Former Las Vegan and auto racing crew chief George Bignotti to be honored

George Bignotti will be inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame on June 21. The former Las Vegas resident raced stock cars but made his name as an Indianapolis 500 crew chief. He served as crew chief on seven Indy 500 winners, including twice with A.J. Foyt and Al Unser. He also was head mechanic on Indy winners driven by Graham Hill, Gordon Johncock and Tom Sneva. Bignotti was an avid golfer and lived on Canyon Gate golf course in Las Vegas. He was 97 when he died in 2013. “As far as I’m concerned, he was the greatest mechanic that ever turned a wrench on an Indy car.”