For the Biff: George Siciliano intends to fulfill a promise to himself and his late friend at Rockingham and beyond

George Siciliano is a man of many names.

He is commonly referred to as LS George or “Squirrel McNutt,” personas that stem from the videos he makes on YouTube with Garrett Mitchell, also known as Cleetus McFarland. The friends’ personalities are just as vibrant as their love for cars, a passion that has guided both to the ARCA Menards Series.

This journey carries personal weight for Siciliano and McFarland beyond the simple desire to compete; it’s about honoring a promise the two made to their late friend and NASCAR Cup Series legend Greg Biffle — that they would one day share the track with each other in an ARCA Menards Series event.

One part of that promise gets fulfilled this weekend, as Siciliano and McFarland are both entered in a race together for the first time in Saturday’s ARCA Menards Series East event at Rockingham Speedway. Without Biffle’s influence, Siciliano does not believe such a moment would have ever materialized.

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“I always loved NASCAR, but I never thought there was a real opportunity for someone like myself,” Siciliano said. “Once [Biffle] got [Cleetus] in there and showed him the path, [we realized all three of us] could do it. Obviously, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Of course I wanted to drive in NASCAR.

“I got a sponsor and jumped into that seat as soon as I could.”

Siciliano knew from the onset becoming a driver in the ARCA Menards Series was not going to be a quick, seamless process.

After all, he had no prior stock-car experience to his name.

That is not to say Siciliano was unfamiliar with the situation. Being immersed in McFarland’s world, which saw him purchase Freedom Factory and embark on his own ARCA Menards Series journey, gave Siciliano plenty of notes to study while serving as a key component of McFarland’s YouTube channel.

Siciliano had enjoyed helping McFarland build his brand for many years, creating diverse content around cars that ranged from demonstrations and races to prank videos. With everything he was doing with McFarland’s channel, the thought of taking part in a NASCAR-sanctioned event rarely crossed his mind.

A Crown Vic race at Stafford Speedway set into motion a chain of events that led Siciliano down his current path. When one of the drivers had to back out, Biffle ended up filling the empty spot on the starting grid, which served as Siciliano and McFarland’s formal introduction to the 19-time NASCAR Cup Series winner.

Biffle’s relationship with McFarland and Siciliano blossomed during the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in 2024. As part of the recovery efforts, Biffle and McFarland coordinated helicopter flights into the Appalachian Mountains to ensure residents without food and power had the supplies they needed.

Getting to know Biffle personally was something Siciliano considered an immense privilege. Not only did Siciliano absorb vast knowledge about NASCAR from Biffle, but he and McFarland also enjoyed seeing Biffle embrace a more energetic-but-relaxed mindset during the final year of his life.

“The three of us just became really close after that,” Siciliano said. “We would stay at [Biffle’s] house every time we traveled up to North Carolina. We would go to the sand dunes and started staying with him because we found out he had a place out there. We got really close riding four-wheelers, side-by-sides, dirt bikes and what not.

“I feel like we got him out of his shell a little bit, because we’d tell stories to other drivers and they were like, ‘We never really knew that side of him.’ It was a great time, and we had a lot of fun together.”

Siciliano has been relying on Biffle’s knowledge during his transition into stock cars. After careful preparation and discussions with the people around him, it was decided that Siciliano’s first race on the ARCA Menards Series platform would be the East Series opener at Hickory Motor Speedway.

To prepare for his debut, Siciliano turned laps around Hickory in a Late Model Stock for 2022 track champion Landon Huffman. Siciliano found his cadence inside Huffman’s car and felt optimistic he could carry that over to the East Series with Rette Jones Racing, the same team for which McFarland drives.

Hickory was far from perfect for Siciliano. He ended up in 13^th seven laps down to winner Tristan McKee after an early, off-track excursion. Despite this, Siciliano considered the evening a success, as he felt he gained valuable experience and the trust of his competition.

“The car felt great, and I was feeling great,” Siciliano said. “I did get a little greedy early on, gave her just a little too much coming out of Turn 2 and got her sideways. I saved it and kept it off the wall, but I put it in the grass. A rookie mistake. I went down pit road when I certainly didn’t need to, so that put me down a lot of laps right off the rip.

“When the fast guys came around, I was on pace with them pretty good. I had a lot of fun and didn’t even scratch the car, so I was really excited about that.”

Rockingham will be a different test in nearly every aspect. The facility is just over a mile in length compared to Hickory’s 0.363-mile layout, offering high speeds, steep turns and more off-throttle times, qualities Siciliano has only encountered in the simulator.

Attending McFarland’s test with Richard Childress Racing ahead of his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut on Saturday also helped Siciliano. The O’Reilly Series and East Series cars are much different, but seeing how McFarland approached Rockingham provided Siciliano a baseline of what to expect in his first race there.

“I was there listening and learning the whole time, so I did learn a lot about the track, where to get on and off the throttle,” Siciliano said. “I know there’s a little bump coming out of both turns that can get you a little loose. I’m excited to feel that and see how it goes.

“A solid day would be me going out there, finishing the race and not causing an incident.”

Siciliano wants nothing more than to see Rockingham go according to plan. He intends to run the national ARCA Menards Series race at Kansas Speedway in two weeks followed by a trip to Talladega Superspeedway at the end of the month, when he will once again have McFarland as his teammate.

There was a time when Siciliano imagined he, McFarland and Biffle would draft together at Talladega to find their way to the front. Biffle will not be at Talladega physically, but Siciliano knows he will be present spiritually, supporting his two friends as they continue finding their way in stock cars.

Although his own journey to the ARCA Menards Series is unconventional compared to his counterparts, Siciliano is grateful a driver like Biffle believed in him. That’s all the motivation he needs to quell any uncertainty about his capabilities.

Talladega is the endgame for the man known as LS George, Squirrel McNutt or simply McFarland’s partner-in-crime. Once he takes the green flag for that event, the promise Siciliano made to both himself and Biffle will be fulfilled.

“[Starting at Talladega] would mean I passed the test and I do in fact have what it takes, despite what everybody says,” Siciliano said. “It would make me extremely happy.”