George Bignotti 

A smiling George Bignotti in 1962 

Photo courtesy of the

IUPUI University Library Center for Digital Scholarship

 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Collection

Today we pay tribute to National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame inductee George Bignotti, another example of a great racer who started their storied career in the sport of auto racing in midget racing.  

George born in San Mateo California in 1916 was the youngest of three brothers all of whom were auto racing mechanics.  In 1946, in partnership with his brother Al, George fielded a car powered by a Ford V8-60 engine in the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) for Ed Normi.

The following season, the brothers bought a second midget and added 1946 BCRA champion Fred Agabashian to their team. Agabashian had a ride in the 1947 Indianapolis 500-mile race and thus missed many races, and was listed in 22^nd place in the 1947 BCRA points when he returned in June.

Through a series of consistent finishes Agabashian with George and Al turning the wrenches on the #108 midget won the 1947 BCRA drivers’ championship by 92 points. When Agabashian returned to the Bay Area after the 1948 Indianapolis 500-mile race, George Bignotti had the new Kurtis-Kraft Ford V-8 60 powered “Burgermeister Special” #154 ready for Fred.

Late in the season, Agabashian’s leading competitor, Jerry Piper broke his arm in a crash and at the end of the season the team of Bignotti and Agabashian were champions - Agabashian with his third consecutive title and Bignotti his second.

For 1949, Piper and Agabashian started the BCRA season as teammates for George Bignotti. Agabashian set quick time on three occasions during the 8-race series and eventually lowered the track record to an amazing 8.22 seconds. Fred won the penultimate feature race, but Hayward’s Bob Sweikert won the inaugural BCRA indoor championship. 

During the 1949 season George became a top driver in the BCRA’s hardtop division, and in 1951 he won the BCRA midget title for a third time with Johnny Boyd.   

For the 1954 Indianapolis ‘500’ Fred Agabashian was set to drive the ‘Merz Engineering Special’ a brand new Kurtis Kraft 500C roadster with 270-cubic inches of Offenhauser power tilted 36 degrees. The car arrived late, and Fred called to ask his friend and former car owner Bignotti to come to Indianapolis and help out the short-handed Merz crew.

That visit marked the beginning of Bignotti’s magical 29-year career at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  

In 1956 George teamed with Bob Bowes of the Bowes Seal Fast Company to field an entry for Johnny Boyd and in 1957 Agabashian teamed with Johnny Boyd in a pair of new Kurtis-Kraft 500G models. At the end of the 1958 season, George won his USAC first USAC championship race at Sacramento with driver Jud Larson.

In 1960, Bignotti teamed with a young Texan named A J Foyt and together they won four USAC races and the USAC championship, the first of their four USAC championships. In 1961 George the won the first of a pair of Indianapolis 500-mile race wins with Foyt.

Before he retired at the end of the 1983 racing season, Bignotti won seven USAC national championships and won the Indianapolis 500-mile race seven times. Bignotti passed away at age 97 in 2013. The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is proud to count George Bignotti as one our inductees.    

IUPUI University Library Center for Digital Scholarship Indianapolis Motor Speedway Collection