LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) – Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle died Thursday, five days before his 56th birthday, in a plane crash that also claimed the lives of his wife, son, and daughter.
The family was traveling from North Carolina to Florida when the plane went down during an emergency landing.
“They didn’t announce initially who it was, but I knew it had to be one of the drivers.”
Bob Leavine, who lives in Tyler, was a NASCAR team owner for nearly a decade, from 2011 to 2020.
“His demeanor was not the typical race car driver,” Leavin said of Biffle’s character.
Leavine said NASCAR teams travel together for 36 weekends each year, often flying in and out of Statesville Regional Airport—the location of the Biffle plane crash.
“We all flew out of there and flew on those planes,” Leavine said. “It could’ve been me.”
Leavine remembered how Biffle’s personality stood out within the organization.
“The drivers are the stars of the whole deal, but he didn’t act like that,” Leavin said. “He was a celebrity. Those guys make millions, but he didn’t take it that way. He was down-to-earth, quiet, respectful—and it’s a real loss to the community.”
With only 16 teams in NASCAR, Leavine said losing a member of the close-knit community hits hard.
“When I saw it and then saw it was him and his family, it was like a family member,” Leavine said. “He was part of the group, part of the family—the NASCAR family. And it was very gut-wrenching.”
Leavine said Biffle was a humanitarian who treated everyone as equals.
“A lot of people leave an impact by not doing something, if that makes sense,” Leavine said. “I never saw him upset. I never saw him insult anybody or ignore anybody. Plus, he’s a dang good driver—one of the best that ever came around.”
Leavine said Biffle had much more to offer NASCAR through coaching and experience, adding that he could have done anything he set his mind to.
“I guess he was one of those people that the good Lord thought had done what he needed to do, and He took him home.”
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
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