On December 18, Greg Biffle, one of NASCAR’s 75 greatest drivers, along with his wife, kids, and two others, was on his way to meet popular YouTuber Garrett Mitchell, more commonly known as Cleetus McFarland, when their plane experienced trouble and crashed. But unlike Biffle’s fans, this loss was personal for McFarland, as Biffle had become one of his close friends over the past couple of years. In his memory, he posted a 40-minute tribute video directed at the late legend.

The footage began with approximately 30 minutes of video clips of his and Biffle’s adventures from the past year and a half that the two had been filming together when hanging out. Included among the clips were segments that Mitchell had been filming with Biffle’s wife, Cristina, and his two kids, Ryder and Emma.

Captioning the video, McFarland said, “The last year and a half with him has been some of the greatest moments of my life. I am lucky to have had him as a mentor, and a close friend. I’ve never met someone I had so much in common with.”

Indeed, they had a lot in common. They actually met first through Hurricane Helene relief efforts, where both of them shared that desire to help others using helicopters to deliver supplies to the affected communities. Over the past year and a half, they’ve shared that enthusiasm for aviation, and Biffle has even mentored the 30-year-old YouTube sensation for his ARCA starts at Daytona, Talladega and Charlotte.

McFarland added, “His wife Cristina was an absolute pleasure to be around and an amazing mother. There’s so much more to say, but here’s some of our best moments. We love you guys so much. It’s an absolute tragedy we had to lose the Biffles like this.”

The video began with Biffle speaking directly to the camera about how he got into racing and was getting his own son into racing as well. It then moved on to show specific clips when Biffle helped organize and send supplies to the people affected by Hurricane Helene.

“Treat people the way you want to be treated,” said Biffle in the clip.

The video continued on with a montage of all of Biffle’s greatest moments in NASCAR, from winning his first race on. McFarland curated the video by piecing together different clips of Biffle talking in between, specifically about his relationship with McFarland. He even compared McFarland to a 15-year-younger version of himself while clips of the pair laughing and partaking in various driving experiences played in between.

“It’s a lot of fun for us to do stuff together,’ said Biffle.

Throughout the tribute, it was very clear what the group had thought of Biffle. Seeming to have the brightest smiles and best times of their lives whenever they were with him. One specific member during their time together racing sand cars had said, “When you start hanging out with Greg Biffle, your life just changes,” speaking volumes about the type of guy Greg Biffle really was.

With ten minutes left of the video, McFarland came on to speak one-on-one with the camera about Biffle. He was immediately brought to tears when he mentioned how he was going to try to get through the video. McFarland manages to speak about their times together, inserting pictures of the pair doing a different activity together every month, from road trips in cheap trailers to racing in Delgado.

During this part of the video, he speaks about the reason why Biffle was in the plan to begin with, which was to fly to see him and exchange their $10,000 Christmas gifts with each other. McFarland got Biffle a customized RC plane and two baby donkeys, while Biffle was going to gift McFarland with the best racing pigeons money can buy. The idea of the Christmas gift was that every year, the two would raise the price by ten grand, a great plan for a great driver, but an even better man.

McFarland ended the video on a heartfelt note, speaking kind words for everyone involved in the tragedy, including the two children. He wrapped up by sharing how, at a white elephant party, he picked the number 16, which to him meant Biffle was watching, and that we all have to make him proud.

“Thanks for watching, do it for Dale, and be like Biff,” McFarland said in his closing statement on the verge of tears.

Updates on the tragedy

On Friday, Dec. 19, a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member, Michael Graham, during a media briefing, confirmed all seven on board the aircraft were dead.

The aircraft had only been in flight for approximately 26 minutes before it went down just short of the runway.

A preliminary report of what caused the crash can be expected within 30 days, but the final report could take up to a year while the investigators continue to interview witnesses, review audio recordings, and more. Graham mentioned the investigation is just in the beginning phases of what is a very long process, and they cannot jump to conclusions or speculate.

As of Friday, the investigators are still unable to determine who was piloting the plane, as three people on board were licensed to fly. Graham had also announced that a black box from the plane was recovered. When asked whether there was a call from the aircraft, he replied that they were not made aware of one.