'Spikes' and Friends Made It Happen at Lime RockCar show to benefit Sandy Hook Families and First Responders a Major SuccessBy all accounts, Spikes Ride for Sandy Hook, the benefit show-and-shine car show at Lime Rock Park Saturday, April 13, was a major success. Organizers confirmed more than 2,400 vehiclescars, motorcycles and trucksmade their way to Lakeville this past Saturday morning, collecting $26,000 in cash donations. That total does not include checks, vendor donations, t-shirt sales, pledges and matching funds, still being tallied.George Spikes LeGrice, 27, an EMT and National Guardsman from Brockton, Mass., organized the event while Lime Rock donated the facility and its personnel. LeGrice recruited hundreds of volunteers for the cause, which he officially launched within a day of the mid-December tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.I thought it would be a simple bike ride, and by 7:30 p.m. Saturday [Dec. 15] I had a Facebook page, but things went huge very, very quickly, LeGrice told the Litchfield County Times. People with any kind of nice car, bike or truck wanted to join in. Convoys came from Connecticut, obviously, but also New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvaniawe even have people from as far away as Texas.Skip Barber, president of Lime Rock Park, said, This is one of the most democratic shows Ive ever seen. We had Bentleys from the 1930s shoulder to shoulder with Honda Accords, which, by the way, were right next to jacked-up diesel pick-ups, Z28s and Austin-Healeys. Thousands of vehicles... Its wonderful when everyone feels as one, to do what they can for Newtown.
Jim Perry, Lime Rock Parks video producer, uploaded his Spikes Ride piece by Sunday afternoon (you may click on the Preview link for an instant-play, non-HD view), which provides a succinct overview of the show, including interviews with LeGrice's mom and step-mom...http://www.drivestv.com/index.php/component/content/article/260
Casey Keil, one of Lime Rock Parks photographers, put up a terrific gallery of photos on the tracks Facebook page...https://www.facebook.com/welcomeback/requests/#!/media/set/?set=a.10151454543879003.1073741827.44115954002&type=3
Many show attendees are also uploading videos of the event to the internet; search Spikes Ride for Sandy Hook Lime Rock.
T-shirts sold at the show are available at LeGrice's eBay account: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SPIKES-RIDE-FOR-SANDY-HOOK-T-SHIRTS-ALL-SIZES-/230963912124?pt=US_Mens_Tshirts&hash=item35c6859dbc
