Francis Affleck

Who was Francis Affleck?

Francis Archibald Affleck was a Canadian race car driver. He raced late model NASCAR as a hobby when he was living in Montreal. He continued racing in NASCAR late models at local tracks and ARCA when he moved to Charlotte in 1977.

In practice for the ARCA 200 race at Daytona International Speedway on 7 February 1985 while traveling at an estimated 195 miles per hour, Affleck got his car sideways between turns 1 & 2, went airborne, and barrel rolled end over end at least 7 or 8 times. The protective window netting on his car failed and Affleck was thrown partially out of his car and sustained head and neck injuries after being pinned under his Ford. He was survived by Kathleen, his wife of 15 years, and two sons. Affleck's crash also changed the way that the protective window nettings are constructed on both NASCAR and ARCA cars to this very day. Francis Affleck became the first ARCA driver to be fatally injured at the Daytona International Speedway in its then 26 year history, and the first driver to be killed at the track since Ricky Knott in 1980.