1. George Adolph Bignotti was an American motor racing mechanic and team owner who was active in American open-wheel car racing from the 1950s through the 1980s.
16 Facts About George Bignotti
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Additionally, George Bignotti-prepared cars were used to win nine USAC Championship Car seasons.
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George Bignotti found success as a team owner, co-owning entries in the early 1960s with Bob Bowes and in the 1980s with Dan Cotter and earning multiple race victories, including two Indianapolis 500s.
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George Bignotti was born in San Mateo, California, on January 12,1916.
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George Bignotti became a successful mechanic in midget car racing in California in the late 1940s, winning championships as chief mechanic for driver Fred Agabashian and allowing him the quit his full-time job working as a shipbuilder.
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However, as the popularity of midget-car racing declined at the end of the decade, George Bignotti was forced to leave racing behind for several years and take a job in his mother-in-law's flower shop.
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George Bignotti returned to the chief mechanic role in 1954, when Agabashian asked him to join his team for the Indianapolis 500.
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Agabashain went on to finish sixth in the race, and George Bignotti became a near-permanent figure in open-wheel racing for the next several decades.
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For 1966, Bignotti served as chief mechanic for the team run by oil magnate John W Mecom Jr.
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At the close of the decade, George Bignotti joined Parnelli Jones' Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing team, finding more success.
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George Bignotti won two further USAC Championships with Joe Leonard in 1971 and 1972.
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George Bignotti joined forces with Patrick Racing beginning in 1973, finding success with driver Gordon Johncock with victory in the 1973 Indianapolis 500 and the 1976 USAC Championship.
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George Bignotti was an avid golfer and played up until age 90.
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George Bignotti died in his sleep in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 27,2013, at age 97.
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George Bignotti is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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George Bignotti has been inducted in to the following halls of fame:.