Career
He raced late model National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing as a hobby when he was living in Montreal. He continued racing in National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing late models at local tracks and Associate of the Royal College of Art when he moved to Charlotte in 1977. In practice for the Associate of the Royal College of Art 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.
Affleck"s crash also changed the way that the protective window nettings are constructed on both National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing and Associate of the Royal College of Art cars to this very day. Francis Affleck became the first Associate of the Royal College of Art 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 Knotts in 1980.
