Show #182 Airdate 02-26-25 Stewart welcomes Herb Fishel former Executive Director of #GMRacing, author and speaker as they discuss his career, racing safety, saving the Corvette and the pioneering Astronauts who piloted them. #DaleEarnhardt, #RogerPenske, #AJFoyt, #RichardPetty @F1 @GMAuthority @GM
Episode 182 features the man who started the Chevrolet Corvette Racing Team and helped save the C5 Corvette from extinction in the 1990s, Herb Fishel. Herb is a member of the Hot Rod Hall of Fame, SEMA Hall of Fame and the Corvette Hall of Fame. He worked for General Motors for 40 years – from 1963 to 2003 and ultimately became the Executive Director of GM Racing.
Herb talks to host Stewart Howden about his amazing and long career at General Motors. He realized racing was a great proving ground for auto manufacturers, but GM didn’t want any involvement in racing so he would call his programs ‘Group’ like Performance Group or Special Performance Group to be able to test performance options.
When he graduated college with an engineering degree he applied to work for Richard Petty, Jr. Johnson and Ned Jarrett, but at the time no racing teams employed engineers to improve performance. So he ended up at General Motors. He learned an enormous amount from legendary engine builder Smokey Yunich.
He talks about working with Corvette designer and developer Zora Arkus-Dunthov. Other topics include why astronauts drove Corvettes, especially in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The Apollo 12 astronauts all had corvettes, as did Alan Shepard. He also talks about racing at Mille Miglia after he retired.
Herb worked on the development of the iconic 302 DZ cubic inch small block chevy that was putting out an amazing 8,000 RPMS int eh 1960s, which was unheard of at the time. The SBC ended up appearing in the Camaro Z/28 and was used in the Trans Am Racing Series with the famous Roger Penske Camaros driven by legendary driver Mark Donohue.
Herb also talks about Roger Penske buying the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, saving the famous Indy 500 which he won more than anyone else. They talk about the IMSM Museum and the collection. He also talks to Stewart about Rock Hendricks Motorsports and their success.
Herb also discusses the importance of Factory Racing years ago, before Aftermarket companies took over the development of performance parts. This is why he started the GM Factory Corvette Racing Team. He also helped save the C5 Corvette from extinction in the 1990s when Ron Zarella tried to cancel and eliminate the Corvette to focus on other vehicles. Behind the scenes, other GM Executives like Jim Perkins moved some money around (like from their marketing budget) to keep the development of the C5 Corvette growing and the car alive.
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