NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his wife and son were onboard their plane…See more

Greg Biffle’s son showed up so often on his Instagram feed that one could understand him identifying as “Dad” first, NASCAR driver second.

His wife Cristina also appeared in dozens of pictures through the years and vice versa. In fact, one of her final posts was a casual pic of the couple, offered on Dec. 7.

• Greg Biffle and his family were killed in a plane crash in North Carolina on Dec. 18.
• The cause of the crash is under investigation however several local meteorologists have noted particularly unfavorable weather.
• Biffle was an experienced pilot who flew his personal helicopter to aid support after Hurricane Helene in 2024.

The 55-year-old’s daughter was pictured less frequently but clearly a loving presence in his life. She, too, was among the seven killed when Biffle’s Cessna C550 crashed during an attempt to land in Statesville, N.C.

Who Was Greg Biffle’s Wife?

Greg Biffle was married to Nicole Lunders until 2015. In 2023, he married Cristina Grossu and she was on board with Biffle at the time of the crash.

NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass forwarded a statement from the families that described Cristina as an active philanthropist whose life was “centered around their young son Ryder and Greg’s daughter Emma.”

On social media, Cristina identified as a realtor and business owner. Her age is not reported.

Who Are Greg Biffle’s Kids?

Greg Biffle had two kids. His son Ryder was born to wife Cristina on Sept. 9, 2020, and his daughter Emma was born to then-wife Nicole in 2011.

Per the family, “Emma was a wonderful human being with a kind soul who was loved by many people.”

Ryder is described as an active, curious and infinitely joyful child. Photos shared to Biffle’s Instagram show the boy loved fishing and race cars. He even had a favorite driver that wasn’t his dad.

Who Else Was Killed In the Greg Biffle Plane Crash?

A man named Dennis Dutton and his son Jack, plus NASCAR motorhome driver Craig Wadsworth were also killed in the crash.

Former driver Kenny Wallace paid tribute to Wadsworth on X, saying “Our family is heart broke right now.”

R.I.P.: 40 Country Singers and Songwriters Who Died Too Soon

These country singers had so much more to give. See 40 country singers who died much too soon: Keith Whitley, Mindy McCready, Troy Gentry and more.

Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes

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Conway Twitty, age 59: Abdominal aneurysm

Conway Twitty broke through with 1958’s rock ‘n’ roll smash “It’s Only Make Believe.” In 1965, he went country full time, giving us hits like “Hello Darlin'” and “Tight Fittin’ Jeans.” During his lifetime, he made history by having more No. 1 hits than any artist in history. Conway became ill after a show in Branson, Mo., and died of an abdominal aneurysm on June 5, 1993 at the age of 59.

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Charlie Robison, 59: Cardiac arrest

Texas singer and songwriter Charlie Robison was known for albums like Bandera and Step Right Up. He was also married to the Chicks’ Emily Robison from 1999 to 2008.

On Sept. 10, 2023, he died due to complications from a cardiac arrest.

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Gary Stewart, 59: Suicide

Gary Stewart was known as the “King of Honky-Tonk” before his death by suicide in 2003. The “Out of Hand” singer had just one No. 1 hit (“She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles)” in 1975), but maintained a successful commercial career into the mid-’80s. His death came just one month after his wife died. A depressed Stewart died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his Florida home.

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Dottie West, 58: Car accident

While on her way to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, the “Country Sunshine” singer found herself stuck on the side of the road after her Cadillac stalled. An 81-year-old neighbor spotted Dottie West and offered her a ride. Fearful she was running late, she urged the driver to speed, and he lost control of the vehicle while exiting at the Opryland ramp at 55 MPH. West, only 58 years old at the time, underwent several surgeries, but died on the operating table on September 4, 1991.

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Jeff Carson, 58: Heart attack

Country hitmaker Jeff Carson died on March 26, 2022 after suffering a heart attack. The singer was best known for his 1995 No. 1 hit “Not on Your Love” and his ACM Award-winning track “The Car.”

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Marty Robbins, 57: Heart failure

Marty Robbins racked up a string of hits in the 1950s with “Singing the Blues” and “A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation).” In May of 1982, Marty was in the Top 10 with “Some Memories Just Won’t Die.” In October of that year, Billboard recognized him with the Artist Resurgence Award. Then, just seven weeks before he died, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The “El Paso” storytelling legend died of heart failure on December 8, 1982 at the age of 57.

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Eddie Rabbitt, 56: Lung cancer

Eddie Rabbitt started his career writing “Kentucky Rain” for Elvis Presley and “Pure Love” for Ronnie Milsap. Soon, he was singing his own smash hits “I Love a Rainy Night” and “Drivin’ My Life Away.” Consistently recording and touring in the final stages of his life, Eddie kept his battle with lung cancer private. As a matter of fact, only a few immediate family members even knew of his passing until the funeral was over. Eddie, 56 at the time, died on May 7, 1998.

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Chris LeDoux, 56: Liver cancer

Garth Brooks helped Chris LeDoux reach the mainstream by dropping his name in the hit “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old).” A successful rodeo performer, he built a cult following on the circuit selling his own self-produced albums. LeDoux was signed to Capitol Records in 1991 and gave us hits like “Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy” and “Cadillac Ranch.” LeDoux died of liver cancer on March 9, 2005 at the age of 56. Brooks honored him by recording the song “Good Ride Cowboy.”

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Roger Miller, 56: Lung and throat cancer

“King of the Road” singer Roger Miller was a perennial Grammy winner (11 total), known for his big voice and sharp pen. He was also a big cigarette smoker who even wrote songs about the habit. He died in October 1992, not long after the discovery of a tumor.

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Tammy Wynette, 55: Cardiac arrhythmia

The First Lady of Country Music died on April 6, 1998. In 1999, Tammy Wynette’s body was exhumed in an attempt to settle a dispute. After no autopsy was conducted and the cause of death was listed as a blood clot, her daughters grew suspicious and filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her doctor and husband/manager, George Richey, claiming they were responsible for her death at the age of 55. The coroner declared that she died of a cardiac arrhythmia. In May 1999, George Richey was dropped from the wrongful death lawsuit.

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John Denver, 53: Plane crash

John Denver was a wildly successful folk artist whose forays into country music earned him the genre’s most prestigious awards. “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and “Rocky Mountain High” are two songs that still live on in the 21st century. “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” (1975) is one of his three No. 1 hits on the country airplay charts. The New Mexico native (real name Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.) died at age 53 on October 12, 1997 when his plane crashed in California. He was the only person on board.

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Keith Gattis, 52: Tractor accident

Hit country songwriter Keith Gattis died in a tractor accident outside his Nashville home on April 24, 2023. The 52-year-old penned radio hits for George Strait, Kenny Chesney and many more. Many turned out for a tribute and fundraiser for him that fall.

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Lari White, 52: Cancer

Lari White’s success as a country singer came in the 1990s with songs like “That’s My Baby,” “Now I Know” and “Stepping Stone.” She’d transition to studio work as a successful producer and songwriter, working with Toby Keith, Tammy Wynette and more. On January 23, 2018, she died after a short battle with peritoneal cancer.

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Roy Orbison, 52: Heart attack

Roy Orbison was a rock, rockabilly and pop-country star in the 1960s who scored hits like “Only the Lonely” and “Oh, Pretty Women.” The Texas native died in Hendersonville, Tenn., in December 1988 after suffering a heart attack.

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Townes Van Zandt, 52: Heart attack

Townes Van Zandt was a songwriting icon in the 1970s and ‘80s, with his biggest cut probably being “Pancho and Lefty,” as recorded by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. He’s a tremendously influential songwriter, with Steve Earle calling him a mentor and going as far as to name his son after him. His death on January 1, 1997 was officially cardiac arrhythmia, but a lifetime of drug and alcohol use led him there.

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Troy Gentry, 50: Helicopter crash

A helicopter crash killed Montgomery Gentry‘s Troy Gentry on Sept. 8, 2017. The singer and one other person on board a helicopter were killed when it crashed in Medford, N.J., where Montgomery Gentry were set to perform that night.

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Cowboy Copas, 49: Plane crash

Cowboy Copas was a Grand Ole Opry member and big star in the 1940s, with songs like “Filipino Baby” reaching the upper portions of country charts. His career cooled into the 1950s, but he was still a steady presence until his death on March 5, 1963. Lloyd Estel Copas was on board the plane that also killed Patsy Cline when it crashed in Camden, Tenn. All three famous country singers on board died much too young.

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Kyle Jacobs, 49: Suicide

Kyle Jacobs was a revered songwriter and husband to Kellie Pickler. The country music community was shocked by his death on Feb. 17, 2023. The 49-year-old talent died by suicide at his Nashville home.

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Lefty Frizzell, 47: Stroke

Lefty Frizzell is a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee who died too young. He’s considered one of the all-time great country vocalists and a pioneer in country. Among his No. 1 hits were “I Want to Be With You Always, “Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses)” and (his last, in 1964) “Saginaw, Michigan.” “Long Black Veil” is probably the song that music fans know best today — the often-covered ballad tells a dark love story, and while Frizzell didn’t write it, he was the first to popularize it (in 1959). Lefty Frizzell died on July 19, 1975 after suffering a stroke. A lifetime of alcohol addiction problems led to his poor health.

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Daryle Singletary, 46: Blood clot

Singletary died at his Nashville area home on Feb. 12, 2018. His unexpected passing came as he was working on new music. The Georgia-raised singer was best known for ’90s hits like “Too Much Fun” and “Amen Kind of Love.” Sources would later tell Taste of Country and the Boot he had a blood clot that led to his death.

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Gene Clark, 46: Heart attack

Gene Clark founded the Byrds, who were instrumental in forming a country-rock and folk sound in the late 1960s and early ’70s. He never had commercial success as a country artist, but held down a very important, if misunderstood, time in country music.

A few months after the Byrds were made Rock and Roll Hall of Famers in 1991, Clark’s health started to decline. His death that May was labeled a heart attack, but drug and alcohol use contributed heavily to his passing.

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Mel Street, 45: Suicide

Mel Street was something of a regional star in Virginia and West Virginia, but songs like “You Make Me Feel More Like a Man” and “Forbidden Angel” earned some national exposure.

Throughout his short life he was dogged by clinical depression, perhaps leading to heavy alcohol use. In October 1978, on his 45th birthday, he killed himself. Four posthumous projects would extend his popularity, and a greatest hits package even sold a half-million copies via TV advertisements.

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Ricky Nelson, 45: Plane crash

While primarily a rock and pop singer, Ricky Nelson’s rockabilly style did earn him him some country music success in 1958 when songs like “Stood Up,” “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It” and “Poor Little Fool” cracked the Top 10. On December 31, 1985, Nelson was one of seven passengers on a plane that crashed while trying to make an emergency landing.

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Busbee (Michael James Ryan), 43: Glioblastoma

Songwriter and producer Busbee died on Sept. 29, 2019, months after being diagnosed with a rare brain cancer called glioblastoma. He’d worked extensively with Maren Morris, Carly Pearce, Keith Urban and many more. He left behind a wife and three children.

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Kevin Sharp, 43: Complications due to cancer

“Nobody Knows” and “If You Love Somebody” hitmaker Kevin Sharp battled cancer before he became successful as a country singer. In fact, he used his story of overcoming long odds to become a motivational speaker after his commercial country success faded. Sharp’s death at age 43 came from complications from past stomach surgeries and digestive issues. His mother would describe the cause as “complications due to cancer.”

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Elvis Presley, 42: Heart attack

Elvis Presley’s too-short life and unexpected death have been well-chronicled, and his success on country charts requires his inclusion on this list of stars who died young. Presley died on August 16, 1977 of a heart attack, which doctors would say was likely brought on by a prescription drug addiction.

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Hawkshaw Hawkins, 41: Plane crash

“Slow Poke” singer Hawkshaw Hawkins was also on board the plane that killed Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas on March 5, 1963.

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Ira Louvin, 41: Car accident

Along with brother Charlie, Ira Louvin is a Country Music Hall of Famer known for hits and Grand Ole Opry appearances in the 1950s and ’60s. He died in June 1965 when his car was hit by a drunk driver.

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Jim Reeves, 40: Plane crash

Jim Reeves first appeared at No. 1 with “Mexican Joe” in 1953 and placed 46 songs on the Billboard charts before he died in a plane crash in Nashville. More impressively, his widow worked with RCA Records to keep his music alive, and he racked up 33 posthumous hits, including the No. 1 songs “Distant Drums” and “Blue Side of Lonesome.” The crooner of “He’ll Have to Go” was piloting his own plane when he crashed at the age of 40 on July 31, 1964.

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Joey Feek, 40: Cancer

Joey Feek and her husband Rory were Joey + Rory, a successful country duo who recorded from 2008 to her death in 2016. She was diagnosed with cancer in May 2014, months after giving birth to a daughter named Indiana. Surgery cleared her of cancer, but a year later she was diagnosed with colon cancer, which became terminal. She died on March 4, 2016.

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Justin Townes Earle, 38: Accidental drug overdose

Celebrated Americana singer and songwriter Justin Townes Earle died young in late August of 2020, shocking friends, family and the country music industry. The 38-year-old Earle was the son of Steve Earle, but musically, he did all he could to separate himself from his father. The younger Earle was a recording artist since 2007 and a tireless road act; he left behind a wife and 3-year-old daughter.

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Mindy McCready, 37: Suicide

“Ten Thousand Angels” hitmaker Mindy McCready was a star in the spotlight, but her life wasn’t without tragic shadows. An abusive relationship, custody battle, drugs and alcohol plagued the singer, and after attempting suicide multiple times, McCready took her own life with a firearm in February 2013. She was 37 years old.

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Rabon Delmore, 36: Lung Cancer

The Delmore Brothers (Alton and Rabon) are Country Music Hall of Fame artists known as being pioneers in the 1930s. Rabon died of lung cancer in 1952, while older brother Alton would die at age 58, in 1964.

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Jimmie Rodgers, 35: Tuberculosis

Jimmie Rodgers is considered the Father of Country Music and “The Singing Brakeman” after a movie role. He had a heavy influence on legends like Hank Williams and was thus part of the very first class of the Country Music Hall of Fame, in 1961.

That came long after his death however. He’d suffered from tuberculosis for several years when in 1933 he suffered severe and immediate health problems in New York City. He’d still maintained a heavy recording schedule despite obvious problems. He’d die in a hotel after a coughing fit and hemorrhaging.

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Keith Whitley, 33: Alcohol

Keith Whitley’s star was on the rise when he “drank himself to death” on May 9, 1989. At the time, Whitley was enjoying his third No. 1 single with “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” ironically a song about overcoming depression and alcoholism. “Miami, My Amy” became his first Top 20 hit, leading the way for “When You Say Nothing at All” and “Don’t Close Your Eyes.” Whitley was just three years into a marriage to Lorrie Morgan when he died young, at just 33 years old.

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Don Rich, 32: Motorcycle accident

Don Rich is as responsible for inventing the Bakersfield sound as Buck Owens. The two were very close when in 1974, Rich rode his motorcycle into a center divider on Highway 1 in California. Owens would later say his music life ended that day.

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Luke Bell, 32: Drug overdose

Singer and songwriter Luke Bell died in August 2022 after going missing several days earlier in Tucson, Ariz. Bell signed a record deal with Thirty Tigers in 2016 and released his self-titled album later that year, which quickly garnered critical acclaim.

Off the stage, Bell suffered from bipolar disorder. Weeks after his death, the cause would be determined to be accidental fentanyl overdose.

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Patsy Cline, 30: Plane crash

Patsy Cline only had nine songs on the Billboard country charts before her tragic death in a plane crash on March 5, 1963 at age 30. Like Jim Reeves, Cline’s music lived on with several chart entries after her death, including “Sweet Dreams” and “Always.” However, she was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973. It is reported that Cline actually had premonitions of her death and revealed them to close friends Loretta Lynn, Dottie West and June Carter in 1962.

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Hank Williams, 29: Drugs and alcohol

Although he died much too young at the age of 29, Hank Williams Sr. did live to see himself become a major country music star when 33 of his songs hit the charts while he was still alive. However, it seemed like no one at the time would realize the impact his songwriting would have on American music in the years to follow. He was born with a spinal deformity, spina bifida occulta, that would lead to his addiction to painkillers. The lethal combination of alcohol and prescribed drugs ended his life on January 1, 1953.

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Gram Parsons, 26: Drugs and alcohol

It would take several hundred words to explain why Gram Parsons is such an influential country and rock artist. He was part of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers before going solo. His partnership with Emmylou Harris is what ties him to country music. He died on Sept. 19, 1973, after consuming a lethal amount of drugs and alcohol.

Read More: Who Was Greg Biffle’s Wife + Kids? Late Driver Family Remembered | https://tasteofcountry.com/greg-biffle-wife-kid-pictures/?fbclid=IwY2xjawO0z4JleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFjbjNQWUJCbmltVHljUFR4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHrj649QrH2TGgoR1kdzLMETktruMTQQyN7NYwg8UGCyzT2EngrqANo94tU62_aem_76PvXH5f1bTSvKXy97Ok2Q&utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral