NASCAR Champion Greg Biffle Remembered as ‘Unsung Hero’ of Hurricane Helene for Boldly Using His Helicopter to Save Lives

Hours after the late former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle’s tragic death on Thursday, Dec. 18, friends, fans and fellow drivers are mourning the North Carolina native and celebrating what many view as his heroic response to Hurricane Helene.

The North Carolina resident, 55, died Thursday morning in a fiery plane crash at Statesville Regional Airport along with his wife Christina and two children, daughter Emma and son Ryder. 

The FAA confirmed to PEOPLE that a plane crash occurred at the airport around 10:20 a.m. local time and that there were six fatalities. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol has since said there were seven fatalities.

Biffle’s friend Garrett Mitchell, who is also known as internet personality Cleetus McFarland, later wrote in a social media post that Biffle and his family were on their way to "spend the afternoon with us" when the plane owned by the retired NASCAR driver crashed.

U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson also confirmed Biffle and his family’s deaths on social media, writing he was “devastated” over the news.

“They were friends who lived their lives focused on helping others,” the congressman wrote. “Greg was a great NASCAR champion who thrilled millions of fans. But he was an extraordinary person as well, and will be remembered for his service to others as much as for his fearlessness on the track. The Biffles flew hundreds of rescue missions in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.”

Rep. Tim Moore, also from North Carolina, added: "Greg was a hero on and off the track, stepping up when Western NC needed help after Hurricane Helene."

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene in 2024, Biffle used his personal helicopter to rescue North Carolina residents stranded by the disaster while also delivering supplies to areas that became impossible to reach via damaged roadways. Biffle told NASCAR.com last year that he used the Statesville Regional Airport – the same airport where he and his family crashed Thursday – as his home base during his relief efforts in the greater Charlotte, North Carolina area.

“I’ll tell you, the feeling you get when you win a race, you can only ask drivers, right?” Biffle, who won 19 Cup Series races throughout his decorated career, told the racing league’s website. “Because the feeling you get when you win that race, that’s the feeling you get when you’re able to help people in need.”

Biffle’s efforts to provide relief and aid to residents across North Carolina continued throughout this past year as he raised funds and awareness about the deadly natural disaster's ongoing impact. In a September profile about Biffle’s aid efforts, local CBS station WFMY hailed him as an “unsung hero” to those in North Carolina.

Biffle told WFMY he purchased his helicopter six months prior to the hurricane – timing that gave him “goosebumps” because of what came next. After the hurricane made landfall, Biffle received a text from a friend asking if he could rescue a family they knew trapped in Banner Elk. In case anyone else was also thinking about heading out to rescue the family, Biffle shared what he was doing on Facebook. 

“I got 4,000, 5,000 messages within an hour and a half saying, ‘I haven’t heard from my parents. I haven’t heard from my brother, sister, neighbor, grandparents, relative,’ “ Biffle recalled. 

The former NASCAR driver then made the decision to fulfill as many requests as he could, flying all day rescuing trapped neighbors or delivering them supplies until the sun went down and it wasn’t safe to fly anymore.

“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 about pushing through the physical and emotional exhaustion he faced in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene. “I’m sitting there at my counter looking through my phone just overwhelmed like what am I gonna do next.”

Biffle received the 2024 Myers Brothers Award for his humanitarian efforts in the wake of Hurricane Helene. "We feel good about what we did," Biffle said, according to NASCAR.com. "And then over 100 helicopters joined the effort, a lot of guys from this room. So it was a great effort and I’m glad that I was part of it.”

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In the months after the North Carolina disaster, Biffle sought to continue what he saw as a newfound calling. In late October, Biffle announced he was planning to provide relief in Jamaica after the deadly Hurricane Melissa made landfall. Biffle said at the time that he was trying “to coordinate and explore all opportunities via by sea and air for relief efforts as quickly as we can to the Caribbean.”

Rep. Hudson said the last time he heard from the Biffle family was when Christina reached out asking how they could help provide aid in Jamaica. "That's who the Biffles were," the congressman wrote.

After his death Thursday, friends and fellow drivers praised Biffle for his post-retirement humanitarian efforts.

“RIP BIFF… you and your family will be missed,” NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Kyle Weatherman posted on social media. “You did so much for North Carolina and the NASCAR Community.”

Local sports announcer Jake Wilson wrote that he was “devastated and heartbroken” over Biffle’s death, saying the late driver had “helped so many people & made so many people’s lives better” through his humanitarian efforts. 

"I’m so glad I got to know you,” Wilson added.

South Carolina meteorologist and storm chaser Chris Jackson wrote that "it cannot be stated how vital Greg Biffle was in organizing the western NC Helene relief effort which was among one of the largest civilian humanitarian missions ever on American soil.”

“The world didn’t just lose a NASCAR great today," Jackson wrote. "The world lost a great man and great family that selflessly stepped up and used their resources for the greater good to help total strangers during their greatest time of need.”