Retired NASCAR Driver Greg Biffle, Along With His Wife & Two Children, Killed In North Carolina Plane Crash

No other way to put it, this just sucks.

Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle has been killed in a plane crash this morning at the Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina. The news was confirmed by Biffle’s close friend Garrett Mitchell, better known as racer and YouTube personality Cleetus McFarland, on social media, who also reported that Biffle’s wife Cristina, 5-year old son Ryder and 14-year old daughter Emma were onboard.

Biffle was 55-years old.

The news of his death was confirmed by several local sources, as well as Congressman Rich Hudson of North Carolina:

Retired NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace also confirmed that longtime NASCAR community member Craig Wadsworth was on the plane and killed in the crash.

The private Cessna Citation II with tail number N257BW reportedly crashed while taking off from the airport. Local officials confirmed that there were six fatalities in the crash.

According to flight tracking data, the plane took off today from the Statesville Regional Airport at around 10:06 AM eastern time before immediately turning around and attempting to land before crash landing near the runway. It’s reported that the pilot had reported having engine trouble while attempting to return to the airport.

The plane was headed to Bradenton, Florida, Cleetus McFarland was hosting his Christmas Tree Drags race at Bradenton Motorsports Park on December 20. Biffle and McFarland were close friends, and teamed up for the rescue efforts following Hurricane Helene.

The Vancouver, Washington native got his start racing on short tracks around the Pacific Northwest, and began his NASCAR career driving full-time in the Truck Series in 1998. The following year, he won an incredible nine wins while finishing second in the final points standings. He would go on to win the Truck Series championship in 2000 before moving up to the then-Busch Series (now O’Reilly Auto Parts Series) in 2001.

He won his first and only Busch Series title in 2002 while also making a limited number of Cup Series starts for various teams, including Roush Racing and Petty Enterprises. And the following year, Biffle finally got his shot in the big leagues when it was announced that he would be joining Roush full time as the driver of their #16 car.

He remained with Roush for his entire Cup Series career, winning 19 races and finishing as high as second in the points standings during the 2005 season. Biffle retired from full-time racing after the 2016 season, but returned to the Cup Series in 2022 to make a handful of starts for the NY Racing Team, his first races in the Cup Series in six years. Over his nearly two-decade career, Biffle won 56 races across the sport’s top three series.

Biffle was an avid pilot, who worked tirelessly in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene to deliver supplies and Starlink internet to those who were stranded and cut off due to the storm and resulting floods. He flew hundreds of rescue missions, and was later recognized by NASCAR for his heroic efforts and served as the honorary starter for the 2024 Bank of America 400 at the Charlotte Roval.

Earlier this year, he returned to the skies over North Carolina in his helicopter, this time to spread some joy to children with some help from the Easter bunny by air-dropping over 1,000 Easter eggs.

Just incredibly sad news, at a time when the NASCAR community is still mourning the loss of former driver Michael Annett just a few days ago.

Immediately after his death was confirmed, tributes began pouring in from the NASCAR family, remembering Biffle not only for his success on the track but his personality in the garage and off the track and his heroic contributions to his community:

Prayers for the Biffle family and the entire NASCAR community. Man this sucks.The post Retired NASCAR Driver Greg Biffle, Along With His Wife & Two Children, Killed In North Carolina Plane Crash first appeared on Whiskey Riff.