‘Malcolm in the Middle’ Heartthrob Frankie Muniz Gets Candid on Prolonged Racing Absence Days After Truck Series Signing

Frankie Muniz became a household name for his popular sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. The TV show, which aired from 2000 to 2006, garnered huge success. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards for the show. Muniz has starred in several movies in his acting career, but acting wasn’t the sole passion of the New Jersey native.

Muniz wanted to explore the racing world, which began when he was still on the show. He ran the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in Long Beach as a celebrity participant, finishing 7th. This was followed by competing in different open-wheel tournaments, including the Formula BMW USA in 2006. Then, he ran in the Champ Car Atlantic series from 2007 to 2009, before his racing career was cut short by a back and wrist injury. However, Muniz was always drawn to stock car racing and is currently gearing up for his first full NASCAR season.

Frankie Muniz joins NASCAR full-time

Muniz was drawn to NASCAR since his early days on Malcolm in the Middle. In 2000, Muniz got an opportunity to drive a pace car in the iconic Daytona 500 race—the same race that saw the demise of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt. Before the race, Muniz even had a chance to interact with the legend and was surprised to find out that Earnhardt was a fan of Malcolm. According to a flabbergasted Muniz, Earnhardt had told him to “go out, have fun, because you never know when it’s going to end.” 

After a long hiatus, he came back to racing. In 2021, he drove at the Kern County Raceway Park, competing in the SRL Pro Late Model series driving for High Point Racing. Moving to NASCAR, he ran a full season in the ARCA Menards Series, finishing 4th in 2023. In the current year, he ran two truck races, finishing 31st in Nashville and 29th in the most recent Kansas race. Muniz also had two Xfinity starts, at Daytona and Phoenix, though both ended in a DNF.

Despite not having received significant success this year, the 38-year-old has come to the conclusion that he wants to take stock racing seriously. In a recent interview, he said, “I got hurt in 2009, broke my back, it took a long time to heal. So I took a very long break. Did not race anything until last year I decided you know what I’m not getting any younger, feel like I have a lot of unfinished business in the racing world, that I need to do it now. But I want to go NASCAR racing.”

Muniz has signed with Reaume Brothers Racing for a full Truck Series season in 2025. He will be seen piloting the #33 Ford truck for the team. Muniz’s debut full season is coming at a time when many drivers reach the pinnacle of their careers. However, Muniz is unfazed by that, as his love for stock car racing outweighs everything else. This started when he ran the ARCA season.

Further in the interview, he said, “I signed up for ARCA, really went in completely blind what the experience would be like, but we had a good amount of success and I loved every minute of it and here we are moving up in a sense I felt like it happened really fast. Cause I haven’t been in the stock car world for a long time, but I am working hard to play catch up and be fast on track.” 

Having no prior stock car racing experience, Muniz got 12 top-10s and a P4 season finish in ARCA, which is commendable. We could see him giving strong competition to the truck drivers next year.

Frankie Muniz on his 2025 Truck Season

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Before starting a full truck season, the actor-turned-race car driver will drive in the upcoming Homestead-Miami race, as well as in the season finale at Phoenix. His finishes in these races could show what kind of momentum he’ll take into the 2025 season, and he is really pumped for it.

Muniz, on joining RBR, said, “I’m incredibly excited to join Reaume Brothers Racing full-time in 2025. My longstanding relationship with Ford has been a game changer, and I am thrilled to help facilitate additional support allowing us to tap into their exceptional technical and engineering resources. I’m confident that this synergy will elevate Reaume Brothers Racing and help us achieve great things together. I can’t wait to get started.”

However, Muniz has stayed outside the top 25 in both the races that he ran with RBR this season. Achieving success with a backmarker team is going to be a challenge for Muniz. Since its Truck Series debut in 2018, RBR has made 267 race starts and hasn’t managed any wins. In seven years, they have only managed two top-10s and four top-5s. The team’s average finish so far has been 26.58. Maybe Muniz can give them the season they’ve been struggling to find since their debut.

The team has More Core Diamond Drilling, a multi-million-dollar sponsor, on board for the 2025 season. More Core business owner Sean Pownall believes Muniz could be the one to uplift the underdogs. He said, “More Core believes wholeheartedly in RBR as a rising underdog in the sport. It’s an exciting journey to be a part of. We admire the team’s determination and resilience, and we’re proud to support their efforts as they strive for greatness on the track. Together, we look forward to the success ahead!”

How do you think Frankie Muniz will fare in the next season? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.