Anniversaries are cause for celebration. But how should you celebrate?

The folks at Performance Unlimited, 5415 Austin Ct. Ringwood, are celebrating their 40th Anniversary, a remarkable milestone for any auto repair shop or business, by showing their appreciation for those who made it possible.

“Between now and the end of the year, we’re giving away 40 free oil changes,” said Denny Norton, the owner of Performance Unlimited and son of the founder, Denny Norton Sr. “It’s our way of showing our appreciation to all the people, our customers, who made this possible.”

Norton said they will have a drawing per week with special drawings the last week of the year.

From the Beginning

Norton said that his father was the premier auto technician at an auto dealership.

“In 1980 or 1981, he started kicking around the idea of opening his own shop,” said Norton. “The owner asked if he was thinking about it and, when my father said, ‘Yes,’ the owner told him he had two weeks at the dealership. My dad said, then I might as well leave now.”

The business had a head start as the service writer from the dealership, and a substantial number of customers, came with to his new business. From there, word of mouth quickly spread through the community.

“Our customers got us our customers,” said Norton.

Norton’s father was a stickler for doing jobs right – no shortcuts. 

“A car might have a dozen grease Zurichs (grease fittings). Some technicians would skip a few. But my dad hated that idea; he insisted you grease them all.

“When a car came in for an oil change, he expected attention to detail. That included greasing the doors,” said Norton. “He used to say, ‘I don’t want any squeaky doors going out of here.’”

The idea is to give customers a little bit more than they expected.

The first six months, he ran the shop out of the garage out behind his house. But then he moved into a 2,300-square-foot facility on Elm Street on the West side of McHenry. They had four stalls and the service was called ‘Denny’s Auto & Truck Repair.’

In 1985, they expanded moving to a 4,500-square-foot facility on Route 31 in Johnsburg. They had six bays with the new shop as they changed the name to Performance Unlimited.

“My dad was an exceptionally good technician. Customers used to say he could lay his hands on an engine, and it would run better.”

In 2000, Denny Jr. took over the business from his father who passed away in 2017. In 2006, the auto repair service moved into its current 6,000-square-foot, 8-bay building in Ringwood.

“The last seven years has been the best staff I’ve had since I’ve been in business,” said Norton. “They’re all professionals. They’re life-long (automotive) technicians who know their job. I don’t have to look over anyone’s shoulder.”

Supporting the Community

Norton is a long-standing member of the McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce and of its MC3 business networking group. He was on the Chamber Board for 12 years, several of those as Chairman of the Board.

He is now the President of the Board of the Chain O’Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce. 

In the meantime, he recently became a partner in Cullom Knoll restaurant in McCullom Lake. Running one company, and helping with another, it’s not surprising when he says that he only sleeps four or five hours a night.

When asked why he is giving away 40 free oil changes to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Performance Unlimited, Norton said, “We’ve been very fortunate to serve such a wonderful community. We’ve made great friends through the years, and this is just a small way to say, ‘Thank you.’”