Napa Man, 75, Dead In Sonoma Raceway Drag-Racing Crash

SONOMA, CA — UPDATED: A Napa man who died while drag racing Wednesday night at Sonoma Raceway was publicly identified by the Sonoma County Sheriff-Coroner's Office Thursday morning as 75-year-old James Kenneth Rambo. Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum said deputies responded to the scene to investigate Rambo's death, which occurred at about 6 p.m. at the raceway located at 29355 Arnold Drive in Sonoma.

"Rambo had been drag racing his 1976 customized Ford Pinto in an organized contest," Crum said. "At the conclusion of the drag race, after he crossed the finish line, it appears he braked but his vehicle pulled to the left and he hit a k-rail at over 100 mph."

An ambulance crew responded and made life-saving efforts but Rambo died from his injuries, Crum said.

When the fatal incident occurred, Rambo was participating in Wednesday Night Drags, also known as Sonoma Drags & Drifts. The program gives people including teenagers and working professionals a place to race their vehicles in a safe, legal and controlled environment rather than on city streets.

The sheriff's office confirmed the death in a brief statement issued at 8:34 p.m. Wednesday, saying details were limited at the time but that the racer was driving more than 100 mph when his car hit a wall at the raceway.

Preliminary information provided later Wednesday night by raceway and sheriff's officials revealed Rambo was on the raceway's quarter-mile drag strip when the crash occurred. Sonoma Raceway Spokeswoman Diana Brennan said Rambo was the only one on the track at the time, and usually there are two vehicles racing during the Drags and Drift event.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

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