TRIBUTE

1973 – 2024

By Nate Van Wagnen

Young founded Indocil Art and quickly built the studio ’ s reputation for painting one-of-a-kind artwork on helmets for racers of many disciplines . His work appeared anywhere from the big stages of the NASCAR Cup Series and NHRA professional ranks to local dirt tracks , go-kart tracks , and small-town dragstrips all over the country and across the world . Young ’ s clients in drag racing included NHRA world champions Steve Torrence and J . R . Todd , Top Fuel and Funny Car winner Blake Alexander , PDRA Pro Nitrous hitter turned Street Outlaws : No Prep Kings superstar Lizzy Musi , PDRA Top Sportsman contender Jamie Fowler , and many more .

Young was known for collaborating with his clients to not only bring their visions to life , but also to make them better . Several racers who paid tribute to Young through social media posts noted his ability to think outside the box and add unique elements to their paint jobs . One of those racers was NASCAR and sprint car superstar Kyle Larson .

“ Hated getting the news of Ryan Young passing away yesterday morning ,” Larson said in an Instagram post . “ Such an extremely passionate and talented artist that I ’ m going to greatly miss . I ’ m not sure people realize how involved I like to be on the design process of my helmets . I always loved talking to him and working through fun ideas for designs . We would both come up with

off-the-wall thoughts and probably confuse each other most times , but he ALWAYS knocked it out of the park and supplied me with the sickest helmets in the pits . Just a great guy and will be missed by so many !”

Young ’ s fellow artists – other helmet painters and those who didn ’ t use helmets as their primary canvas – also paid tribute to Young . A common theme was his willingness to mentor aspiring young painters and offer tips and tricks whenever he felt he could help another painter level up . Austin Polen , a fellow helmet painter who was inspired by Young to start Polen Designs , counted Young as “ a friend , mentor , and brother .”

“ Ryan always had the most crazy ideas … literally have no clue how his brain worked ,” Polen said . “ So much talent , and the way he ran his business was more than just painting his helmets … he made carbon parts for helmets , sold so much accessories , cranked out close to 300 helmets a year with the help of Dwaine , Cam , and the rest of his team . When it came to not only the bad ass ideas and being innovative , the quality of his

work was truly amazing .”

While Young was primarily known for his helmets , he also painted on many other canvases . Some of the most prolific examples in drag racing are the drag bikes he painted for the Grothus family . Brunson Grothus and the Grothus Dragbikes team put the Indocil Art bikes in the winner ’ s circle in numerous classes and series .

“ It ’ s just hard to find the words so we won ’ t even try ,” Bradley Grothus said . “ You were a real piece of work , Ryan Young . To all at Indocil Art , please accept our heartfelt condolences .”

Young ’ s small team at Indocil Art has committed to continuing his legacy . Young , who posted frequent social media updates about his cancer battle , noted when he announced his cancer diagnosis in early January that his son , Cameron , and his right-hand man for more than 20 years , Dwain Cromer , would continue his work in his absence . A statement on Indocil Art ’ s Facebook page after Young ’ s passing confirmed that .

“ It ’ s been quiet on our social media as we ’ ve taken time to mourn the loss one of the most badass helmet painters who ever lived and to regroup to align our new normal with Ryan ’ s last wishes for Indocil ,” the statement read . “ We believe we ’ re off to a good start .

“ We are pleased to announce Indocil Art and Design is now Indocil Art ,” the statement continued . “ While we simplified our name , we want you to know our mission will remain the same : to deliver high quality , custom-painted helmets that value the unique personality and style of the driver . Stay tuned for more content as we continue to crank out helmets that would make Ryan proud .”

Young is survived by his son , Cameron Young ; daughter Carlee Young ; mother Penny Lester Young ; sister Kelly Young ; grandmothers Jo Young and Pat Troup ; girlfriend Veronica Gomez and her children , Ethan and Carmen Terrana . DI

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID HILNER , JOE MCHUGH , TARA BOWKER , AND INDOCIL ART

52 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com

Issue 187