Napa driver, 75, dies at Sonoma Raceway drag race

A 75-year-old Napa man died late Wednesday afternoon during a sanctioned drag race at the Sonoma Raceway when his car slammed into a wall at 100 mph, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said.

The driver was identified as James Kenneth Rambo, of Napa. He was 75 years old, according to the Sonoma County Coroner's Office.

The man was racing his 1976 Ford Pinto in the Wednesday Night Drags program on the facility's quarter-mile drag strip when the crash occurred about 6:15 p.m, Raceway officials said in a news release.

He was the only racer on the track at the time. It was the first death in the 30-year history of the Wednesday Night Drags program.

CHP personnel from Napa also were investigating.

According to a Twitter user who said he witnessed the crash, the driver's 'extremely fast' Pinto jerked to the left at the end of the track, hit the wall and careened across the track into the grass.

The drag races occur most Wednesdays between March and November from 4-10 p.m. for licensed drivers who want to race down the strip.

After the incident, the track was closed.

The event had been canceled the previous two Wednesdays by rain.