‘Amplifies the grief’: Close-knit community mourns for victims in Greg Biffle’s plane crash

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — There’s a growing memorial for NASCAR driver Greg Biffle after he was tragically killed in a plane crash Thursday in Statesville.

Channel 9’s Glenn Counts found mourners at the North Carolina Auto Racing Walk of Fame in Mooresville, and people have left flowers and a wreath at Biffle’s plaque.

Biffle, his wife and two children, and three other people were all killed after a private jet crashed while attempting to land at the Statesville Regional Airport Thursday.

It’s impossible to measure what Biffle and his family means to this community, but Counts spoke with NASCAR Hall of Fame Director Winston Kelley about the immense loss.

“I don’t think devastating is a strong enough word,” Kelley said on Thursday.

Kelley was a radio announcer, and he’ll never forget calling Biffle’s last victory.

“It’s not what they did in life in a sport, but what they did for others that just amplifies the grief,” Kelley said.

One of those things Biffle did in life was flying his own helicopter to the mountains of western North Carolina and bringing relief to those hardest hit by Hurricane Helene.

Although Biffle was a superstar, Kelley doesn’t want his loss to overshadow the others on that plane, similar to the crash involving Kobe Bryant.

“Christina, his son, Ryder, daughter Emma, the Duttons--Dennis and Jack--and then Craig Wadsworth, who was in the industry ... it’s nothing short of devastating,” Kelley said.

For all of those kids out there who dream about NASCAR glory, Kelley says Biffle set the example.

“Follow the role model of Greg and Christina, of their role models as people, they are Hall of Fame people,” Kelley said.

We did get a chance to speak with several fans in Mooresville about the loss of Biffle and his family. They didn’t want to appear on camera, but they said this is a close-knit community, and people will come together to deal with this tragedy.

Biffle was just 55 years old, but the stories that people share show that he packed a lot into those years.

(VIDEO: Witnesses described deadly plane crash that killed NASCAR’s Greg Biffle, family)