Ms. Combs died while operating a powerful jet-shaped car as she sought to claim a world record.



Jessi Combs sitting in the cockpit of the vehicle filming a commercial.
Jessi Combs sitting in the cockpit of the vehicle filming a commercial.CreditCreditNorth American Eagle
Niraj Chokshi
By Niraj Chokshi

Jessi Combs, a television host and professional racer, died on Tuesday in Oregon while trying to set a world land speed record.

Ms. Combs’s death was confirmed in a statement by the Harney County Sheriff’s Office, which responded to the scene of the crash in the Alvord Desert in southeastern Oregon on Tuesday afternoon. The office said it did not yet know the cause of the crash.

In a statement provided to Jalopnik, the car publication, and others, her family said that Ms. Combs, 39, had been driving the North American Eagle, a 56-foot-long jetlike car capable of generating over 45,500 horsepower. The crash occurred on a dry lake bed.



“People that loved her and followed her became family, all bonded together by adventure and passion,” the statement said. “Her fans adored her, and she lived to inspire them.”

Ms. Combs was a lifelong racing fan whose love of cars and the sport led her into television, with a short run of appearances on “MythBusters,” the popular science program, and... newsypeople.com/jessi-combs-tv-host-and-racecar-driver-dies-in-attempt-at-land-speed-record/