Talk about doing an actual ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ stunt! Frankie Muniz kicked off his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut with a bang. Driving the No. 33 Truck for Reaume Brothers Racing, the former actor finished in 11th place last weekend at Daytona International Speedway. That soon changed to a top-ten result after Parker Kligerman’s DQ, and Muniz relished his first Daytona glory.

However, that same dazzling spark did not continue this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The initial run was good, as the No. 33 Truck again vied for a top-ten finish. However, a bout of rookie bad luck stuttered the pace, as Frankie Muniz called out his rivals.

Frankie Muniz is discontent with the grid

Well, the ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ star is a Hollywood celebrity in NASCAR. But Frankie Muniz did not expect to actually get stuck ‘in the middle.’ During the Fr8 208 Craftsman Truck race, Muniz was hoping to build on his top-ten momentum in Daytona. With 30 laps to go at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the No. 33 Truck was running 11th. Right then, disaster struck – Muniz attempted to close a hole that was not there and drifted up high on the corner exit. Daniel Hemric appeared to push him out wide, and Muniz got forced into pole-sitter Connor Mosack, both of them slamming the outer wall.

With the early exit, Frankie Muniz’s top-ten dreams shrunk into a measly 26th-place finish. Post-race, the actor-turned-racer was quite vocal about his lost Daytona momentum. He called out his aggressive rivals: “I’m not entirely sure. I thought we were running really good. I definitely don’t get respect out there – 100 percent. Nobody goes with me. I think someone pushed me up into a car that was on my outside and we were out.” The loss stung more considering his efforts: “I think we were close to the top 10, which is a great showing for my team. I don’t think anyone expects us to run there, so the fact we were there on merit, we had no lucky breaks.”

“I’m obviously upset,” Frankie Muniz declared. He is not backing down though, as Muniz chose to look forward. “I’m hoping to earn respect out there, you know what I mean? I hope with how tight I was racing people – and I was fairly clean the entire time – that’ll be the case. But until I keep doing it, it’s going to be tough.” Muniz understands that he is the ‘outsider’ here, as he doesn’t come with the traditional racing background that most of the grid does. Being a rookie, he expects to be pushed around but also wants to earn his respect, as he feels he is a clean racer.

He also acknowledged his team’s efforts. “My team is working so hard… we are so excited to prove that we can run with the top guys. We showed it at Daytona with the top ten and here we were really close too, we were knocking on the door for another top ten. I would have loved to get to the end to see that we would’ve finished… we really wanted points here.” While Muniz has to enter Vegas without taking points from Atlanta, his start to the Truck Series season so far ha shown he certainly has the ability to be amongst the best.

Despite Frankie Muniz’s disenchantment in Atlanta, the Truck grid does respect him for his off-court achievements. Although he is still paving his racing journey, Muniz commands authority as a celebrity.

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He made jaws drop at the racetrack

Frankie Muniz made his first motorsports venture in 2004, running celebrity races before he turned 18. He drove his first professional race in 2006. But after a crash in 2009, he put a pause on his racing stints and focused on Hollywood. The television series he starred in, ‘Malcolm in the Middle’, aired from 2000 until 2006. Then the movie ‘Agent Cody Banks’ was released in 2003. So when Muniz ventured back to the racetrack in 2023, a lot of racers were spellbound to see a walking celebrity amongst them. Seven-time Craftsman Truck Series winner Ben Rhodes had to blink twice this year when he saw Muniz on pit road. “That’s the guy from the movies… I couldn’t get over it.”

McAnally-Hilgemann Racing driver Jack Wood also felt nostalgic after seeing Frankie Muniz. “‘Agent Cody Banks’ was one of the DVDs my mom had in her car when we were driving. I probably watched it a hundred times on repeat.” Then Daniel Hemric, the driver who apparently pushed Muniz to his Atlanta crash, also hailed the actor’s career. “I’m 34 years old, so I very much remember ‘Malcolm in the Middle’. That was before you could record shows, though, so I had to be sure to be sitting there watching at night.”

This celebrity appeal may not have worked out on the racetrack for Frankie Muniz. Hopefully, Muniz will soon stamp himself as a stellar driver on the NASCAR grid.