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The tragic death of Greg Biffle in a plane crash left the NASCAR world reeling last week, and former auto racing star Mark Martin still seemed reeling.
Martin made his feelings about Biffle’s death clear in an article on X on Monday.
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Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 Scotch-Brite Ford, talks to Mark Martin, driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s 2000th Store/Bronx, NY Toyota, on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 29, 2012 in Dover, Delaware. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR)
“Every day I am sicker and sicker because of this tragedy,” he wrote.
Biffle and Martin shared the track together from 2002 to 2009. Martin retired from full-time professional racing after the 2009 season, while Biffle continued to race through the 2016 season and then again in 2022. Martin and Biffle were also with Roush Racing in the early 2000s.
Martin wrote that as a pilot himself, the more “worrying” the Biffle accident becomes.
EX-NASCAR STAR GREG BIFFLE’S FATAL PLANE CRASH REMINDS SEVERAL AVIATION TRAGEDIES IN THE WORLD OF SPORTS
Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, talks with Greg Biffle (right), driver of the No. 16 Ford40MPG.com Ford, during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 24, 2011 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
“As a 20-year Citation pilot with approximately 75 days of @FlightSafetyInt training and over 3,000 hours flying the aircraft, I have extensive knowledge of these aircraft and their performance,” he added. “The more I learn about the Biffle crash, the more it bothers me.”
Biffle, 55, was killed alongside his wife, Cristina, and children Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, when their plane crashed at Statesville Regional Airport. Three other people killed on board were identified as Dennis Dutton, his son Jack and Craig Wadsworth.
The plane was returning to Statesville Regional Airport about 10 minutes after takeoff for an “emergency landing.”
NASCAR driver Greg Biffle (16) looks on during the NASCAR Sylvania 300 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, Sunday, September 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter, file)
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) was still investigating the cause of the accident.
