Curt Cavin

curt.cavin@indystar.com

Longtime motor sports broadcaster Gary Lee, 63, was found dead in his Indianapolis home today, likely the result of a heart attack, friends confirmed.

Lee, who lived on the city's Eastside near Shadeland Avenue, was synonymous with ESPN's earliest televised events. He teamed with former driver Larry Rice to broadcast the "Thunder" short-track series that featured drivers such as a young Jeff Gordon at what was then Indianapolis Raceway Park in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

"Larry and Gary were 'Thunder,'" said fellow broadcaster Bob Jenkins, who helped start the weekly traveling motor sports show along with Larry Nuber. "They got along so well."

"They were like brothers," said veteran broadcaster Howdy Bell, who met Lee as an 18-year-old broadcasting hopeful.

Born Gary Hill, Lee attended Thomas Carr Howe High School in Indianapolis and Vincennes University. He also worked at WTTV-4.

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