A remembrance of the life of NASCAR legend Greg Biffle, his wife, children and three family friends came with heartfelt stories, some laughs and a share of tears, but also with a challenge to those in attendance.
In the weeks since the plane crash that claimed those seven lives, “Be Like Biff” has been a rallying slogan, one that’s meant to empower others to make a difference. Friday, in a public gathering and celebration of life, that mantra rang ever more true.
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“We’ve all been saying ‘Be Like Biff’ since we lost our hero,” said close friend Garrett Mitchell, who developed a tight-knit connection with the former driver in recent years as his alt-persona Cleetus McFarland. “What does that mean? That means to take opportunities when you see them, whether you’re taking the opportunity to pass somebody on the track, or getting off your couch and chasing a dream you’ve only been talking about for the last five years. It means showing up for your friends and family. It means using your heart to make the world a better place. It means being generous whenever you can and helping other humans when they’re down. That is what it means to be like Biff, so spread the word.”
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The NASCAR community came together Friday to recognize and honor the special impacts of the Biffle family — Greg, his wife Christina and children Emma and Ryder — and good friends Craig Wadsworth and Jack and Dennis Dutton. All seven perished in the Dec. 18 crash of Biffle’s private jet at the Statesville (N.C.) Regional Airport, and all seven were celebrated in a heart-warming video montage that closed the 90-minute ceremony. The snapshot of those lives included glimpses of family outings, fishing trips and the type of high-adrenaline adventure that Biffle embraced, including victorious moments from his stellar NASCAR career.
As Biffle’s status in big-league stock-car racing took flight, some of the places he won multiple times — Michigan, Homestead-Miami, Darlington, Dover — required a heavy but precise right foot, one that accelerated him to limits where few drivers dared to tread. Later in life, he became a legend in other places — the remote areas among the rustic ridges and valleys of the western North Carolina high country, where serving others and providing life-saving relief in the wake of Hurricane Helene in 2024 became a personal mission.
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Biffle was celebrated for both Friday at Charlotte’s Bojangles’ Coliseum, where family, friends and fans paid their respects. Jeff Burton, the NBC Sports analyst who was a teammate to Biffle for years with team owner Jack Roush, made special mention of those dual roles in his remarks, noting the level of balance that he showed at various stages of his NASCAR career.
“Greg was a unique guy. He was kind of one-of-a-kind. He had the rare ability to sit in a race car and be a complete badass,” Burton said. “He was really fast and he would do whatever it took to win at any point, but also when he got out of the car, he found a way to help others, to be there when others needed help, to make sure everybody around him was having a good time and enjoying themselves. A split personality, it’s really hard to accomplish. Many race car drivers aren’t so cool out of the car because they’re tuned in to being a race car driver. Some aren’t as tough as they need to be in the car because they’re tuned in to being nice all the time. It’s hard to do both. Greg found a way to do it.
“Someone I appreciate a great deal once told me the greatest respect someone can get is the respect from their peers. Greg had that respect because he earned it. He positively influenced an entire industry. He was loved by his family and his friends, he left a mark, and he’ll be greatly missed.”
Family members were among the well-wishers on hand at the Charlotte arena, some making the trip from far-flung areas to pay tribute. Jackie McCarter, a first cousin, made the pilgrimage from Lexington, Kentucky, walking past the show cars out front with another relative from even farther away, Trish Mack from Wasilla, Alaska, who had a family photo draped from a lanyard around her neck.
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“It’s a blessing. It shows what a great man he was, a leader, a good father, a good cousin,” said McCarter, whose mother’s maiden name was Biffle. “I remember watching him in the dirt tracks, and then he moved to the Truck Series, and then he moved to the cars. I lived in Texas before Kentucky, and we had tickets. He was driving trucks, and they didn’t allow children under 14 in the pits, but he picked up my son and said, ‘Come on, you’re going with me,’ and got him in the truck and took pictures. Just such a blessing, such a great guy, the whole family. It’s just such a tragedy.”
MORE: Biffle the last of an old-school era
The impression that Biffle left on a generation of fans was also a close-to-home sentiment. Bob Grauna, a 65-year-old retiree who recently moved to the Charlotte area from New York, walked up wearing an RFK Racing hat and a heavy coat that celebrated Dale Earnhardt’s NASCAR Hall of Fame induction.
Grauna said he’d attended fan appreciation days for the Roush team years ago, recalling the long lines around the building to get an autograph or a quick conversation with Biffle. He said he once had a chance meeting with Biffle while filling up at a gas station, where he said the stock-car star happily took time to pose for photos. That interaction stuck with Grauna, who recalled Biffle’s selfless nature when his humanitarian works came into greater view.
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“He was like a guy next door,” Grauna said. “You’d see him and he would just stop and talk to you. He would never blow you off. He’d stop and sign for everybody. If there were 20 people online, he’d sign for everybody. That’s just the kind of guy he was. I was lucky enough to have him years ago sign a die-cast car for me, and he stopped and talked, he didn’t rush the line, he just talked to everybody. That’s the kind of guy he was.”
Well-wishers view racing vehicles from Greg Biffle
