Member Spotlight: Francis Hu

The NASA Championships often remind racers that the journey can hold as much importance as the results.

Francis Hu discovered how true that can be during the 2024 NASA Championships at Utah Motorsports Campus. When most racers would have walked away after a crash, Hu rebuilt his NP01 and finished on the podium.

“It was one of the best and one of the worst national championships,” Hu said.

Hu went into the Championships in September with confidence after running a strong season in the NASA SoCal Region. It was Hu’s third championships event, but the first time he had raced at Utah Motorsports Campus.

Hu showed up early at the track outside Salt Lake City to practice, and during the first session, he was having issues with his usually reliable NP01 racecar. “The back end of the car kept stepping out on me. It was really weird,” Hu said.

Moments later, the car spun, but Hu kept it on track and tried to get it in gear when he was struck from behind. Hu later learned a missing radiator cap was spitting water on his rear tire.

Back in the paddock, Hu was ready to pack it in and return home to Anaheim, Calif., until he started assessing the damage. Aero parts such as the body and wing were destroyed, but the suspension was still fixable in time for the races. The car’s manufacturer, SEBECO Motorsport, was at Utah Motorsports Campus providing support and had the parts Hu needed to fix it.

Hu stayed up nearly all night making the repairs and was on track the next day for the qualifying race. Not only did Hu have to see how his car was handling post-crash, but he also had to learn the track. Even though Hu was more than 6 seconds off the leader and eventual champion Chris Castelli in qualifying, Hu felt he and his car could still be competitive.

Starting near the rear for the Championship race, Hu whittled his way through the seven-car NP01 field to finish second behind Castelli, who was running on his home track.

“Making the podium at the end was definitely the icing on the cake,” Hu said.

The 2024 Championship was Hu’s highest finish, but the 2018 Championship at The Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas was his favorite of the season-ending races. Hu finished fourth, edged off the podium after dicing the entire race with fellow NASA SoCal racer Chad Plavan.

Plavan remembers the COTA race well, especially the last lap when Hu tried to pass him on the infamous Turn 1, a tight left-hand turn that comes off a 134-foot incline.

“He was really trying to get me on the inside, and I went wide,” said Plavan, chuckling at the memory. “He launched it off that corner and these cars are low, so when you get on one of those things, you’re flying.”

Racing since childhood, Hu has competed in motorcycles, karts and watercraft.

“I’ve always raced because it’s a challenge to be the best I can be,” he said. “I continue to learn something new and push my limits or find them.”

After graduating college with a mechanical engineering degree, Hu went to work in the aerospace industry, designing and making composite products for communication satellites. A few years later, Hu bought Performance Composites Inc., a company that makes composite covers and dashboards for the transportation industry. Hu retired and sold the company to his employees in 2023.

Owning a company gave Hu the capital to live his childhood dream of racing cars. With more than 10 years of karting experience, Hu got his competition license and did some track days in a rented Spec Miata with NASA.

Hu recalls his first race at Buttonwillow Raceway Park when NASA National Chairman Ryan Flaherty, then a race director, had to sign off on the provisional license. Hu finished last and was 7 seconds behind the next competitor.

“Ryan wrote: ‘Good race, clean, pick up your speed,’” Hu said, laughing. “Really? I was going as fast as I could.”

Hu bought a Spec Miata that had won a National Championship and raced it for a few seasons, earning a few podiums in the competitive class. “I bought a car with no excuses so that way I could focus on me and not blame it on the car for being slow,” Lu said.

When NASA launched the Prototype series in 2015, the Mazda-powered NP01 quickly caught Hu’s attention. Hu’s dream car was an affordable option to Spec Miata, so he bought an NP01 that was delivered to a friend’s shop in two large crates. He was one of the earliest drivers to buy an NP01.

Hu spent three months assembling it, and once he got it out to the track, he knew it was the perfect car. The biggest learning curve for Hu was adjusting the car’s aero kits.

“The cool thing about the car is it’s overdesigned, so everything is pretty robust compared to the Spec Miata,” Hu said. “It isn’t a streetcar that’s turned into a racecar, so a lot of the pieces aren’t overstressed for racing. It’s designed for this.”

An NP01 has larger upfront cost, but the car costs the same as a Spec Miata to campaign over a season. Brake pads can last a season and a half, while tires are good for two race weekends, Hu said. Hu, who handles his own maintenance, has never had to replace a wheel hub.

As one of the original members of the NP01 class, Hu and Plavan have had some epic races over the years. Both are good friends and work together to keep the class fun and competitive.

“Like any NP01 driver, we try to help them out,” Plavan said. “The happier the NP01 driver, the more you get.”

Hu was anything but happy after the incident at the 2024 national championships. Looking back on the weekend, Hu was proud he battled through it.

“Driving home (from the championships), I kept thinking how much work it was,” Hu said. “(But) it worked out in the end.”