Greg Biffle finds purpose in guiding Hurricane Helene relief efforts: ‘The mission continues’

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Greg Biffle finds purpose in guiding Hurricane Helene relief efforts: ‘The mission continues’

Greg Biffle’s invitation to what’s become a sweeping emergency response came casually on an otherwise quiet Saturday at his shop: “Hey, do you want to fly today?”

A friend had sent the request through

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, attaching a call for help from stranded tourists in remote Banner Elk, North Carolina, one of the mountain areas where Hurricane Helene’s winds and flood-feeding rainfall had hit hard. When Biffle and his team made their first attempt to reach the group that day, his was among a small few of helicopters running rescue routes from the Statesville airport. The next morning, there were eight. That figure ballooned to 20 by day’s end and has grown more in the days since, with pilots receiving much-needed supplies, the geographic coordinates where they were needed and then heading west.

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Biffle, one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers, didn’t have a sense of the scope and magnitude of the devastation when the message arrived that first Saturday, mainly because the greater Charlotte area was largely spared from more severe damage. In the days since, Biffle’s sense of purpose has swelled, and the mission has grown along with it.

“I’ll tell you, the feeling you get when you win a race, you can only ask drivers, right?” said Biffle, a 19-time winner in his Cup Series career. “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 has seen plenty in the days since that first run, and his video posts to social media have amplified the dire needs of those living in western North Carolina. As the flood waters have receded in Asheville and many other mountain towns, more of that devastation has come to light, especially where the narrow, twisting roadways that reach the most rugged terrain have been washed away.

Days after the storm, Biffle was still making discoveries, including finding one storm victim who caught his attention by using the reflection from a mirror as a distress call from a small clearing. The work has been rewarding, Biffle says, but many essential needs — food and water, communication and transportation — are still being addressed.

The mirror that caught our attention well over a mile away

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— Greg Biffle (@gbiffle)

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“It’s been busy — a lot of seat time in the helicopter, more than I ever would have imagined in my life,” Biffle says. “But 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. 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.”

Biffle isn’t going it alone, citing the help of his wife, Cristina, and friends and family who have been closely involved in the coordination efforts. The cooperation has spread, though, to the greater NASCAR community, and Biffle lists multiple teams and drivers who have reached out with assistance. Biffle says Brad Keselowski called him to offer his RFK Racing team’s trucks and trailers to haul supplies. Chris Buescher was instrumental in getting a truckload of donations to West Asheville. Hall of Famer Ray Evernham’s contributions have been crucial, he said.

“I mean, the list goes on. I don’t want to leave anyone out,” Biffle says, also mentioning Joey Logano’s response to the call for help. “Team guys are up there on their days off with trucks, trailers, chainsaws. They said, ‘We just drove up there and found a road that was blocked, and started cutting and moving trees out of the way. We got miles in and found people, and they had food and water and supplies.’ So it’s just real cowboys, coming out of NASCAR and helping, and it’s great to see that. But it makes me proud to be a part of that community.”

As far as next steps, Biffle says that operations from the Statesville airport have been scaled back as some of the larger highways have reopened. Resources have been reallocated to regional airports in the foothills towns of Hickory, Lincolnton and Morganton — closer to the *******-hit areas. Biffle gave special mention to the unsung job of linemen striving to restore power to the region, working alongside other first responders in the hills.

Charlotte Motor Speedway announced Friday that its hurricane relief drive would be extended through at least the end of October, collecting resources each Wednesday with support coming from the stock-car racing industry and the Charlotte community. The rebuilding effort is going to be a long-range haul, and Biffle says he’s committed to the cause, finding urgent needs from the air each day.

“There’s communities over there that we discovered that are just devastated,” Biffle says. “The reason why I’m still going is people are still in need, and I don’t want to leave a soldier behind. That’s why I’m still at it.”

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A graphic featuring images from Greg Biffle\

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