Ryan Newman calls for a meaningful tribute to Greg Biffle following the tragic plane crash: “continue to pay it forward”

The entire NASCAR community is heartbroken by the untimely demise of former Cup Series icon, Greg Biffle, last Tuesday, December 18. Biffle, who was travelling with his family at the time, succumbed to a plane crash shortly after takeoff in North Carolina.

The accident took place near Statesville Regional Airport at around 10:15 am ET. As reported by Colombia One, witnesses at a nearby golf course reported seeing the aircraft flying “unusually low” before striking a “lighting stanchion” and going ablaze.

NASCAR veteran Ryan Newman offered condolences for the deceased driver. Newman was a close friend of Biffle’s, who last competed in the ARCA Menards Series West earlier this season, driving the No. 23 and No. 24 entries for Sigma Performance Services.

Newman recently joined Raceline to talk about his friend.

“I think there's going to be some announcements eventually on maybe some charitable arms to be able to help with what Biffle was loved...what he loved to do, whether it's with animals or the rescue stuff,” Newman said. “So I think the best thing and the coolest thing we can do to honor him is to continue to pay it forward in a way that he did.”

Beyond his achievements in NASCAR, Greg Biffle leaves behind a legacy of service in North Carolina. Besides turning heads with his disaster relief service during Hurricane Helene and supporting children in foster care, Biffle always showed up to help.

Joel Amick, managing director of United Carolinas Cavalry, a disaster relief organization that helped Biffle with relief work and rescue missions during Hurricane Helene, said,

“There’s a hashtag of ‘be like Biffle,’ and I think that’s very important. Greg was just a force of nature. It’s not like he stopped working when the needs in Western North Carolina subsided. He kept working.”

Among the deceased were Biffle’s wife, Christina, and their two children, Emma and Ryder. The plane crash also took the lives of Craig Wadsworth, Dennis Dutton, and Jack Dutton.

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“I get sicker and sicker”- NASCAR legend Mark Martin reflects on Greg Biffle’s death

Former Cup driver Mark Martin was shocked by the news of Greg Biffle’s death. Days later, he took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and shared his feelings on the same.

Martin, who had been a Citation pilot for 20 years, seemed rather disturbed by the crash. Explaining his stance, Martin wrote,

“As a Citation pilot for 20 years and a product of around 75 days of @FlightSafetyInt training and over 3000 hours of flight time in the aircraft I have deep knowledge of these aircraft and performance.” “The more I learn about Biffle’s crash the more disturbing it is to me. Every day I get sicker and sicker about this tragedy.”

Mark Martin and Greg Biffle were contemporaries from 2002 to 2009. Martin retired in 2009, while Biffle continued racing till 2016. After a six-year hiatus, he returned for the 64th running of the Daytona 500 in the No. 44 Chevrolet with NY Racing in 2022. Martin and Biffle were Roush Racing teammates in the early 2000s as well.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua