George Bignotti was a race engineer, aerodynamicist and damper specialist all before those racing terms were in vogue. Bignotti, who as a chief mechanic tuned cars for seven Indianapolis 500 Mile Race winners, died Sept. 27. He was 97.

Bignotti had 85 Indy car victories, including the seven at Indianapolis with five different drivers: A.J. Foyt (1961 and ’64), Graham Hill ('66), Al Unser (1970 and '71), Gordon Johncock ('73) and Tom Sneva ('83).

"George is a true legend. He set a standard for mechanical excellence and preparation at the Indianapolis 500 that has yet to be matched and may never be reached,” Indianapolis Motor Speedway president J. Douglas Boles said. “George's love and loyalty toward the '500' never waned throughout his wonderful, long life, and he had countless friends and admirers in Gasoline Alley and the Indy car community.”

Foyt signed with Bignotti's Bowes Seal Fast team in 1960, recorded the first of his record 67 Indy car victories, and went on to win the national championship.

"He was such a great mechanic and he had such fast race cars and I was just a snot-nosed kid coming up," said Foyt, whose first turn at the wheel for Bignotti was in a midget at Ascot Speedway in Gardena, Calif. “About everywhere I drove for him we won.

"I'd say he was one of the greatest mechanics that was ever at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We had such a close relationship and even though I went on my merry way, we were still close up to his death. He did live a great life. We did so much racing together and in '64, we were just unbeatable (won 10 of 13 races). A lot of people don't realize just how good the man was, but I do know how good he was because I drove for him. As far as I'm concerned, no mechanic back then or now could hold a candle to George Bignotti.”

Born in San Francisco, followed his brothers into motorsports after high school. After working on cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the mid-1950s, he realized, “I could build a car as good as anything I'd seen at Indy" and decided to become a chief mechanic, he told Sports Illustrated in 1971.

He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993.

Parnelli Jones Racing co-owner and 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones said Bignotti, who was with Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing from 1969 to ’72, prepared cars “always fast enough to win.”

"George Bignotti was a super guy and was a key to our success winning at Indianapolis (Al Unser in 1970 and 1971) and an important part of our National Championships with Al Unser (1970) and Joe Leonard (1971 and 1972),” Jones said. “George's cars were always prepared to go the distance -- whether it be 100 or 500 miles -- dirt or pavement.

“Reliability back then was different than it is now and George made sure that both the chassis and engine were buttoned-up and capable of winning. George was meticulous and had an eye for detail.  He was great to work with and he taught a lot of mechanics the trade. Everyone on the circuit learned by watching him, some as team members and some as rivals.”