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Greg Biffle with daughter Emma in 2016Credit: Getty<\/p>\n
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators view the wreckage of a Cessna 550 business jet after several people, including former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, were killed in a crash during severe weather at Statesville Regional Airport in Statesville, North Carolina, December 19Credit: Reuters<\/p>\n
SRX driver Kenny Wallace gave a chilling theory about the Cessna C550 crashCredit: Getty<\/p>\n
In Statesville, North Carolina<\/a>, Biffle\u2019s close friend Kenny Wallace said he believes the Cessna Citation lost a motor, leaving the crew fighting drag and a lack of horsepower as they tried to get back to the runway.<\/p>\n Biffle was killed along with his wife, Cristina, and their two children, Emma and Ryder<\/a>, when the private jet went down.<\/p>\n Craig Wadsworth, Dennis Dutton, and Dutton\u2019s son Jack were also killed, according to a statement from the families.<\/p>\n Seven people died in total after the Cessna C550 jet<\/a>, owned by Biffle, crashed at Statesville Regional Airport around 10:15 am.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t PAY TRIBUTE<\/p>\n Greg Biffle’s daughter, 14, to be honored at memorial service after plane crash<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t HAMLIN HEARTBREAK<\/p>\n Gutwrenching Denny Hamlin interview resurfaces on sacrifices his dad made<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n An investigation to establish the exact cause of the tragedy is underway.<\/p>\n Wallace laid out his thinking on his YouTube channel as he tried to make sense of the final minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cHere\u2019s what I think,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cI think the plane took off, I think they lost a motor, and then, I guess it started having a lot of drag on it. In other words\u2026 yes, we know it should fly just perfectly with one motor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think we lost a motor. That\u2019s where all the up and down was taking place. They decide to come back. The flaps are down, and they don\u2019t have any horsepower.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere was so much drag and they had the throttle wide open, they just didn\u2019t make it. I think that\u2019s what happened. They just didn\u2019t make it to the runway.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMay the Lord be with everybody, this is a very heartfelt discussion. It was a very tragic loss. Everybody wants to know what happened. I think it was a tragic loss of life and that\u2019s what I respectfully think is what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been a sad, sad couple of weeks here with the Greg Biffle tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n The flight\u2019s final moments have also been haunted<\/a> by a desperate message sent from on board.<\/p>\n Biffle\u2019s mother-in-law, Cathy Grossu, told People she received a text from her daughter moments before the crash that said: \u201cWe\u2019re in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tWho was Greg Biffle\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n Former NASCAR driver who raced at the sport\u2019s highest levels for more than a decade. Grossu added: \u201cShe texted me from the plane and she said, \u2018We\u2019re in trouble.\u2019 And that was it. \u2018So we\u2019re devastated. We\u2019re brokenhearted.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Cristina\u2019s mom said the group had been heading to Florida for a \u201cbirthday trip\u201d when the crash happened.<\/p>\n \u201cTo think that they would be killed on a birthday trip, that was just such a fun time for the family,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd to see the horrific way that it ended, it\u2019s just, it is so hard to bear. I cannot believe they\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she had seen Cristina and Biffle only hours earlier, after they visited her at her home.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t remember what the last words that I said to my daughter or to Greg or to my precious Ryder,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Horrifying video shows moment Greg Biffle\u2019s plane explodes into flames after crashing \u2013 killing NASCAR driver and familyCredit: Bobby Renwick via Storyful<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t remember. I know we hugged, but I don\u2019t remember those last words and that\u2019s going to haunt me. But they were happy.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/greg-biffle-driver-16-ford-1046623788.jpg\"\/)
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\nTwo-time national-series champion: Truck Series champ (2000) and Xfinity\/Busch Series champ (2002).
\nRookie of the Year twice: Truck Series (1998) and Xfinity\/Busch Series (2001).
\n19 wins in 515 starts, with a best points finish of second overall in 2005.
\nMoved up through Trucks and Xfinity\/Busch before becoming a long-time Cup regular.
\nNamed to NASCAR\u2019s 75 Greatest Drivers list in 2023.<\/p>\n