In December 2023, Greg Biffle met ARCA Communications Manager and ARCA Menards West play-by-play caller Charles Krall at the ARCA booth at the Performance Racing Industry trade show. He was there just for a quick hello. However, the conversation between the two ended with Biffle wanting to return to his roots and race in the West series the next year. Krall thought he was being polite. Biffle was serious.

The 19-time Cup Series winner returned with Farre’s Sigma Performance Services team’s #23. He didn’t win despite a strong performance, but he certainly gave some of his fans something worth it. You see, they had an autograph session for Biffle before the race, but the line was so long that not everyone could meet him. However, Biffle promised he would return after the race, and not a single person in the line would leave without meeting him. That’s what he did. That’s what Biffle has always done, and Tri City Raceway knows it all too well.

After his unfortunate demise in a plane crash, almost everyone called for his Hall of Fame induction. But when NASCAR announced its Class of 2027 two weeks ago, he wasn’t listed. However, the historic, six-decade-old track’s authorities are now taking up the responsibility to give the deserved respect to Greg Biffle and his legacy.

The Tri-City Raceway, located in West Richland, Washington, will honor the late Biffle in the upcoming ARCA West Series race on 6th June. NASCAR journalist Joseph Srigley reported on social media that this is set to include activities before the sun sets for the 150-lap race. The Biffle Family will be in the stands that day and will be gifted a memorial banner signed by Biffle’s fans.

“He went on to do really great things in NASCAR, but he never forgot where he came from,” Tri-City Raceway marketing director Laci Tolar told Motorsport America. “His fans were his people and we really enjoyed every moment we had with him over the last couple of years.

“It still doesn’t seem real that he won’t be here racing and visiting with his fans.”

Biffle and his immediate family, including his wife and children, passed away in a tragic plane crash on the 18 December, 2025. For many, it was almost a given that Biffle would be included in the Hall of Fame wing for his contributions to the sport.

However, the voting panel instead chose Jeff Burton, a former Cup Series runner-up with 21 wins in NASCAR’s top series, as their Modern Era Ballot. Burton completely deserves his spot, but the timing of the snub and Biffle’s accomplishments somewhat overshadowed that fact.

Among those accomplishments is Biffle becoming the first driver in NASCAR history to win championships in both the Truck Series and the Nationwide Series. He was also named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023. Even Burton himself felt that Biffle should be in the Hall of Fame, although he didn’t comment on whether his 2027 snub was deserved or not.

“We had a lot of good times together. And we won a lot of races: O’Reilly and Truck championships,” he said to reporters earlier this month. “He definitely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame at some point. When that is, that’s not for me to decide.”

Tri-City Raceway, unlike the panelists, wanted to honor Biffle as soon as possible. He shares a deep connection with the track, where he won the Late Model championship in 1995 and helped launch the career that eventually took him to NASCAR’s highest level. Biffle retired after making 515 Cup Series starts, recording 19 wins and a career-best championship finish of second place in 2005.

On-track legacy aside, Biffle was also an admirable person away from NASCAR. That’s yet another reason to honor one of the sport’s most beloved personalities.

Greg Biffle’s heroics in his private helicopter

In 2024, residents of western North Carolina were living through a nightmare as Hurricane Helene ravaged the region, leaving thousands stranded. Biffle initially responded to a request from a single family, but his efforts soon grew into a full-scale rescue operation that helped countless others.

A licensed pilot, Biffle personally flew into affected areas to deliver supplies and other essentials to those in need. In doing so, he became an even bigger hero to many than he had been on the racetrack. For his humanitarian efforts, he was named the recipient of the 2024 Myers Brothers Award.

“If I don’t go, who’s going to go? So that day, I drove to the airport. Power was out, so we used the tug to get the hangar door open, got my helicopter out, put fuel on, and tried to go rescue that family,” Biffle said while receiving the award, revealing the situation the people were stuck in.

“And what turned out to be 4,000 messages after that just turned into 12 days of flying, sun up to sun down.”

At the end of the day, Greg Biffle was more than just a NASCAR driver who deserved to be in the Hall of Fame, as many claim. He was a hero for many, and the disappointment was immense for the fans when he was not announced as one of the inductees for the Class of 2027.