Why It Was Started

Jimmy Button lived and breathed motorcycles and had his whole future ahead of him. He was 26 years old and was starting his 10th year as a professional rider, and his 2nd year with factory Yamaha. However, on January 22, 2000 his whole life would drastically change in a split second. While practicing for the evening's Supercross at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Jimmy went down in the whoop section and immediately went numb. As Jimmy lay there the fans and his teammates watched silently as he was carried off the track. That evening his family and friends were told he would probably never walk again. He had bruised his spinal cord at his 2nd and 3rd vertebrae and was paralyzed from the neck down.

What doctors did not know was how powerful Jimmy's spirit and courage was. He came back not to ride but to win something much bigger, to win the race of walking again.

Following his injury, Jimmy was left in a very difficult situation, both physically and financially. Since a riders union didn't exist there was a critical need for an organization that would provide financial and emotional assistance when an extreme situation arose.

In the fall of 2000 Bob Moore, Bob Walker, and Jimmy Button created the Road 2 Recovery Foundation, a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization to enhance the sport of motocross through assistance to AMA licensed professional Motocross and Supercross riders who sustain career ending injuries.