Greg Biffle’s humanitarian work reintroduced him to a broader audience, especially after his extraordinary efforts to aid people affected by Hurricane Helene last year. Those actions brought him back into the public eye despite his semi-retirement. But following his recent passing in a plane crash, Biffle is being remembered not only for stepping up when communities needed help, but also for his skills behind the wheel, an ability that refused to fade even after long stretches away from competition. Only a few moments captured that reality more clearly than his 2019 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory at Texas.
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Before that night, Biffle had not competed in the Truck Series since 2004. In the years that followed, his career grew primarily in the Xfinity and Cup Series. Then, against expectations and rust that typically dulls reflexes, he climbed into Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 51 Toyota in 2019.
Once he found his rhythm and understood the truck’s tendencies, he drove straight to victory, a performance that forced peers, including Todd Bodine, to reassess what they thought age and time away could do to a driver. Bodine explained how that race reshaped his view of Biffle.
“I remember that race, I had the pre-race show at the time… The first part of the race… it was classic Greg first stage, just kind of rode along there figured his truck out. He was riding about 8th or 9th and just getting used to things, and how they drove because we didn’t no practice…,” said Bodine.
“Second stage, he started getting on a little bit. He drove up into the top 5 and was racing people hard and making good quality passes,” he added.
Bodine recalled how the closing segment heightened the performance from solid to startling.
“And the last stage, they had a good pit stop. He got toward the front, went up past I forget who it was for a lead, and it’s like, “Holy cow, you know, he hasn’t raced in two (including Cup) years and look at as a racer looking at it…
“Look at the talent this man has. So to be able to do that, people have no idea how hard that is to do… I won’t say that’s when I had a different respect for him, but I looked at him differently after that.”
Bodine reflected on his own limited schedule in 2022, noting that during six races in the Truck Series, he could feel the toll of time and understood how quickly sharpness can slip. While he acknowledged that Biffle was not truly old, he emphasized that the extended absence from the Truck Series made the feat even more impressive.
That night, the then-49-year-old led only 18 of the 167 laps, yet he controlled the moments that mattered. The win marked his second Truck Series victory at the venue and the 17th of his Gander Trucks career. It also represented his first national series start since the 2016 Monster Energy Cup Series finale and his first Truck Series appearance in 15 years.
Fuel strategy became the final test as Biffle managed consumption precisely over the closing run, still finding enough pace to cross the line 0.963 seconds clear of the field. Matt Crafton finished second in the caution-filled SpeedyCash.com 400.
