Greg Biffle’s greatest victories came nowhere near a race track

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Greg Biffle raced for 16 years in NASCAR, winning 19 races and earning $75 million in purses. Named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023, he was a top-10 fixture for a decade. But his most meaningful impact came long after he stopped driving full-time.

Biffle, who died Thursday along with six others in a plane crash, became a sudden, unexpected savior in the wake of 2024’s devastating Hurricane Helene. Flying his helicopter into and out of hurricane-ravaged areas of North Carolina, Biffle ferried emergency supplies in and brought rescued survivors out of the storm zone.

He began by rescuing a family of tourists stranded in Banner Elk, North Carolina. And once he took to the skies — once he got a look at the carnage left by the hurricane — Biffle found a sudden calling. He flew multiple missions a day for nearly two weeks, in part buoyed by thousands of social media messages pleading him to help find loved ones.

“There’s no recollection of a road, an embankment. No ledge, no bridge, no anything for miles down these canyons, and we see people walking with backpacks trying to get help,” Biffle later recalled.

Leaving from the same Statesville airport where his plane crashed on Thursday morning, Biffle ran dozens of rescue missions into the mountains around Asheville, North Carolina, where washed-out roads had left many small towns isolated, cut off from the outside world and reachable only by air. He dropped off food, diapers and Starlink satellite connections, and he rescued those who needed extraction.

“It feels good to be able to get supplies and things in need into these people that need the help the most, that are still cut off,” Biffle told NASCAR.com in October 2024. “The mission now is, even though the roads are starting to open, the grocery stores aren’t. Some of the grocery stores are wiped out, gas stations still don’t have fuel, the power is not back on everywhere, so these folks still need supplies and food, and they can’t just hop in their car and go driving around looking, because they’ll ultimately end up out of gas somewhere and stranded. So the mission continues.”

NASCAR is a tightly-knit family largely centered in North Carolina, and Biffle’s example inspired the rest of the family to undertake other charitable efforts. Cup champions Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski offered support, equipment and logistical assistance. Charlotte Motor Speedway organized charity drives to collect needed items.

“The hardest thing was when I went home at night and landed in the dark because we just couldn’t fly anymore, my mind wouldn’t shut off,” Biffle said in September. “I’m sitting there at my counter looking through my phone just overwhelmed like what am I gonna do next.”

After flying dozens of Helene missions, Biffle eventually transitioned to a ground support role, but occasionally made his way back up to the mountains — dropping 4,000 Easter eggs this spring, for instance.

In his racing career, Biffle claimed wins at legendary NASCAR tracks like Daytona, Pocono and Darlington. But his greatest victories came in the remote hills and narrow canyons of western North Carolina.