Former NASCAR champion Greg Biffle dies in plane crash: report

Greg Biffle, a champion on the NASCAR Xfinity and Trucks circuits, died Thursday when his private jet crashed after taking off from an airport in Statesville, N.C., according to multiple reports. He was 55.

WFMY, the CBS affiliate in Greensboro, N.C., reported Biffle was among those killed in the plane crash. According to Five Lug Racing, Biffle’s wife Cristina and their two children were also among the six people aboard the plane at the time of the crash.

MORE: Beloved sports reporter found dead in apparent murder-suicide

“Unfortunately, I can confirm Greg Biffle, his wife Christina, daughter Emma, and son Ryder were on that plane…because they were on their way to spend the afternoon with us,” friend Garrett Mitchell wrote on his Facebook account. “We are devastated. I’m so sorry to share this.”

Biffle raced full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series for Jack Roush from 2003-16. He won 19 races and had six top-10 championship finishes on NASCAR’s top series, including a second-place finish in 2005.

Biffle was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023 on the occasion of the racing circuit’s 75th anniversary.

Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Biffle won the 2001 Rookie of the Year award followed by the 2002 championship, the latter making him the first driver with championships in both the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series.

“Heartbreaking morning for the industry.. thoughts are with all those families affected and close with the Biffle family,” NASCAR Canada Series driver Ryan Vargas wrote on Twitter/X. “Greg Biffle impacted so many with his cleanup & rescue efforts and proved his heart was gold. Absolutely gutting news.”

Heartbreaking morning for the industry.. thoughts are with all those families affected and close with the Biffle family.

Greg Biffle impacted so many with his cleanup & rescue efforts and proved his heart was gold. Absolutely gutting news.

— Ryan Vargas (@RyanVargas_23) December 18, 2025

The Iredell County Sheriff confirmed to reporters that multiple people were killed when a Cessna C550 airplane registered to Biffle crashed around 10:15 a.m. ET Thursday.

The National Transportation Safety Board announced Thursday it was en route to the scene of the crash to investigate, and would make a statement Friday.

NTSB is launching a go team to investigate the fatal crash of a Cessna Citation C550 jet in Statesville, North Carolina. The team expects to arrive on scene tonight and Member Michael Graham will be spokesperson on scene. NTSB will hold a media briefing tomorrow, time and…

— NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) December 18, 2025