“Dad, can you help me paint my car?”…………This was the beginning of Custom Performance by Roush.
Bob Roush thought his love affair with cars had faded with age. Working and raising a family took up all of his time. That love affair would soon be rekindled when his middle son, Nick Roush asked him to help finish his dream car named “Monica”
“Monica” was a 1995 Eagle Talon that Nick worked on Day and night. Obsessed with perfection, Nick had a vision of a Fast and Furious style car that he would not give up on. “He didn’t have an ounce of quit in his body” says Bob. In fact, the father and son team put the finishing touches on Monica at 2:00 a.m. the morning of Nick’s high school graduation open house. It was a grand unveiling that was a huge success. “Monica” and Nick were loved everywhere they went. Nick’s huge grin, huge hair, respect for his elders and attention to detail made him a favorite at car shows all over West Michigan. “Monica” and Nick won awards at virtually every show they entered and were even invited to the prestigious Eyes On Design concourse show at Edsel and Eleanor Ford’s estate.
The plan was simple, after college they would start a hot rod shop together, Nick would run it and Bob would assist. While Nick attended college his papers all seemed to reference the shop, he even wrote a business plan for Custom Performance by Roush.
Things would change near the end of his sophomore year; Nick expressed some interest in the military and announced the plans for the shop would be put on hold. He was going to do something significant with his life while he still could. He signed up for five years with the U.S. Army. Nick ended up in the 4th Group 1st PsyOps Battalion and left for Afghanistan on Easter Sunday of 2009. He was assigned to a MARSOC team, the elite special operations branch of the Marines. They treated Nick like one of their own and he was thrilled to be serving with “the best of the best” as he told his family more than once.
Even from Afghanistan Nick continued to encourage Bob. The shop needed to be done and ready so when Nick finished his commitment to his country, they could hit the ground running.
Nick finished his commitment but wasn’t able to finish his plan. On 16 August, 2009, Nick gave his life for his country.
“My world will never be the same, but the freedoms we enjoy because of Nick and all who’ve served before and since are too great to waste. Therefore I’ve resolved to continue our dream with the same passion Nick gave to everything he ever tried. If I’m half the man Nick was then Custom Performance by Roush will be a rousing success.”
-Bob Roush
We at Baileigh Industrial are honored to help Bob and the crew at CPR to keep Nick’s dream alive and his shop thriving. Big things are in the future for CPR as they plan to unveil many masterpieces to honor Nick’s memory. Visit the CPR website to check the latest projects in the shop http://www.cproush.com/index.html.
