As a NASCAR driver, Rich Bickle competed out of some of the best shops in the sport. Now, as owner of Muscle Up Performance and Rod Shop in Janesville, WI. he's trying to replicate that kind of quality and dedication to excellence.

"We want this to be the turnkey shop for area muscle car and hot rod enthusiasts," said Bickle. "We want people to know that Muscle Up Performance (right) is a place where they can get everything from the smallest repair job to a complete frame off restoration/customization of their favorite car."

During his 16-year NASCAR career, Bickle raced with some of the best teams in the sport including Petty Enterprises, Hendrick Motorsports, Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, Cale Yarborough Motorsports and his own Bickle-Smith Motorsports. At each stop, the Edgerton, WI native learned more about what it takes to run a successful high performance automotive facility.

"The first thing you have to have is quality people," said Bickle. "That's always the key to success. When I decided to open Muscle Up Performance, I went out and got the kind of guys that have a ton of experience in muscle car and hot rod restoration and repair. Anybody can bolt on a part, but a true craftsman is hard to find. Fortunately, we have a bunch of them here."

The second part of the equation for Bickle was to find a suitable facility to work out of. Located on the north side of Janesville, Muscle Up Performance is housed in an 11,000 square foot complex that features nine work bays, a metal fab shop, a full body shop and a state of the art Global Finishing Solutions paint booth (left). The shop also has a media blasting room, a parts room, assembly area and waiting area.

In short, Muscle Up Performance is fully stocked to work on any kind of classic, muscle car or street rod.

"We've got everything here to do whatever someone needs," said shop foreman Kevin Laatsch. "There was a lot of equipment here when I had the building housing my race car chassis business. Now, with all the things Rich has brought in, we're totally stocked to do just about anything you can think of."

According to Bickle, there are plans to add a final assembly/interior shop building to the complex in the near future.

"We have plenty of room to expand here," Bickle stated. "We're already seeing where we need more work space to accommodate our work load. The full-frame, chassis replacement business is growing quickly and we're getting quite a few new customers as word spreads about what we are doing here. There's a lot of interest and I have to think it's because people recognize that the work we're doing and the products we're offering - like the full-frame chassis replacements - are pretty special."

To find out what Muscle Up Performance can do to improve, repair, or restore your favorite muscle car, hot rod, or classic car, please call 608-754-4545 or e-mail info@muscleupperformance.com.