Rich Brenner, a sports anchor at WGHP for nearly 21 years, has passed away.

The Fox-affiliate reports that Brenner, who retired in 2008, died of a heart attack Monday. He was 65.

WGHP interrupted Fox’s live coverage of the Daytona 500 Monday night to announce Brenner’s passing. Sports anchor Kevin Connolly informed viewers that Brenner was attending “Salute to Heroes,” a local ceremony celebrating military and public service heroes, when he suffered a heart attack.

“It’s very ironic that we’re breaking into coverage the Daytona 500 to bring you this announcement, because Rich was one of the very first local sportscasters to really commit to NASCAR coverage. It was one of his real passions,” Connolly told viewers.

Here’s video of WGHP’s special report on Brenner’s death…