By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hundreds in the NASCAR community gathered for a memorial service at Charlotte’s Bojangles Coliseum on Friday for former driver Greg Biffle, his family and others who were killed in a plane crash last month.
Biffle was among seven killed along with his wife, Cristina, and children Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, when the plane crashed as it returned to the airport in Statesville, North Carolina, according to authorities. Others on the plane were identified as Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth.
Driver/influencer Garrett Mitchell, known as “Cleetus McFarland” in his YouTube videos and a close friend of Biffle’s, was among those who spoke at the service.
“We have all been saying, ‘Be like Biff,’ since we lost our hero,” said Mitchell, who befriended Biffle later in his life. “What does that mean? That means to take opportunities when you see them. Whether you are taking opportunity to pass somebody on the track or getting off your couch to chase a dream you have only been talking about for the past 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,” Mitchell added.
Biffle, who was 55, was selected by NASCAR as one of its top 75 drivers in history, was a Hall of Fame nominee for the stock car series and drove for 18 years at the top of the sport.
He drew headlines last year for his tireless humanitarian efforts as a helicopter pilot supplying aid in the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene.
Biffle’s niece, Jordyn Biffle, told stories about Ryder’s hero being his father, Emma’s laughter and Cristina’s loving nature.
She said the Biffle family “lived fully, loved deeply and gave freely.”
“Their lives remind us that what matters isn’t how long we are here, but how we use the time we are given and how fiercely we love while we are here,” Biffle added. “And while this loss is devastating beyond words, their impact remains etched into all of us that were lucky enough to have known them, loved them and be changed by them.”
In the parking lot outside of the coliseum, fans paused to peer inside three racecars Biffle drove during his career.
Inside, the pictures of the seven who lost their lives where shown on a videoboard above the makeshift platform in the center of the covered hockey rink. There were seven wreaths on the stage where Mitchell, Biffle and former drivers Jeff Burton and Phil Parsons addressed the crowd.
Dylan Zirkle, 28, of Archdale, North Carolina, worked one year for Biffle at Roush Racing as a pit support employee while he was in high school.
He said Biffle made a lasting impact on him, and felt he needed to attend.
“Greg was always a really good guy and I enjoyed being around him,” Zirkle said. “You could always talk to him at anytime and he was just a real person. You could talk to him about anything.”
Back home, Zirkle still has model racing trucks in his gameroom autographed by Biffle that he cherishes.
Zirkle said he didn’t believe the news of the crash when he heard it.
“It still doesn’t feel real,” Zircle said. “I was watching some of his YouTube videos the other night and it just doesn’t seem real at all.”
Tanner Roberts and Jassamin Green made the four-hour trek from Wilmington, North Carolina, with their 7-year-old son Bentley after hearing about the memorial.
“He was a good racecar driver and I enjoyed him,” Roberts said. “And he was a good person. I grew up watching him and Dale Earnhardt. Them two were my favorites. They were good people and they loved to race.”
The Cessna C550 carrying the Biffle family and the others erupted in flames when it hit the ground shortly after it had departed Statesville Regional Airport, about an hour’s drive north of Charlotte.
The plane crashed while trying to return and land, authorities said.
The crash a week before Christmas left the NASCAR community shaken and was another blow in a long offseason. Ten days later, on the 52nd wedding anniversary of Denny Hamlin’s parents, the house the future Hall of Famer built to repay them for their years of sacrifice burned down. His father, Dennis, was killed, and Mary Lou Hamlin was rushed to a hospital burn unit.
Sheriff’s deputies are also investigating an alleged break-in and theft last week at Biffle’s home in Mooresville that netted $30,000 in cash, some guns and memorabilia.
As part of the public tribute, Mitchell planned to do a burnout later Friday near Biffle’s marker along the North Carolina Auto Racing Walk of Fame in Mooresville.