NASCAR star killed in plane crash remembered for impact on Tri-Cities, PNW racing
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Greg Biffle died in a plane crash near Charlotte; he raced regularly at Tri‑City.
- He rose from Pacific Northwest short tracks to NASCAR national series and honors.
- Biffle returned to local racing and supported community relief efforts.
Before Greg Biffle became one of the most recognizable names in NASCAR history, he was earning respect at the Tri-City Raceway.
Biffle would return to the track over the past few years to compete in the ARCA Menards Series West competition.
Biffle, 55, died Thursday when his plane crashed at Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina, about 45 minutes from Charlotte. He and his wife and two children were among the seven who were killed.
His last race in the Tri-Cities was in August, snagging a third place finish for the Sigma Performance Services Chevrolet team. He loved the West Richland track so much that he once considered buying it.
Biffle was named as one of the “75 Greatest NASCAR Drivers of All Time” by the organization in 2023.
The Tri-City Raceway honored Biffle’s family in a social media post on Thursday.
“Legacy isn’t measured in wins or championships,” the post said. “It’s measured in love given, lives changed, and the way someone shows up for others. That is how Greg - and this family - will always be remembered.”
Tri-Cities ties
Tri-City Raceway Project Manager Laci Tolar said her family is in shock. Tolar is the granddaughter of Wayne Walden, who ran the track in the 1990s.
At one point Biffle was even considering buying the track, now known as the Tri-City Raceway at the Red Mountain Event Center, Tolar said. That ultimately fell through due to the difficulty commuting back-and-forth from his home in North Carolina.
In the 1990s, the Tri-City Raceway was a second home for Biffle, who regularly came from Vancouver to race.
“The history goes back deep, he used to race for my grandpa Wayne Walden,” Tolar said. “He was track champion there in (1995 and 1996).”
Her father, Greg, also raced with Biffle in the 1990s.
In 1995, Biffle was lauded by former Herald sports editor Jeff Morrow.
Morrow’s headline read: “Greg Biffle is getting better than the United States Postal Service.”
“It doesn’t seem to matter what kind of bad weather there is. The Vancouver, Wash., driver seems to deliver a victory every time,” the story said of Biffle’s eighth consecutive NASCAR Late Model main event victory in the Tri-Cities.
Morrow said Thursday that Biffle put in a lot of work back in those days.
“He would race at Portland Speedway on Friday nights. He dominated the competition there,” he said. “Then he’d pack up the car and equipment and head to TC Raceway and dominate the competition there on Saturday nights.”
“He was always cordial and gracious with the fans and media,” Morrow said. “It wasn’t a surprise to a lot of people that he’d one day race at the top levels of the sport.”
After dominating the Pacific Northwest circuits in the mid 1990s, Biffle made his Winston West Series debut in 1996 and NASCAR Northwest Series in 1997. He was voted “Most Popular Driver” that year.
A segue into the Craftsman Truck Series would help propel Biffle into the big leagues. He won the NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year Award in 2001.
Biffle, known to fans as “The Biff” was also a NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee.
After nearly 20 years in the sport’s top division, he returned to his roots with truck racing and NASCAR’s revived Northwest circuit.
Tolar said her family became close with Biffle’s. Their children played together while he was racing this year.
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“He was just a very humble, amazing person,” Tolar said. “He was just like everybody else, but he had a deep passion, and it was tied to his roots.”
Tolar said the fame never got to Biffle, and he used his influence to help others, like the time he used his own helicopter hundreds of times to get resources and supplies to families impacted by Hurricane Helene.
“He and his wife were very kind, they were always giving,” Tolar said.
“It’s a big loss for not only Tri-Cities but for the nation. He was an avid supporter of motor sports in general,” she said. “It’s not just our loss, it’s everybody’s loss. It’s hard to even be able to measure that.”
She described Biffle as a humble guy who cared deeply about the sport.
“He never let the fame change him, he was very down to earth and was always looking out for building the sport of racing,” she said. ”We’re just really fortunate to be able to have that relationship with him.”
Before he was a legend, he was a friend
Tri-Cities Raceway facilities director Jesse Brown said he came up racing with Biffle.
“You got your butts kicked, that’s for sure,” Brown said. “He raised the bar for racing the northwest. He was so far ahead of the curve back then.”
Brown said Biffle was always a good guy, but when he returned to the track decades later he had grown into a family man focused on community and being an ambassador for the sport.
“He was just happy. Cristina, his wife, they had a different purpose in life when he came back.”
“Their generosity, helping out trying to help get Tri-Cities Raceway back up and running again,” he said. “He was a happier Greg, I guess, because racing is a tough sport.”
Brown said he got to see a side of him that a lot of people didn’t. When he wasn’t battling on the track, Biffle was funny with a great sense of humor. He loved to make people laugh.
“That’s a different Greg than back in the 95 era, he was a serious racer,” Brown said.
He said Greg Biffle meant a lot to the entire racing community in the region.
“I think if you look at the competition in the Northwest that we have today, Greg started all that,” he said. “You don’t win 19, 20 cup races just being alright. He brought a whole new level to people, and they really cherish that.”
He remembers Biffle’s first time back at the track in years, traffic backing up to Queensgate Drive with fans eager to meet the locally grown hero.
“The racetrack will mourn the loss of Greg and his family,” Brown said. “He was a great family man, that’s first and foremost. He was a great dad, great husband.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2025 at 2:16 PM.
