He was born in Odon, Indiana on July 17, 1889. Dawson competed in the Indianapolis 500 race three times, beginning in 1911 when he drove a Marmon to a fifth-place finish. The following year, Dawson won after Ralph DePalma, who had led for 196 laps of the 200 lap race, dropped out with a mechanical failure. At age 22 years and 323 days, Dawson was the youngest winner of the "500" until Troy Ruttman won the 1952 Indianapolis 500 at age 22 years and 86 days. In his final Indy 500 race in 1914, Dawson retired after an accident on the 45th lap when avoiding Ray Gilhooley.

He died on June 17, 1946 at age 56.