The Hollywood star Frankie Muniz, who is best known for starring in the sitcom Malcolm In The Middle from 2000-2006, has announced that he is pursuing a career as a full-time NASCAR driver.
Muniz Becomes Full-Time NASCAR Driver
Muniz, 38, will be joining Reaume Brothers Racing as the driver of the No. 33 F-150 in the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Frankie to our team full-time and to expand our relationship with Ford Performance,” team owner Josh Reaume told Fox4. “Their support has been invaluable, and we believe that with Frankie’s passion and our collective momentum from this year, we can make significant strides in the upcoming season.”
Muniz spoke out to say that transitioning from acting to racing hasn’t been hard for him.
“If I’m going to race full time against drivers who, this is their lives, I’ve got to dedicate myself the same way that they are. I can’t be part-time,” Muniz told Fox News. “You can’t kind of act on the side and do this. If you want to be really, really good at anything, you’ve got to dedicate yourself to it, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Muniz went on to say that he’s confident that his team can “achieve great things together. I can’t wait to get started.”
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Muniz’s History With NASCAR
Muniz had his first NASCAR race back in 2004, when he placed seventh in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in Long Beach, California. His professional career began two years later in 2006. That year, Muniz entered the Formula BMW USA season, racing with Jensen MotorSport, based in Canada.
Muiniz participated in the ChampCar Atlantic Series from 2007-2009. He managed to place fourth in the championship standings that last year. Sadly, later in 2009, Muniz was forced to step away from racing due to an injury.
In 2021, Muniz made his triumphant return to racing. Last year, he took part in the ARCA Menards National Championship, and he ultimately finished the season in fourth place.
Muniz made it clear that he could not be more excited about finally making NASCAR his full-time job.
“I don’t want to say it’s a long time coming, but this has been a dream of mine for forever,” Muniz gushed to People Magazine after making his announcement. He said that he “started with doing the open wheel route. I thought I was going to go IndyCar, kind of the Formula 1 route, but I always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to try NASCAR.”
“I wanted to do it….I grew up watching NASCAR,” he continued, describing himself as “a huge fan, but it’s not something I necessarily thought that I’d ever get the opportunity to do.”
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Muniz Has ‘A Lot To Prove’
Muniz went on to say that joining “one of the three big national NASCAR series” full-time is “really exciting,” even though he knows he still has “a lot to prove to myself and to everybody.”
“I want people to know that I’ve literally dedicated my life to this,” he explained. “You know what I mean? I love it. When I’m not in the race car, I’m thinking about being in the race car. I’m training, I’m in the simulator at Ford, the Ford Performance Technical Center.”
Muniz also revealed that while “closing the door” on acting has not been a “topic of discussion,” he’s busy “focusing on being a race car driver.”
“I hope to just prove to people that I can do both. That’s all I can do. I can’t, but I hope I do, and I’m hoping I can do it this season,” he stated, adding that he hopes his fans see him and his team “putting in the work.”
“The kid from Malcolm in the Middle is racing in NASCAR. You know what I mean?” Muniz continued. “And that’s what people say, but I am. I did it.”
“I don’t want to just have made it to NASCAR — I want, when people think of the truck series, they think of NASCAR that they think of, oh, ‘I want to watch Frankie. He’s competitive. He’s this,'” he concluded. “So I’m doing everything I can.”
It’s inspiring to see Muniz chasing his dreams. We wish him the best of luck in his new NASCAR career!
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