Garrett Mitchell found a way to keep Greg Biffle’s legacy alive. The driver better known as Cleetus McFarland turned to an auction to honor the late NASCAR icon, whose passing alongside his family in late 2025 left the racing world mourning. But this was more than a tribute. For McFarland, the auction became a tangible link between his own racing journey and the mentor who helped shape it.

At the Mecum auction at Nashville Superspeedway, all proceeds from the sale of Greg Biffle’s former car would go to the Biffle Family Legacy Impact Fund. The starting bid from Cleetus McFarland was $35,000, before a brief bidding war. Eventually, he won and took the car for a neat $47,000.

“Thank you to Jack Roush and everyone at Roush for including Greg’s car and pledging the proceeds to the Biffle Family Legacy Impact Fund,” said Jordyn Biffle (Greg’s niece) in a Facebook post as reported by Motorsport.com’s Nick DeGroot. “We’re grateful for their support and proud to see this car continue to make a difference.”

McFarland has long considered Biffle as a mentor, even if an ‘accidental’ one. The internet personality has already paid several tributes to Biffle, especially while he is racing.

However, the 31-year-old felt that that is not enough. Everything was at the behest of the Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing team. Among the items was Biffle’s iconic #16 National Guard Ford Taurus. This was the car that Greg Biffle piloted during the 2004 NASCAR Cup season.

In terms of specs, the car boasts a 358 cubic-inch Ford V-8 engine. Although Biffle won two races that year, this particular car never saw Victory Lane. In fact, its best finish was third at Atlanta in 2005.

Cleetus McFarland met his icon Greg Biffle in 2024

Cleetus McFarland and Greg Biffle’s friendship started in a rather strange way. An unexpected empty seat became the reason the two first met in mid-2024 at one of Cleetus’ Crown Vic races at Stafford Motor Speedway during the New England 900.

Brad Deberti had missed his flight, leaving a seat open, and Biffle’s wife Christina arranged for Greg to take it. This last-minute travel change soon blossomed into a connection.

Their friendship soon moved far beyond the racetrack. When Hurricane Helene devastated parts of North Carolina in September 2024, Biffle took to the skies in his private helicopter to help with rescue and supply missions.

Soon, Cleetus joined him, calling Biffle from his own helicopter with a message for his role model.

“We’re on our way,” was his message.

This was when their bond truly solidified. In that time, the two then spent days flying through the mountains and working alongside civilian rescuers.

“Greg Biffle was an accidental mentor of mine,” McFarland once said. “Like in no way, shape or form when him and I met did we foresee our relationship to be the way it was where he taught me how to be a stock car driver, you know? We just became friends because he loved helicopters and so did I. And we both loved Crown Vics and we just really liked spending time together. And then it naturally just kind of found its way into this avenue of racing because that’s what he did for so long. I wanted to be like him in a lot of ways and that’s just how it naturally progressed.”

Since then, Cleetus McFarland has vowed to ‘Be like Biff’. He was actually actively racing in NASCAR during the course of their friendship. When Biffle and his family died, the YouTuber considered leaving racing. Instead, he chose to stick around and honor Biffle’s memory by continuing to race.

Speaking of which, the personality will be back in action in late October. After a busy first half of 2026, Cleetus McFarland stepped away from racing for a planned mid-season break. Now, the wait is over.

McFarland is set to return at Talladega Superspeedway on Friday, October 23, reuniting with Niece Motorsports for his third NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start in the No. 4 Chevrolet.

Talladega gives him another shot to rewrite his Truck Series story. His debut at Daytona ended after just six laps when he got loose and crashed, but Michigan showed a different McFarland. He learned the truck’s limits and brought it home 25th. Now, with his part-time ARCA and Xfinity outings also adding to his 2026 schedule, McFarland returns looking to build on that progress.