NASCAR great Kevin Harvick opens up on Greg Biffle and their 'intense' rivalry

2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick has opened up on his relationship with former NASCAR rival Greg Biffle.

The pair first raced against each other in Late Models in the mid-1990's and they would go on to compete in NASCAR, driving for rival organizations in Roush Racing and Richard Childress Racing.

Sadly, in December, Biffle and six others - including his wife Cristina and their children Emma and Ryder - sadly died in a horrific plane crash in North Carolina in December.

Ever since, the NASCAR community has been in mourning, with a host of drivers and key figures having paid tribute to the 55-year-old in recent weeks and told some incredible stories about his life and career.

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Kevin Harvick's first Greg Biffle encounter

Now, speaking on his Happy Hour show for the first time since Biffle’s passing, Harvick has revealed when he first encountered Biffle and the intensity that he brought to the race track.

“My first memory of Greg was ‘93, '94, 95’, somewhere right in there. It was at the October Classic,” Harvick explained. “Greg came and raced in that particular event. That was the first time that I got to race around Greg, and this particular night was what Greg Biffle was all about.

“Driving it no matter what the consequences were, as hard as it would go, trying to chase a win, and he drove the thing into the fence running second so hard off of turn two that it broke his leg.

“That was the first time that I got to experience the intensity of Greg Biffle and his racing, and that same Biffle that showed up to that Late Model race that night was the same guy that ran 20th, ran first, ran 15th. It was that on the edge, drive it as hard as it would go every single lap.”

Harvick: We had some intense rivalries

Continuing further, Harvick delved into his relationship with Biffle, citing a moment in 2002 where he once grabbed Biffle by the throat after being spun out at a race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Despite that and their rivalry, Harvick says they had a good relationship.

“Obviously the most famous incident that I had with Greg was grabbing him by the throat after the Grand National race that we had at Bristol when he spun me out and I hit the fence,” Harvick said.

“So we had some intense rivalries along the way, but [I] always had a good relationship with Greg that was very friendly. He drove for Roush and I drove for RCR, so it was never like we were best friends.

“But I think from a competitor standpoint, and just being able to appreciate who Greg was on the race track for what he did behind the wheel, and basically coming from nothing to make a career out of out of what he did and built a great life for him and his family, to see the way that it all came to an end, makes you really sit back and think about it.”