Seven have died in the plane crash at the Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina<\/p>\n
On Thursday morning, former NASCAR Cup Series driver Greg Biffle and his family were traveling to Sarasota, Florida. An issue with the plane forced the pilot to return to the runway shortly after takeoff.<\/p>\n
Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and family killed in plane crash<\/a><\/p>\n The Cessna Citation plane crashed into the runway upon landing and exploded. Seven people have been confirmed dead in the crash including Greg Biffle along with his wife Cristina, son Ryder and daughter Emma.<\/p>\n Others onboard the aircraft included Dennis Dutton and his son, Jack as well as Craig Wadsworth.<\/p>\n Following the tragedy the Biffle, Grossu, Dutton & Lunders families have issued joint statements. NASCAR has also issued a statement\u2026<\/p>\n Joint statement from the Biffle, Grossu, Dutton & Lunders families<\/p>\n \u201cWe are devastated by the loss of our loved ones. This tragedy has left all of our families heartbroken beyond words,\u201d the statement opened.<\/p>\n \u201cGreg and Cristina were devoted parents and active philanthropists whose lives were centered around their young son Ryder and Greg\u2019s daughter Emma (mother \u2013 Nicole Lunders).\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEmma was a wonderful human being with a kind soul who was loved by many people. Ryder was an active, curious and infinitely joyful child.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDennis Dutton and his son Jack were deeply loved as well, and their loss is felt by all who knew them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCraig Wadsworth was beloved by many in the NASCAR community and will be missed by those who knew him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEach of them meant everything to us, and their absence leaves an immeasurable void in our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe ask for privacy, compassion and understanding as we grieve and begin to process this unimaginable loss. We are grateful for the kindness and support that has been extended to our families during this incredibly difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt this moment, our focus is on honoring their lives and supporting one another.\u201d<\/p>\n NASCAR statement<\/p>\n \u201cNASCAR is devastated by the tragic loss of Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, daughter Emma, son Ryder, Craig Wadsworth and Dennis and Jack Dutton in a fatal plane crash,\u201d NASCAR opened.<\/p>\n \u201cGreg 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOn the track, Greg\u2019s talent and tenacity earned him championships in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, as well as numerous wins and accolades in the NASCAR Cup Series. Beyond his racing career, he gave of himself for the betterment of our community. Most notably, Greg spent countless hours of his time helping the citizens of North Carolina during the disasters that followed Hurricane Helene. His tireless work saved lives.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur thoughts and deepest condolences go out to Greg\u2019s entire family, friends, and all who were touched by his life.\u201d<\/p>\n Statement from Cleetus McFarland<\/a><\/p>\n Links<\/p>\n Greg Biffle<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NASCAR<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Seven have died in the plane crash at the Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina On Thursday morning,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354197,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,153442,3140,153443,13072,153444,64735,634,3628,8354,10031,22865,8338,79078,153445,153446,82,153447,153448,153449,153450],"class_list":["post-354196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-craig-wadsworth","tag-cup-series","tag-dennis-dutton","tag-faa","tag-gb-aviation-leasing","tag-greg-biffle","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-cup","tag-nascar-cup-series","tag-ncs","tag-north-carolina","tag-plane","tag-plane-crash","tag-sarasota-fl","tag-sarasota-florida","tag-sports","tag-statesville","tag-statesville-nc","tag-statesville-north-carolina","tag-statesville-regional-airport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}