Some child actors crash and burn, but Frankie Muniz – best known for his starring role in Malcolm in the Middle – is looking to burn some serious rubber instead.
Even during his Malcolm in the Middle days, Muniz (now 37 and has a 1-year-old son) was in love with motorsports. While some celebrities pour their money into designer brands and other frivolities, Muniz used his fame and fortune to pursue his passion for racing, especially stock car racing.
Now, after a solid two decades of racing experience, including competing in categories as diverse as Formula BMW, Champ Car Atlantics and even driving the pace car for the Daytona 500, Muniz has now made the leap to competing in stock cars full-time.
It’s just been announced that Muniz will drive the No. 30 Ford for Rette Jones Racing in NASCAR’s ARCA Series, a feeder series into the three national touring series of NASCAR, for the 2023 season.
“I know people might have maybe a negative expectation of what I can do… I’m ready to prove them wrong,” Muniz said in an interview with NASCAR in July last year.
Finally making my dream a reality, this one is for my son and showing him that you can always chase your dreams.
— Frankie Muniz (@frankiemuniz) January 11, 2023
Excited for this opportunity with Rette Jones Racing, Ford, and our partners to go full time racing for an ARCA National Series Championship in 2023. pic.twitter.com/OhbFnlMNKW
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Frankie also spoke about how ever since Malcolm in the Middle wrapped, he’s been dedicated to his racing career, even turning down film roles that interfered with his racing schedule.
“I don’t think any of them believed me,” he said about his agents. “Or they thought that maybe it was like oh, give him a couple of weeks. But then they were sending me these offers for movies, and all of a sudden, I’m like, ‘No, no. I’m serious. Here’s my schedule. I’m on the road every week.’”
“I wish I got back in a race car sooner… Because I didn’t realize how much I loved it until I started again. I’m not letting the opportunity pass this time.”
Frankie Muniz
The 2023 ARCA Menards Series season will begin at Daytona International Speedway with the Lucas Oil 200 on February 18.
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