NASCAR Tragedies Involving Biffle and Hamlin Bring Community Together as New Season Nears
The NASCAR community is still reeling from the heartbreaking tragedies involving Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin that struck during the offseason. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the 2023 Daytona 500 winner, says the sport’s tight-knit family has truly come together in support.
Stenhouse described the motorsports world as “a small family” despite its massive footprint on the sporting world, noting that “everybody feels” these kinds of losses deeply.
“Yeah, NASCAR and motorsports in general is, you could say big, but it’s a small family,” he said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital. “It’s a massive footprint, but everybody’s really integrated, really close, and everybody feels that no matter what happens.
Had the opportunity to learn from the Biff when I first got in to the sport. Great teammate, great human, and great family. Such a tragic day today… pic.twitter.com/Y2P9SQLIKO
— Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (@StenhouseJr) December 18, 2025
Trying to Rally Around Each Other
Stenhouse went on to describe reactions within the tight-knit NASCAR family to the tragedies involving Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin.
“You know, Greg and his family, super sad, super tragic, and then you have Denny, who, it’s very public that he was trying to win that championship for his dad, didn’t think his dad was going to make it that much longer,” he said, according to Fox.
“But who knows, he may have won the championship this year and his dad could have made it. But the tragic fire that took his dad and has his mom in the hospital, like, man, it’s just, it’s been a crazy, devastating offseason.”
Stenhouse hopes the motorsports community can get back on track after the back-to-back horrible stories.
“And I think we’re all just ready to get back on track, to get things that kind of let’s see if it’ll calm down a little bit. Just a tough offseason, for sure,” he said. “But I think everybody has rallied around each other, rallied around those affected with the families, and we pick each other up.”
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Heartbreak in the Community
As Bounding Into Sports readers know, Denny Hamlin experienced pure heartbreak last month when a devastating house fire erupted at the North Carolina home of his parents, Dennis and Mary Lou Hamlin. The blaze, which caused the two-story structure to collapse, claimed the life of his 75-year-old father.
Mary Lou, 69, also suffered serious injuries. She is still recovering.
Firefighters from multiple departments responded to the blaze, finding the home already heavily engulfed with flames visible through the attic. Reports indicated that nearly 50 percent of the structure was involved.
Both Dennis and his wife, Mary Lou, had escaped the burning house but suffered catastrophic injuries; they were found outside when crews arrived. The fire, which took over two hours to extinguish, resulted in a total loss of their home. The cause remains under investigation.
Dennis Hamlin played a pivotal role in his son’s racing career, making significant personal and financial sacrifices—including multiple mortgages on their family home and the sale of cherished classic cars—to support Denny’s early dreams in motorsports.
Prior to that, the NASCAR community suffered another profound tragedy when a plane crash claimed the lives of former Cup Series champion Greg Biffle, his wife, two young children, and three others.
Biffle was a prominent figure in NASCAR history. The Vancouver, Washington native won the NASCAR Truck Series championship in 2000 and the Xfinity Series title in 2002, becoming the first driver to claim championships in both series.
In the Cup Series, he recorded 19 victories over 515 starts from 2002 to 2016, with a career-best second-place finish in the 2005 standings. Biffle, named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers, had been semi-retired in recent years.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred as the plane attempted an emergency return to the runway shortly after departure. Newly released 911 emergency calls paint a harrowing picture of the moments following the plane crash.