TRIBUTE

DYLAN CROMWELL had just passed through the racing epicenter that is Indianapolis when another semi-truck crashed through a concrete construction barrier and hit Cromwell ’ s Head Racing support rig head-on . Cromwell was killed in the collision on his way to Las Vegas for the final two races of the NHRA season . He was just 23 .

Cromwell was originally from Scobie , Montana , and relocated to North Carolina to train at the NASCAR Technical Institute . He then moved to the Columbus , Ohio , area to work on Jim Head ’ s Funny Car team for the 2018 season . Cromwell has been a crew member on Head ’ s team ever since , first working with driver Jonnie Lindberg and now with Blake Alexander . By all accounts , he was living his dream .

“ I think he just really liked racing ,” says Alexander , who worked closely with Cromwell during race weekends , but also between events when Cromwell was back at the shop . “ He ’ d been bracket racing with his family and he liked driving , he liked the mechanical part of it , he liked the competitive part , he liked the comradery part of being on the road with all the people . Some of his best friends were out on the road . We all got along and coexisted and competed at the same time . It was a lot of fun to do it with him .”

Cromwell was just 18 when he started working for Head , a nitro racing veteran . He quickly started picking up various tasks and responsibilities , from doing bottom end and driving one of the rigs to handling shipping and receiving at the shop and taking care of the team dog .

“ When you work for Jim , you do all kinds of different things ,” Alexander says . “ He always helped with everything and always did really well . He basically lived in Jim ’ s backyard and helped him with everything . It ’ s going to be hard to go racing without him .”

With a work ethic and wisdom beyond his years , Cromwell was a highly-valued member of the team . He earned the respect of his teammates , some of whom had been racing since before Cromwell was born .

“ His work ethic was probably the most impressive part about him ,” Alexander says . “ Almost every Saturday , I ’ d call him and talk to him about stuff for work and other days I wouldn ’ t , but I knew every Saturday that he was at the shop and he was working , other than the few Saturdays he ’ d spend away with his family . It set a tone of A : we can rely on him , and B : other people want to be like him and work because everyone out here understands you ’ re going to have to work hard to do well against a lot of the bigger outfits in nitro racing .”

While Cromwell ’ s work ethic kept him busy , he always made time to visit his family , whether he was flying home to Montana to visit them or they were making the trek to an NHRA national event to see him living his dream . Cromwell leaves behind parents Shane and Tiffany and brother Kevin .

“ He really cared about his family ,” Alexander offers . “ In talking with the other crew members on the team , that ’ s something we all reflect back on . He really cared about spending time with his family and would always make time to do it , like he ’ d park the truck somewhere and fly home . We ’ ve all been thinking about it , and as we spend time with our family , we enjoy it more just knowing that that ’ s what he would want us to be doing .” – NATE VAN WAGNEN DI

Photographs by Will Lester , Auto Imagery DragIllustrated . com | Drag Illustrated | 87