RIP Dylan Cromwell

We’re always told that racing is a dangerous sport, but we expect those dangers to occur on the track, not on the highways. Yet sometimes the tragedies we least expect occur where we least expect them to happen.

This past Sunday morning, Head Racing was beginning its trek to the West Coast in order for racer Blake Alexander to compete in the NHRA’s penultimate competition at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the intent of continuing through to Pomona for the season finale. Alexander had qualified the team’s Ford Mustang Funny Car in the Countdown to the Championship and hopes were high that he would move forward in the standings.

Unfortunately, fate stepped into those plans when, on a slick I-70 highway, one of the transporters, driven by crew member Dylan Cromwell, 23, was destroyed in an accident near Plainfield, west of Indianapolis.

There were three semi-trucks involved, together with a single passenger vehicle. One of the large trucks lost control in one of many I-70 construction areas (it’s said that Indiana has two seasons: construction cones and snow plows) and crashed into a concrete barrier, hitting the Head tractor-trailer head-on and killing Cromwell.

A rising, talented and dedicated member of the NHRA community, Cromwell always wanted to be a racing mechanic, and initially set his sights on moving from his hometown of Scobie, Montana to work in NASCAR. He went to North Carolina to train at NASCAR’s technical institute, but an opportunity to work with Jim Head’s NHRA team beckoned, and in 2018 Cromwell relocated again, to the Columbus, Ohio area. He’s been a crew member with Head ever since, initially servicing the car when Jonnie Lindberg was the driver, and later with Alexander.

Cromwell may have been young, but he was a valued member of the drag racing community. When news of his death began to circulate, among the first to note his passing was Funny Car driver (and current points leader, Ron Capps of Don Schumacher Racing. He recalled meeting Cromwell’s parents at a sponsor appearance – they’d driven more than two hours to meet Capps – and noted, “They told me their son had achieved his dream of working on an NHRA nitro Funny Car team… our thoughts are with the Cromwell family,” Capps said.

Mike Lewis, senior VP at DSR, a racer and former track executive recalled, “Dylan loved our sport and had a promising career ahead of him. He earned the trust of car owner Jim Head and was driving Head’s race trailer to Las Vegas.. my prayers go out to Dylan’s family, his many friends and to everyone affiliated with Jim Head and his team.”

Other teams in the NHRA community moved to note, “Our deepest sympathy and condolences go out to the Cromwell, family, Head Racing and the NHRA community during these incredibly difficult times,” said Kalitta Motorsports. “This is heartbreaking,” noted Just Ashley, currently third in Top Fuel points. “Thoughts and prayers with his loved ones.”

NHRA announcer Alan Reinhart stated, “This is beyond awful. A young man living his dream on a professional race team. Just getting started. The #BrotherhoodOfRacing is in mourning today.”

This is just the most recent road accident that has killed a member of the NHRA family. Last October Cruz Pedregon’s crew chief, Eric “Hopsing” Lane was killed in a fluke accident in Texas while the team was taking an off-day between races.