Article By JOSH HACHAT
Mike Fisher has never had a problem finding a way to fill his love for speed. It started at dragstrips and moved into boat racing, but his passion for all things speed eventually brought him back to his one true love: Corvettes.
The Blue Springs, Missouri-native started boat racing in the 1980s, but all that changed when he spotted a 2008 Z06 Corvette for sale in 2011.
The car had just 1,800 miles on it and a longtime dream to own a Z06 quickly came to fruition for Fisher. It wasn’t long before he was back at the dragstrip with having poured more than $100,000 into the car. It earned the nickname “Punisher” and delivers more than 600 horsepower, though that number – and a top quarter-mile time of 10.28 – will surely increase after installing nitrous late last year.
“I’ve had several Corvettes over the years and I was always waiting to buy a Z06,” says Fisher. “When that car came out it had 505 horsepower and it was the hottest thing on the street, as far as what you would call a new-aged muscle car. I wanted to build that car to have the sound of the old car in the new car. My goal was to have somebody help me do that, to give me that old-school sound with that new car technology. The sound of the car is impeccable and definitely one of a kind. Of course, I love speed as well.”’
The car has become a popular, must-see attraction at both car shows and on the racing scene. Fisher starting racing at the Kansas City Street Car Takeover in 2013 and regularly attends the World of Wheels car show in the city as well, as the car provides both stunning looks and impressive performance. The Z06 has been featured on the cover of multiple magazines and the number of upgrades, additions, and adjustments is a list that continues to grow.
Fisher talked with STREET/RACE Magazine about those changes, his future racing plans and goals – including a debut of “Punisher II,” and how the street car scene continues to grow in the Kansas City area.
STREET/RACE MAGAZINE: As you moved back into drag racing in 2011, could you see the street race and street car scene really building momentum?
MIKE FISHER: You could see the racing scene was getting even bigger and cars were getting faster. I did a lot of racing back in the 1970s when I had a ’73 Corvette and I couldn’t be happier to be doing it again. The first year Street Car Takeover took off was in 2013, and everything just started booming with the street car scene after that. I enjoy the whole scene and the people who are involved in it a lot.
SRM: With your Z06 and the things that have been added, you’ve put together a car that seems to show as well as it races. How appealing has that been?
MF: At first we focused on the performance side. We installed upgraded heads, headers, exhaust and cammed it. It sounds ungodly awesome every time we start it up. On top of adding to the performance, I wanted to make it look as good as it sounded. We added Weld Racing wheels and some meaty tires, a roll cage, racing seats and a lot of carbon fiber. I wanted to make it one of the baddest Corvettes on the planet and it has quite the reputation.
We have been taking it to shows for many years now, and I really enjoyed showing it as well as racing. You would go to Bowling Green to race and then you would show your car, and then race and so on. It was a kind of a combo. It piques my interest more when I go to World of Wheels and I get people who ask me, ‘Well, what did you do to the car this year?’ That’s what I like about the car. I can go to a car show and then I can get out on the street and run with the 7, 8, 900-horsepower cars and I enjoy the hell out of that. We’ve been going through the car over these last 5-6 years, just continuing to add to it a little at a time. I’m 62 now, so hanging out with these young kids is also a blast.
SRM: You’ve had tremendous success with the Punisher over the years. What’s next in 2017?
MF: Now that the nitrous is tuned in, we’re ready to run into the 9s this spring, I hope. We can finally get the car to where it belongs. I want to get it to a 9.5-second car and still be able to run it on the street, and still show the car because it still shows very well. That’s our goal and hopefully, we can get it there by April or May. There’s always that spark that keeps you going, and my spark is that feeling when I race. I love speed and when you acquire that love, you don’t lose it.
SRM: We also hear that there is another Corvette coming into the fold. How did that come about and what plans do you have with that?
MF: My wife doesn’t like the smell or sound of it, but I went out and bought a white 2016 Z06. We’re going to call it the ‘Punisher II’ and we are starting to slowly modify it as we speak. I want to run low 10s with it, but yet still want it to be a full street car so we can drive to Lake of the Ozarks on the weekend and not worry about such high horsepower.
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