Greg Biffle remembered for NASCAR legacy, disaster relief work after fatal North Carolina plane crash

The retired NASCAR driver, who once used his own helicopter to deliver supplies after Hurricane Helene, was killed along with his family and three others in a plane crash near Statesville, North Carolina.

Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family are among the seven confirmed dead after a plane crash on Thursday near Statesville, North Carolina.

The crash happened around 10 a.m. EST Thursday shortly after the plane departed Statesville Regional Airport, located about 45 miles north of Charlotte. The plane, a Cessna C550, was attempting to return and land before it crashed and erupted into flames, according to The Associated Press.

Biffle, a retired NASCAR driver, was on the plane with his wife Cristina, his 14-year-old daughter Emma and their 5-year-old son Ryder. The other three aboard the plane were Craig Wadsworth, Dennis Dutton and his son Jack.

“There was heavy drizzle in the vicinity of Statesville Regional Airport near the time of the crash with a brief period of heavy rain shortly after," said Dan DePodwin, Senior Director of Forecast Operations at AccuWeather. "The cloud ceiling was 1,200 feet at 10:15 a.m., lowering to 400 feet at 10:35 a.m. The visibility was 5 miles near the time of the crash and just under 2 miles shortly after. The wind was mainly calm."

It's unclear if weather was a factor in the crash, and the cause is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

"Weather conditions are often a critical factor that investigators carefully review after a plane crash," DePodwin added. "It may take months to a year or longer for investigators to determine if the weather conditions contributed to this crash.”

Biffle's legacy off the track focused on disaster relief

While Biffle became well-known for his NASCAR career, in recent years, he and his family have helped those in need in the wake of natural disasters.

In 2024, in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Biffle jumped into action and used his own helicopter to locate people stranded in western North Carolina, delivering food and crucial supplies.

“It’s been busy — a lot of seat time in the helicopter, more than I ever would have imagined in my life,” he said in an interview, according to NASCAR. “But it feels good to be able to get supplies and things in need into these people that need the help the most, that are still cut off."

Earlier this year, his family turned their focus to Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5.

“The last time I spoke with Cristina, just a couple of weeks ago, she reached out to ask how she could help with relief efforts in Jamaica. That’s who the Biffles were,” U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from North Carolina, told the AP.

Biffle became a prominent NASCAR driver in the late 1990s and early 2000s, winning 56 races in his career, including a trip to victory lane at Daytona. His last race was in 2022, and he was named one of NASCAR's 75 greatest drivers in 2023.

"Greg was more than a champion driver, he was a beloved member of the NASCAR community, a fierce competitor, and a friend to so many. His passion for racing, his integrity, and his commitment to fans and fellow competitors alike made a lasting impact on the sport," NASCAR said in a statement.

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