Rajo Jack

Dewey Gatson, better known as Rajo Jack or his pseudonym Jack DeSoto, (July 28, 1905 in Tyler, Texas – February 27, 1956) was an American racecar driver. He is known as one of the first African American racers in America. He won races up and down the West Coast of the United States in , midgets, big cars and motorcycles. Rajo Jack was inducted in the in 2003 and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2007.

Rajo Jack was the oldest of six children. He was raised by his parents Noah Gatson and his mother Frances Scott in Tyler,Texas. Noah Gatson had steady work with a railroad, which kept his family in a better financial state than other African-Americans in Texas.

Dewey Gatson was hired by the Doc Marcell Medicine Show as a roustabout general laborer at 16 years old. Gatson quickly became known among his peers for his talent with mechanical devices, especially anything with wheels and an engine. Gatson modified a truck into a house car for the Marcell family. He later was put in charge of the show's fleet of twenty cars in St. Johns, Oregon. He began racing with moderate success in the early 1920s at the fairs that the Marcell family followed across the country. He raced under the name "Jack DeSoto". He later moved down to Pasadena, California, and worked for the Marcells until their company failed during the Great Depression.

Rajo Jack ran a match race against Francis Quinn in Vancouver, Washington in 1925. His seat fell out of the car as he took the green flag to start the event, and the event had to be canceled.

Gatson would soup up all of his own Model T Fords cars with Rajo cylinder heads. In the early 1930s, Rajo owner Joe Jagersberger named Gatson/Jack DeSoto his Los Angeles dealer and salesman, and the name "Rajo Jack" was born. Rajo Jack raced in many forms of motorsport and he used many kinds of engines. Rajo was a mechanic for Quinn at Legion Ascot Speedway. After Quinn died, Rajo was given his 225 cubic inch Miller engine.

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