“If I Don’t Go, Who Is Going To?” — Why The Late, Great Greg Biffle Jumped Into Action In The Immediate Aftermath Of Hurricane Helene

This is what he will be remembered for.

Yesterday, NASCAR driver Greg Biffle was killed in a plane crash at the Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina. The news was first confirmed by Biffle’s close friend Garrett Mitchell, better known as racer and YouTube personality Cleetus McFarland, on social media, who also reported that Biffle’s wife Cristina, 5-year old son Ryder and 14-year old daughter Emma were onboard.

Biffle was 55-years old.

Retired NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace also confirmed that longtime NASCAR community member Craig Wadsworth was on the plane and killed in the crash. Seven victims in total that were killed in the crash, and late yesterday afternoon, the families of the victims released a joint statement confirming the names of those who were killed.

Along with Biffle and his wife Cristina Grossu, their son Ryder and Biffle’s daughter Emma, who he had with his previous wife Nicole Lunders, the victims include Wadsworth, Dennis Dutton and his son, Jack.

Tributes have of course been pouring in from the NASCAR community and beyond, remembering Biffle not only for his success on the track but his personality in the garage and off the track and his heroic contributions to his community.

Last fall, when Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina hard and devastated many in the western NC mountains, leaving so many without shelter, their most precious belongings, and many lost family members and close friends, leaving the area feeling lost and hopeless, Biffle and fellow racer and YouTube personality Cleetus McFarland helped organize tons of flights to deliver supplies to those in need, while providing updates and requests for help on his social media, and he was recognized by the sport for his incredible humanitarian efforts, and deservedly so.

It all started when Biffle received a message from a friend about a family who was stranded and needed supplies, and he is a licensed helicopter pilot:

He spent 13 days in total running supplies non-stop, doing six to eight trips a day back-and-forth to different, very remote places in NC mountains, where he dropped off water, food, medicine, Starlink satellites and more, and it cannot be stressed just how important his efforts were to saving many lives during the historic flooding, and he deserves to be remembered that way because it’s above and beyond what could’ve ever been expected, and he did it just because that’s the kind of man he was.

And in an interview following his extensive service, Biffle had a very specific reasoning for why he jumped into action so quickly:

“I just felt like, if I don’t go, who is going to?”

That says it all…

“The weather was really bad… I got 4,000 or 5,000 messages within an hour and a half.”

That short explanation says it all. He wanted to help and serve, and he spent a lot of his personal time and resources to do so without hesitation. He was one of the first people up there, well before the government deployed the resources they had, and if the world had more people like him, it’s easy to think it would be a much better place.

Following the immediate help with his helicopter, his operation with his wife, Cristina, turned into a ground effort, where they continued to provided support by collecting donations and as he stated in an interview with WFMY News 2 while looking at his helicopter:

“I spent a tremendous amount of time sitting in this seat.”

Earlier this year, Biffle and some of his friends returned to the NC mountains via helicopter for a special Easter delivery, with the Easter bunny in the passenger seat, to air drop over one thousand Easter eggs.

He explained:

“The most fulfilling thing that I could do was drop 4,000 Easter eggs.”

By all accounts, he was an incredibly selfless and caring man with a lovely family, and my heart breaks for every single victim of this crash and all of the family and friends who are mourning such a sudden and tragic loss.

And if you want to know the kind of man he was by hearing from him firsthand, this short clip says it all:

@daily_drafting RIP Greg Biffle. Incredible race car driver and an even better human being. #GregBiffle #NASCAR #HurricaneHelene #WesternNC #Humanitarian ♬ original sound – Daily Drafting

NASCAR also released a touching tribute about Biffle and his 15-year Cup Series career, where he recorded numerous accolades and 19 Cup Series wins across his 515 starts. In 2024, he was added to the list of nominees for induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Of course, his success in racing is impressive and admirable, but he will be remembered for his heroic humanitarian efforts which helped countless people in North Carolina during the absolute worst times of their lives.

RIP Greg Biffle.

The post “If I Don’t Go, Who Is Going To?” — Why The Late, Great Greg Biffle Jumped Into Action In The Immediate Aftermath Of Hurricane Helene first appeared on Whiskey Riff.