Born on September 2, 1939, Carl was raised in the Hemet area, the son of Hemet Jeep Club legend Bud Jackson. Carl was raised on the dusty trails through Ocotillo Wells, Borrego, the Mojave and the dunes of Southern California.

Young men in the Hemet area often took to off-roading to find their recreation. The club allowed the restless youth of the San Jacinto Valley an outlet to not only explore with their machines but compete in Hillclimb’s, sand drags, obstacle courses and cross-country races.
On the weekends, it was his competition vehicle often times towing a small trailer to events, then stripping the Jeep down to the bare essentials, earning armload of trophies, then putting the CJ back together and going home.

By 1966 Carl heard about the National Four-Wheel-Drive Grand Prix already in its second year. In his first year Carl took F Stock honors and posted the fastest lap of the entire weekend. In 1967 Carl again took F Stock and then won an epic dual with old friend Larry Minor in a V8 powered CJ to win overall. In 1968 Carl again dispatched the competition in F Stock and then in the overall race was matched against Bud Ekins in the fire-breathing Baja Boot, and Carl won it all again.

In 1968, Carl started desert racing co-driving for his old friend Rod Hall on Brian Chuchua’s Jeep Team. While working as a mechanic at the local International Harvester dealer Carl knew friends working at the newly formed All American Racers shop owned by James Garner. He and Walker Evans were brought on as test drivers and promised their own vehicles for the 1969 NORRA Baja 500.

Carl talked his old friend, Jim Fricker into being his ride along mechanic. They proved to be the class of the team by finishing 14th overall, the highest finishing AMC Rambler in the race. He even beat Walker Evans by five hours.

1969 finished with an impressive third in production 4x4 class with Spike Cooper in a Chuchua Jeepster with ragged tires and bent steering. Constant egging by Larry Minor, Rod Hall, Jim Loomis and Walker Evans saw him and Fricker join Stroppe for the 1970 NORRA Mexican 1000. The new kids on the team finished an impressive second in class.

Carl became Stroppe’s dependable finisher which led Stroppe to pick them for a special entry in the 1971 Baja 500. They would be driving a mostly stock Stroppe Baja Bronco in the race with special instructions to bring it home an official finisher within the official time limit. The hitch was, at the end of the trailer hitch would be a Sprite Travel Trailer.

It took twenty-six hours, but Carl and Jim arrived back in Ensenada with Sprite in tow for an official finish with two hours to spare, and they beat one entry by six minutes so avoid being last in class. To this day, not one off-road racer in the history of off-road racing has towed a trailer around a desert race.
Carl headed up the new Ford Courier program with Stroppe Including a resounding wins at the 1972 Mexican 1000 and 1973 Parker Dam 500. His successes legitimized the mini truck as a viable off-road racer.

Going forward Carl continued in off-road racing, running in different classes 5 where he got a second in the HDRA 1983 championship with Jim Venable, 8 and 7-4x4 until he retired from driving. He did not stay away; however, Carl worked in timing and scoring for many years for SCORE upgrading their systems for faster results.

After 34 years working for International Harvester as mechanic and parts manager Carl left Hemet and moved to Lake Havasu, AZ, and opened a restaurant where he worked for many years before turning it over to his son. Carl and his wife, Mendy still live in Lake Havasu today.

Looking back on his career in off-road racing it is easy to see how his exploits and innovative style of racing should earn him a spot in the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. Anyone who tows a travel trailer through a Baja 500 to an official finish should automatically be inducted. But Carl’s pioneering accomplishments will forever keep him remembered in the hearts and minds of racers now and for years to come.