NASCAR Legend Greg Biffle Flying Helicopter Into Areas Cut Off By Hurricane Helene To Deliver Supplies

NASCAR has close ties to North Carolina. Though the sport is headquartered in Florida, Charlotte calls itself the « Home of NASCAR. » The NASCAR Hall of Fame is there, and many of the biggest racing teams are headquartered in the Queen City area, too.

So it’s perhaps no surprise then that the men and women of the stock car racing world are so eager to give back amid the recovery efforts after

Hurricane Helene devastated much of western North Carolina,

northeastern Tennessee, as well as parts of Georgia and Florida.

Greg Biffle has been at the forefront of many of these efforts. The Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series Champion has taken to Instagram to share videos of the helicopter trips he has taken, along with other relief workers, to bring food, medical supplies, fuel, and even satellites to parts of North Carolina automobiles still cannot access.

In

an interview

with Nascar.com, Biffle said, « The scale of the situation, to be honest with you, I don’t even know how to put it into words. »

He continued, « The problem is those mountain communities, all of the roads are completely washed off the side of the mountains. The road does not exit anymore, in or out, and it’s not one area. It’s not Asheville, it’s not Banner Elk. It’s all the way from the state line to the state line, so it is a huge undertaking. The scale of this is incredible. »

Biffle said he first felt called into action when he got word of a family stranded in a vacation rental with supplies dwindling and no exit route. He recounted in the interview the efforts he was able to take, before another group of rescuers were able to ultimately reach the family.

For him, however, the work had just started. Since then, he and a small group of folks have been relaying requests and delivering supplies as they can.

On Wednesday, October 2, for example, Biffle

shared a video on social media

of a person in a canyon using a mirror to reflect sunlight and get the craft’s attention.

« The mirror that caught our attention well over a mile away, only way [we] were able to find someone stranded in the mountains at bottom of steep canyon. 6 attempts to land due to difficulty but we got there—got him a chainsaw, EpiPens, insulin, chicken food, formula, gas, 2 stroke oil, and sandwiches premade from Harris Teeter before we left, » he wrote in the Instagram caption.

Biffle isn’t the only NASCAR driver or team working to bring relief to the impacted areas.

The

NASCAR Foundation

is donating $150,000, and it has set up a

portal

for NASCAR fans to make a contribution, too. Donations via the NASCAR Foundation will support the work of the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Other NASCAR teams and drivers are stepping up, too. Joey Logano, along with the Joey Logano Foundation, have pledged $250,000. 23XI Racing, which is co-owned by NBA and University of North Carolina legend Michael Jordan, has announced they will donate $500,000.

Carl Edwards is supporting the relief work of

Operation Airdrop

, a Texas-based non-profit that uses aviation assets like helicopters and planes to bring supplies to areas impacted by natural disasters.

The

Bristol Motor Speedway

in Bristol, Tennessee, was also just designated the Northeast Tennessee Disaster Relief Center. Beginning October 3, it will act as the donation collection and distribution site for the many Tennessee counties affected by the storm.

Charlotte Motor Speedway held a relief drive October 2 and 3. This weekend’s race at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama will also be another chance for fans to donate. They can bring non-perishable food, bottled water, diapers, and wipes to the outside of the stadium, near the Turn 3 tunnel.