![\"Greg](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-1154521615-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSTATESVILLE, N.C. \u2014 Greg Biffle, one of NASCAR\u2019s 75 Greatest Drivers, and his wife and two children were among seven people killed in a plane crash Thursday at an airport about an hour north of Charlotte, NASCAR and the victims\u2019 families said in separate statements. Biffle was 55.<\/p>\n
Biffle, his wife Cristina, his 14-year-old daughter Emma, and his 5-year-old son Ryder were all among the victims, the statements said, along with Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are devastated by the loss of our loved ones. This tragedy has left all of our families heartbroken beyond words,\u201d the families\u2019 statement said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreg was more than a champion driver, he was a beloved member of the NASCAR community, a fierce competitor, and a friend to so many,\u201d NASCAR said. \u201cHis passion for racing, his integrity, and his commitment to fans and fellow competitors alike made a lasting impact on the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Federal Aviation Administration and Statesville Regional Airport confirmed that an aircraft crashed while landing shortly after 10 a.m. ET. The Cessna C550 was registered to GB Aviation, with Biffle listed as the company\u2019s manager.<\/p>\n
Chris Knox, a sergeant in the North Carolina Highway Patrol, said that the crash involved a single airplane.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were told initially that this was a reapproach, that the aircraft had left this facility, and was reapproaching the airport to land,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
There was rain in the area around the airport Thursday morning, and a witness on the scene described seeing smoke and fire after the incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a big plume of black smoke, and I saw some fire trucks coming up (the street),\u201d said Scott Sain, an electrical worker who was on a job at the airport. \u201c\u2026 I didn\u2019t hear anything, but I went across and the whole end of the runway was on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Knox said that the Federal Aviation Administration was on scene Thursday afternoon, and that the National Transportation Safety Board would arrive and take over the investigation on Friday. The FAA said that it typically releases preliminary accident reports the next business day.<\/p>\n
Garrett Mitchell, a friend of Biffle\u2019s who is also known as the YouTuber Cleetus McFarland, posted on Facebook that the family was on its way to spend the afternoon with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are devastated,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Biffle won 19 Cup Series races in a career that spanned two decades and claimed championships in both the Busch Series, as NASCAR\u2019s second division was known then, and Craftsman Truck Series. He\u2019s one of the few Pacific Northwest drivers to head south and make an impact in the stock car world. He drove full-time in the Cup Series from 2003-2016.<\/p>\n
He grew up in Vancouver, Wash. \u2014 just across the Columbia River from Portland, Ore. \u2014 and found success on local short tracks. The late NASCAR driver Benny Parsons noticed Biffle in the mid-1990s and recommended him to NASCAR team owner Jack Roush; Biffle then used that big break by winning a total of 56 times across NASCAR\u2019s three top series.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Greg Biffle celebrates a Truck Series victory in 2019 at Texas Motor Speedway. Biffle retired in 2016 but returned for the one-off race and won it. (Brian Lawdermilk \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Biffle\u2019s last victory was a remarkable one. In 2019, he had a chance for a one-off race for Kyle Busch Motorsports at Texas Motor Speedway. Despite being three years removed from his Cup career, Biffle came out of what was essentially retirement and won the race.<\/p>\n
Biffle was nominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame and is expected to eventually be inducted.<\/p>\n
In 2024, he made countless helicopter flights to provide aid to the North Carolina mountains after Hurricane Helene. The effort earned him the prestigious NMPA Myers Brothers Award, which recognizes an individual who made outstanding contributions to stock car racing.<\/p>\n
The families\u2019 statement remembered Greg and Cristina as \u201cactive philanthropists whose lives were centered around their young son Ryder and Greg\u2019s daughter Emma.\u201d (Nicole Lunders, Greg Biffle\u2019s first wife, is Emma\u2019s mother.)<\/p>\n
\u201cEmma was a wonderful human being with a kind soul who was loved by many people,\u201d the statement said. \u201cRyder was an active, curious and infinitely joyful child.<\/p>\n
\u201cDennis Dutton and his son Jack were deeply loved as well, and their loss is felt by all who knew them. Craig Wadsworth was beloved by many in the NASCAR community and will be missed by those who knew him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owners, drivers and other members of the NASCAR community reacted to the news on Thursday.<\/p>\n
In posts on X, former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace mourned the Biffle family and called Wadsworth \u201cmy dear friend.\u201d He said Wadsworth was his motorhome driver for six years.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur family is heart broke right now,\u201d Wallace said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the silver linings to such a small and intertwined industry is the support and love we have for every member of the NASCAR family,\u201d Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks posted on X. \u201cToday is a tough one. We\u2019ve lost a family that made contributions far beyond the racetrack. Rest in Paradise friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been extremely hard to work today,\u201d JR Motorsports crew chief Rodney Childers posted. \u201cMy mind and my heart are all with the Biffle family. They were incredible people. So nice, and did so much for so many. We will see you again one day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Said Jeff Gordon, the Hall of Fame driver who raced against Biffle in the Cup Series for more than a decade: \u201cDevastating news. I had such tremendous respect for Greg as a driver, and we shared countless tough battles on the track. Like so many others, I was inspired by his tireless relief work during Hurricane Helene. My heart goes out to the Biffle family and everyone hurting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATESVILLE, N.C. \u2014 Greg Biffle, one of NASCAR\u2019s 75 Greatest Drivers, and his wife and two children were…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":456656,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[51,1833,1406,50,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-456655","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-motorsports","10":"tag-nascar","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115743433437212044","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}