Former NASCAR Driver Greg Biffle Killed In North Carolina Plane Crash UPDATED

by Tim Healey

Published: December 18th, 2025

former nascar driver greg biffle killed in north carolina plane crash

Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle was among those killed in a plane crash in North Carolina earlier today.

North Carolina governor Josh Stein (D) confirmed that Biffle, 55, was among those killed. The identities of the others who were onboard the plane and who may have been injured or killed have not yet been released. Local law enforcement has said there are multiple fatalities.

The plane took off from Statesville Regional Airport in rural North Carolina and the airport reported an incident around 10 a.m. Eastern time.

Early reports indicated the plane was owned by GB Aviation Leasing. The company's headquarters match a Mooresville, N.C., address that belongs to Biffle.

UPDATE: Additional reporting from The Athletic confirms that Biffle's wife Cristina, his 14-year-old daughter Emma, and his five-year-old son Ryder were also among those killed. Others killed in the crash are Dennis Dutton and his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth.

From The Athletic:

“We are devastated by the loss of our loved ones. This tragedy has left all of our families heartbroken beyond words,” the families’ statement said.

“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,” NASCAR said. “His passion for racing, his integrity, and his commitment to fans and fellow competitors alike made a lasting impact on the sport.”

Flight-tracking app FlightAware apparently shows that the plane took off from Statesville at 10:06 a.m. and then suddenly looped back towards the airport. Flight plans show the plane was set to fly to Sarasota, Florida, before heading to the Bahamas.

Biffle was a licensed pilot who flew a helicopter to help people in rural North Carolina who were affected by massive floods during Hurricane Helene last year.

Biffle won 19 NASCAR Cup races during his career. He finished second in points to Tony Stewart in 2005, and he had six seasons in which he finished the year in the top 10 of the standings.

He has been nominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

“Beyond his success as a NASCAR driver, Greg Biffle lived a life of courage and compassion and stepped up for western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene,” Stein wrote on X.com, formerly known as Twitter. “My heart goes out to all those who lost a loved one in this tragic crash.”

[Images: NASCAR]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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2 of 12 comments

SCE to AUX on Dec 18, 2025

Never heard of him, which shows how long it's been since I followed NASCAR.

Private aviation is over 100 times more dangerous than commercial flying, so be careful out there.

2 Reply
Jrhurren on Dec 19, 2025

Very sad day. Sounded like a mechanical.

2 Reply

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