Kevin Harvick explains why NASCAR tragedy has been | Sports News

The NASCAR group was rocked this offseason with the tragic death of former O’Reilly’s Auto Parts and Craftsman Truck Series champion Greg Biffle in a airplane crash, with longtime rival Kevin Harvick the newest to replicate on the horrific incident.

The 55-year-old died on December 18 at Statesville Regional Airport alongside his spouse, Cristina, kids Emma and Ryder, Craig Wadsworth, and Dennis and Jack Dutton as Greg’s Cessna Citation 550 II tried to make an emergency touchdown.

The precise trigger of the incident stays unknown, with the airplane having rotated back to its origin at Statesville simply 5 minutes after taking off, in response to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Spotted flying low upon its return, the airplane in the end collided with “a runway light stanchion located about 1,800 feet from the runway threshold,” Investigator-In-Charge Dan Baker defined the subsequent day.

“The airplane subsequently impacted trees, two other runway light stanchions, and the airport perimeter fence short of the runway threshold before coming to rest near the runway threshold. The airplane also came to rest oriented on an easterly heading,” he went on so as to add.

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“Post-impact fire consumed the majority of the fuselage and the inboard wing sections. All four corners of the airplane and flight control surfaces have been identified in the wreckage and the debris field. Both engines were present with the main wreckage.”

Now over a month faraway from the tragedy, and with the 2026 NASCAR season approaching, former Cup Series champion Harvick took the chance to look back at his days racing in opposition to Greg, beginning back within the mid Nineteen Nineties after they have been up-and-comers within the Late Model scene.

On his ‘Harvick’s Happy Hour’ podcast, the 50-year-old recalled how Greg made an rapid impression on him during an October Classic occasion. Harvick recalled, “That was the first time that I got to race around Greg and this particular night was what Greg Biffle was all about driving it. 

“No matter what the consequences were as hard as it would go trying to chase a win. And he drove the thing into the fence running second, so hard off of turn two that it broke his leg. And that was the first time that I got to experience the intensity of Greg Biffle and his racing.”

Harvick defined that this was Greg’s racing fashion regardless of his standing within the race, though this was removed from probably the most well-known second involving the 2 drivers. 

“Obviously, the most famous incident that I had with Greg was grabbing him by the throat after the Grand National race that we had at Bristol when he spun me out, and I hit the fence,” Harvick mentioned.

“And so we had some, we had some intense rivalries along the way. But always had a good relationship with Greg that was very friendly. 

“He drove for Roush, and I drove for RCR, so it was never like we were best friends. But I think from a competitor standpoint, and just being able to appreciate who Greg was on the racetrack for what he did behind the wheel, and basically coming from nothing to make a career out of what he did and built a great life for him and his family.

“And to see the way that it all came to an end, makes you really sit back and think about…I know when the plane accident happened, it really made me sit back and think about, ‘All right, what’s important? What are we doing here?’ It made you look at your kids and your wife and realize that that one moment could happen really, really quick.”

Harvick added that he was glad that lately followers had gotten to see more of the actual Greg, recounting his heroic actions during the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina back in 2024, when he used his helicopter to drop off provides to affected communities. 

Closing out, Harvick labeled Greg an “intense competitor and, higher than something, a great human being off the racetrack.”