Who is Cleetus McFarland? Details explored as Greg Biffle’s longtime friend confirms his death in plane crash

Retired NASCAR race driver Greg Biffle and his family were among the seven killed in a North Carolina plane crash on December 18. Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell confirmed that there were multiple fatalities in the plane crash.

Authorities said that the plane crashed while landing at Statesville Regional Airport around 10:20 am. The plane reportedly belonged to Biffle. Garett Mitchell confirmed in a Facebook post that Biffle and his family were among the ones killed in the accident shortly after the news broke.

He also goes by the name Cleetus McFarland. He wrote: 

"Unfortunately, I can confirm Greg Biffle, his wife Christina, daughter Emma, and son Ryder were on the plane...because they were on their way to spend the afternoon with us. We are devastated. I'm so sorry to share this."

Cleetus McFarland is an American YouTuber and motorsports streamer. He is known in the motorsports community for his high-performance car content, stunts, and drag racing. He has over 4.5 million followers on YouTube.

Greg Biffle and Cleetus McFarland were friends, per CNN. They conducted a rescue mission after Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina. They also post videos together on social media. 

Gregg Biffle may have been heading to Florida for Cleetus McFarland's Christmas Tree Drag Race

Cleetus McFarland confirmed in his latest Facebook post that former Gregg Biffle and his family were scheduled to meet him Thursday afternoon. That was before their plane crashed while landing at an airport in North Carolina that morning.

Flight records from FlighAware also show that the business plane was flying to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport in Florida. 

The Cessna C550 reportedly took off from Stateville Regional Airport in North Carolina shortly after 10:00 am. But it was in the air for just a couple of minutes before making an errative figure eight and heading back to the airport.

The Sun reported that the plane was attempting to land before it crashed and burst into flames.

The flight path and Cleetus McFarland's update suggests that Greg Biffle and his family may have been headed to McFarland's 6th Annual Christmas Tree Drag Racing World Championship.

The event is on December 20 at Bradenton Motorsports Park.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are still investigating the crash. CNN noted that emergency crews were still on the runway near the plane crash shortly after 1:30 pm. 

AP News also cited AccuWeather's report of some drizzle and clouds at the time of the crash. But there remains no confirmation about the cause of the plane crash.

It also quoted golfers who witnessed the accident from the nearby Lakewood Golf Club saying that the plane was "way too low." 

This is a developing story so stay tuned for updates.