NASCAR
Greg Biffle, Wife, Children Among Seven Victims in Fatal Plane Crash
STATESVILLE, N.C. – Tragic news has struck the NASCAR world, with a racing icon and his immediate family killed in an aviation accident. Greg Biffle, 55, his wife Cristina, daughter Emma, and son Ryder are all dead following a plane crash Thursday morning at Statesville (N.C.) Regional Airport. At this time, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are both conducting active investigations into what caused the Cessna 550 crash. The plane, owned by Biffle, made impact east of airport property after turning around following takeoff.
1st Sgt Chris Knox confirms that Greg Biffle is one of seven fatalities in the plane crash at Statesville Regional Airport this morning pic.twitter.com/d1WoLQtcCD
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) December 18, 2025
Biffle, named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023, was a defining star of 2000s and 2010s NASCAR. The Vancouver, Washington native first came onto the Truck Series scene in 1998, winning Rookie of the Year honors. This was followed by the series championship in 2000. Upon graduating to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (then Busch) Series, Biffle proceeded to win Rookie of the Year (2001) and the title the next season. 2003 saw Biffle make the jump to the NASCAR Cup Series, where he won 19 times over a 16-year career. His best Cup season was 2005, where he won six races and was runner-up to champion Tony Stewart. This remains the closest any driver has come to winning all three NASCAR National Series titles.
Biffle last ran full-time in the Cup Series in 2016, but did make a few starts in 2022 with NY Racing Team. Through five races in the No. 44 Chevrolet, Biffle’s best result was 20th in Atlanta. Biffle also recently ran a pair of Truck races in 2019 and 2020. Most notably, he won at Texas Motor Speedway with the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 51 Toyota. This marked his 17th Truck Series victory after 15 years away. Biffle’s record of all-time winningest Truck season was only broken this year by eventual champion Corey Heim.
Greg Biffle’s close friend Garrett Mitchell (aka Cleetus McFarland) made a Facebook post confirming this tragedy. Mitchell said the Biffles and company were flying to spend the afternoon with them at the Freedom Factory racetrack in Bradenton, Fla. Biffle was a key player in getting Cleetus McFarland into ARCA Racing Series starts this past season.
Biffle and Mitchell had been closely associated ever since they teamed up to fly helicopter rescue missions after Hurricane Helene. Goodwill charitable work done by them and many others helped bring much needed supplies into desolate areas ravaged by last year’s storm in Western North Carolina and Tennessee. This humanitarian work and other efforts done by Biffle largely trump any on-track accomplishments.
The Cessna jet, tail number N257BW, reportedly crashed after an attempted reentry into Statesville Regional Airport. The emergency scene was directly east of runway 28, not far from Lakewood Golf Club. A statement put out by the Biffle, Grossu, Dutton, & Lunders families did identify all seven victims. In addition to the Biffles were: Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and NASCAR industry member Craig Wadsworth.
Craig Wadsworth drove of our motorhome for six years. Our family is heart broke right now 😔 He died on the airplane.
I will be giving my thoughts at a later date😔❤️ pic.twitter.com/2bvswPJx01— Kenny Wallace (@Kenny_Wallace) December 18, 2025
Both NASCAR and Biffle’s former race team RFK Racing shared messages of sympathy on social media. Each call for prayers and support to be sent out towards all affected by this horrific accident.
Statement from RFK Racing on today’s tragedy. pic.twitter.com/hrUnu8qlP8
— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) December 18, 2025
At this time, there is no word on any cause of this tragedy or what ultimately caused the Biffle’s plane to crash. This story will be updated when more information is available.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
