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Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, 55, was among seven people killed in a plane crash in North Carolina on Thursday.
Biffle, his wife and two children, and three others were aboard a Cessna C550 owned by Biffle when it crashed at Statesville Regional Airport.
According to Spotrac, Biffle made more than $58 million in career earnings. Spotrac’s data ranges from 2002 through 2015, as NASCAR has not disclosed winnings since 2016, Biffle’s final year as a full-time racer. In that season, he finished 23rd in the standings. The year prior, when he finished 20th, he made more than $4.9 million, so one could assume he potentially surpassed the $60 million mark.
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Biffle’s most profitable seasons were in 2005, 2012, and 2014, the only campaigns in which he amassed $5 million. In 2005, when he racked up a career-best six of his 19 checkered flags, he earned $5,574,083. Seven years later, he brought home $5,561,538, and in 2014, he added another $5,257,708.
Figures from his races in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he was the 2000 champion, are not public. Neither are numbers from the Xfinity Series, which he won in 2002. Biffle had 20 wins in the Xfinity Series and 17 checkered flags in the Craftsman Truck Series.
Biffle had stopped racing in 2016 but returned six years later for five races, including his final Daytona 500. His best finish at the race was third in 2010 and 2012. Daytona, though, was his most profitable track, bringing in $6,279,606 in 29 races. It was nearly $2 million more than his next-best track (Texas Motor Speedway).
GREG BIFFLE’S WIFE SENT WORRYING TEXT MESSAGE MOMENTS BEFORE PLANE CRASHED
Biffle’s first checkered flag in any professional race came at the 2001 Tennessee Lottery 250 in Nashville. He won four more races that year before winning four more in his championship season. He had 26 other top-five finishes in that span.
While never winning the Daytona 500, his first Cup Series win came on the famous track at the 2003 Pepsi 400. His best season in the Cup Series was in 2005, when he won a career-high six races en route to a second-place finish in the points standings to Tony Stewart.
After his racing days, Biffle used his flying skills for good. Last year, he helped victims of Hurricane Helene by delivering supplies and internet service to those who needed it. Biffle had been delivering Starlink service to residents of western North Carolina and even located a stranded family while flying due to their use of a mirror against the sun.
The unimaginable tragedy took the lives of seven people, including the former NASCAR star, his wife, their son Ryder, his daughter Emma, Dennis Dutton, Dennis’ son Jack and Craig Wadsworth.
The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground at Statesville Regional Airport, authorities said. The plane initially took off and turned back toward the airport, trying to land. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known, nor was the reason the plane tried to return to the airport.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
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