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LEGACY of the

Teams and drivers strive to win in every form of motorsport – but some competitors face more obstacles than others on their way to victory and fame. Just as Charlie Wiggins did in 1920, Dewey Gatson, known as "Rajo Jack" (pronounced "Rah-jo") applied to run in the Indy 500 in 1937 and for a decade after that, only to see his application rejected year after year.

A skilled mechanic and an equally talented driver, Rajo Jack just wanted to race, and quickly became known for his winning ways. After all the car numbers he chose to run, he inherited the #99 on a secondhand car he bought sight unseen for its alleged winning reputation, but that turned out to be a broken-down relic – and the last car of his career.

Famous in the series where he could run, Rajo Jack built a career without ever gaining the fame he deserved. Again and again, he was excluded from tracks on which he could have won, or not allowed in the grandstands or the restrooms on tracks that let him race. His fellow competitors knew and respected him, and many of them stood up for his right to race, but in a segregated sport, his chances were numbered.
To understand the road ahead, you need a rear-view mirror. Force Indy runs the #99 to honor Rajo Jack, and, by extension, to connect our legacy with his, along with Charlie Wiggins before him and Willie T. Ribbs after him, all of them open-wheel pioneers. We're reclaiming the #99 to make it a winner, just as Rajo Jack should have been. Our red-tailed car also honors the pioneering Tuskegee Airmen, Black aces who prevailed in WWII combat—and against the racism that segregated their squadron.




In 2021, the #99 became the first car driven by a Black driver to win an INDYCAR-sanctioned race. We have miles of winning ahead of us – and a legacy behind us, urging us on.

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