews a young Jeff Gordon for ESPN. (Indianapolis Star file photo)

Veteran motorsports broadcaster Gary Lee was found dead in his Indianapolis home today, likely the result of a heart attack, friends confirmed to The Indianapolis Star. He was 63.

Lee, along with Larry Nuber and former racer Larry Rice, helped launch ESPN's earliest racing coverage, including the "Thunder" short-track series of the 1980s and early 1990s.

"Larry and Gary were 'Thunder,'" fellow former ESPN broadcaster Bob Jenkins told the Star. "They got along so well."

Lee also worked on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network through the 1990s and owned Indiana's Whiteland Raceway Park short track for a time.