Sometimes, life is fair.
Frankie Muniz, star of “Malcolm In The Middle,” “Agent Cody Banks” and “Big Fat Liar,” announced on Twitter that he’s become a full-time race car driver.
Muniz showed off his athleticism on Season 25 of “Dancing With The Stars,” where he and his partner placed third. He competed in the second NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, playing for Ashton Kutcher’s team alongside celebrity basketball legends Kevin Hart, Michael Rapaport, Nick Cannon and Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath.
He has extensive driving experience dating back to his first race in 2004, the Pro/Celebrity Race. In 2007, Muniz competed in the Champ Car Atlantic series and then the Atlantic championship in 2008, essentially the high minor leagues of open-wheel racing. After the 2008 season, Muniz won the circuit’s sportsmanship award.
Muniz also drove the pace car for the Daytona 500 in 2001, the race where Dale Earnhardt suffered his fatal crash. Having met him just before the race began, Muniz was the last person outside of Earnhardt’s own racing team to ever speak with him.
Since 2009, when he left the series early due to wrist surgery, Muniz has done some acting, drummed for a band called Kingsfoil, then managed his former bandmates’ new band, Astro Lasso. He also suffered what was first thought to be a series of mini-strokes, but later turned out to be the effects of severe migraines, plus childhood concussions.
Those health issues won’t keep Muniz out of his new life of stock car racing, where he made his pro debut in 2021.
Muniz will be a part of Rette Jones Racing, which competes in the Auto Racing Club of America (ARCA) Menards series. ARCA Menards is a semi-professional minor league of stock car racing, but is used as a developmental series for drivers trying to reach the top levels of NASCAR. It’s been owned by NASCAR since 2018.
While he may continue his sporadic acting career — Muniz did an episode of “New Amsterdam” last year — the majority of his recent roles are cameos where he plays “Frankie Muniz.” But if the racing goes well, you may see him on TV again — this time as a real competitor at Daytona.
