{"id":359375,"date":"2025-12-21T08:27:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T08:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/359375\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T08:27:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T08:27:29","slug":"remembering-long-time-nascar-driver-greg-biffle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/359375\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Long-Time NASCAR Driver Greg Biffle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greg Biffle, a 19-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner and humanitarian, died in a plane crash in North Carolina<\/a> on Thursday morning. He was 55. <\/p>\n

A statement shared by families of the victims<\/a> confirms that Biffle, his wife Cristina, his daughter Emma, and his son Ryder were among seven killed in the crash. Three others, Dennis Dutton, Jack Dutton, and Craig Wadsworth, also died.<\/p>\n

The statement, attributed to the Biffle, Grossu, Dutton, and Lunders families, adds that “Greg and Cristina were devoted parents and active philanthropists whose lives centered around their young son Ryder and Greg’s daughter Emma… Each of them meant everything to us, and their absence leaves an immeasurable void in our lives.”<\/p>\n

Related Story<\/p>\n

Biffle’s 25-year NASCAR career was highlighted mostly by his years at Roush-Fenway Racing, where he won 19 Cup Series races. Most of those seasons were spent in a No. 16 Ford Cup car, sponsored in most races by 3M. He finished in the top five in three different years of Cup Series racing, coming just 35 points of a championship during the 2005 season. <\/p>\n

Jack Roush, founder and co-owner of what is now RFK Racing, said in a statement<\/a> that he has “lost a dear friend and partner in our NASCAR program. His contributions to our race team over the years are immeasurable.” A statement attributed to the team<\/a> added that Biffle’s “accomplishments helped form a cornerstone of our organization.”<\/p>\n

His work at Roush Fenway also included stints in the Truck Series and the second-tier championship then known as the Busch Series. He won titles in each. In total, he collected 56 wins across the three national series.<\/p>\n

\"nascar<\/p>\n

Jared C. Tilton\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

He had been largely out of NASCAR since leaving Roush Fenway after the 2016 season, but he ran often in Tony Stewart’s short-lived SRX championship and briefly returned to NASCAR for a handful of races in all three series from 2019 to 2022. That run was highlighted by a 2019 Truck Series race at Texas for the then-powerhouse Kyle Busch Motorsports, his first start in the series in 15 years. He won that race.<\/p>\n

“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 in a statement.<\/a>“His passion for racing, his integrity, and his commitment to fans and fellow competitors alike made a lasting impact on the sport.”<\/p>\n

The former racer’s impact on the community went further than just his race wins. Last October, Biffle and YouTuber Garrett Mitchell teamed up to deliver aid to North Carolinians<\/a> by helicopter after Hurricane Helene. The duo brought in fuel, powertools, medical supplies, and Starlink devices to those in need.<\/p>\n

Biffle played a part in what North Carolina Congressman Richard Hudson notes<\/a> as “hundreds” of rescue missions, flying out to hard-to-reach corners of the mountainous state to help after a major natural disaster. Hudson adds that Biffle’s wife Cristina had reached out “just a couple of weeks ago” to ask how the family could help with similar aid in Jamaica after October’s Hurricane Melissa. <\/p>\n

Tributes mourning Biffle’s death flooded social media on Thursday following confirmation of his passing.<\/p>\n

“Devastating news. I had such tremendous respect for Greg as a driver, and we shared countless tough battles on the track,” Jeff Gordon posted<\/a>. “Like so many others, I was inspired by his tireless relief work during Hurricane Helene. My heart goes out to the Biffle family and everyone hurting.”<\/p>\n

“Richard Petty and the Petty Family are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Greg Biffle and his family,” Richard Petty said on X<\/a>. “Greg was not only a fearless competitor, but someone who showed that same fearlessness in his generosity to others. Our deepest condolences to their loved ones.”<\/p>\n

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein also commented on Biffle’s death on X. <\/p>\n

“Heartbreaking news out of Statesville,” Stein wrote. “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. My heart goes out to all those who lost a loved one in this tragic crash.”<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Fred Smith’s love of cars comes from his fascination with auto racing. Unfortunately, that passion led him to daily drive a high-mileage, first-year Porsche Panamera. He is still thinking about the last lap of the 2011 Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Greg Biffle, a 19-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner and humanitarian, died in a plane crash in North…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,782,154938,784,1642,634,154937,82],"class_list":["post-359375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-4903ca7b-f0f6-4026-9007-b274f84b3a7f","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-locale-us","tag-nascar","tag-shorttitle-remembering-long-time-nascar-driver-greg-biffle","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359375","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=359375"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359375\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}