Jeff Green, 61, the owner of car dealerships in Illinois, died following a crash at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park northeast of Toronto, Ont., Canada.

Green, a skilled amateur racer, was competing in the F5000 Revival Series race when his car left the track at the high-speed corner 8 and struck a retaining wall.

At the time of the crash, he was driving a Lola T-300 F5000 car, a class popular in the 1970s and known as among the fastest open wheel road circuit cars of their time. Green had qualified on pole for the event and is believed to have been leading at the time of the crash.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Jeffrey Green,” said Myles Brandt, President and General Manager of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. “We offer our deepest condolences and prayers to his family, friends and fellow competitors.”

Green, 61, began his career in the auto business at 13, when he began detailing cars in Monmouth, Ill., eventually becoming an auto technician while there. He garnered a bachelor’s degree from Northwood University in Automotive Marketing and Business.

His family purchased its first Chevrolet dealership in Jacksonville, Illinois, and others followed. For almost 20 years, he managed the family’s Danville dealerships until moving to Peoria, where he purchased Chevrolet and Ford dealerships.