“It Was Gonna Be One of Our Worst Races” – Child Hollywood Sensation Turned NASCAR Driver Frankie Muniz Grabs First Top Five Finish

From being nominated for an Emmy back in 2001 to driving the #30 Mustang for Rette Jones Racing at the Henry Ford Health 200 in Michigan, Frankie Muniz is the prime example of the saying: “Better late than never”. This actor turned drummer turned NASCAR driver has become a sensation in the entire stock car racing community.

After making his debut at Daytona for the ARCA Menards Series, Muniz showed excellent skills behind the steering of his Ford in the 2023 Arca Menards Series race at Michigan and secured a top 5 finish. Stephen Stumpf from Frontstretch, could clearly see that this achievement had filled the speedster with thrill.

Breakthrough for “Malcolm in the Middle” star in NASCAR

Should we call him Malcolm at the front? During most of the race, Muniz hovered between 8th and 12th place. But a caution at Michigan on the last lap provided Muniz with a chance to gain position during the restart and ultimately fend off Morgen Baird to finish in fifth place.

Stephen asked Frankie about the contact he made with Jake Finch during lap 27. Frankie admitted that he felt intimidated and gave Finch space, but still made contact with his car. He thought it may have been Jake who nudged him.

He said, “In my head, I was alongside him coming out of two and I gave him room because, to be honest, I’m a little scared to get too close and they’re always yelling at me to get closer but he just kind of jetted down a little bit and got into us.”

However, things did not end there as the contact gave Frankie a flat left rear. As a result, he ran up against the wall.

A flat tire so early in the race might have proven detrimental for the New Jersey native. But amidst all odds, the 37-year-old continued the race. His major takeaway from the entire race was that one must keep going no matter what.

He continued, “I’ve wanted this all season, so it’s weird that it came… early in the race I thought it was gonna be one of our worst races and ended up being our best. So, that just proves to me that you can’t give up, you got to just keep going…”

Watch This Story: Does Frankie Muniz Really Have the Talent to Get Out of “Middle” & Into Cup Series?

According to NASCAR analysts, he might be the next big thing in NASCAR. The amount of talent that Frankie Muniz has shown since Daytona is off the charts. Speaking of Daytona, there is a connection between Muniz and the greatest tragedy in the annals of NASCAR history that took place at the tri-oval track 22 years ago.

The link between Frankie’s passion for racing and Dale Earnhardt’s tragic death

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Going back to 2001, Frankie Muniz met the “intimidator” and rode in the pace car at Daytona 500. However, as he watched from the rooftop, he also witnessed the tragic crash between Sterling Marlin and Earnhardt’s #3.

Nevertheless, this unfortunate event did not stand in the way of Muniz chasing his zeal for speed. Several years later, he competed in the Toyota Pro Celebrity race and finished 7th and 3rd in the 2004 and 2005 events, respectively. In 2007, he joined the Champ Car Atlantic Series. For the next three years, he hoped to hone his skills behind the wheel and aimed at the 2020 Indy Car series. However, a wrist injury took the man out of the racetrack and he pursued his interest in drumming and music instead.

But what is this direct link between the Hollywood star and the death of Earnhardt Senior? After his team had announced his debut, Muniz made a shocking revelation to the reporters.

He said, “There’s a cool little tidbit that I found out about the car that I’ll be driving next month for the race. It’s the Chassis that Sterling Marlin used in that race in 2001 Daytona 500…it’s definitely special for sure”

This piece of information is enough to send chills down the spine of any NASCAR fan. But that is not all! Back in the 2001 race, Dale Earnhardt himself came up to Muniz and said that watching “Malcolm in the Middle” had brought Earnhardt and his daughter closer. Definitely a huge thing for a teenage NASCAR fan.

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