Yahoo Sports – Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle along with six others — including three family members — died in a plane crash Thursday at Statesville Regional Airport in Statesville, North Carolina.
Biffle, who spent 16 seasons driving in NASCAR’s top series, was 55.
The other six victims included Biffle’s wife Cristina; their 5-year-old son Ryder; Biffle’s daughter from another marriage, Emma, 14; Dennis Dutton and his son Jack; and Craig Wadsworth, who was also a part of the NASCAR community.
“We are devastated by the loss of our loved ones,” the families said in a joint statement. “This tragedy has left all of our families heartbroken beyond words.”
YouTube star and part-time NASCAR racer Garrett Mitchell — known as Cleetus McFarland — posted to Facebook that Biffle and his family were headed to visit Mitchell and his family. Biffle had appeared in numerous videos on Mitchell’s popular YouTube channel.
The Cessna C550 was scheduled to fly to Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport from Statesville, about 40 miles north of Charlotte. Per FlightAware, it took off at 10:06 a.m. ET and traveled just 29 miles before it crashed while attempting to land back at Statesville at 10:32 a.m. ET.
The plane was owned by GB Aviation Leasing LLC. The address listed on the FAA registry for the plane matches an address for Biffle in Mooresville, North Carolina.
Biffle was born in Vancouver, Washington, and began his racing career in the Pacific Northwest, far from the Southeast epicenter of stock car racing.
In 1998, he got his break when team owner Jack Roush gave him a ride in the third-tier Truck Series. He won a title in his third season, moved his way up to the second-tier Xfinity Series and won a title there, too. Then it was onto the top-tier Cup Series.
Biffle competed for 16 full or part-time seasons in NASCAR’s Cup Series from 2002 through 2022 …
