KANSAS CITY, Kan. — It’s been a long time since Frankie Muniz was “Malcolm in the Middle.”
These days, it’s more like “Frankie in the Front.”
The multitalented actor turned race car driver leads the ARCA series leader board, one of the lowest rungs in the NASCAR fuel system, through the first three races in his first full season. His goal is to reach the Cup series eventually, but the 37-year-old Muniz harbors no misconceptions about how difficult it will be to climb that ladder.
Especially since he’s still trying to learn what all the switches do in his current car.
“I’m so focused on everything I have to learn right now in ARCA,” said Muniz, who was eighth fastest in Friday practice at Kansas Speedway, where the series will run on Saturday. “This is the fourth race out of 20 this season. I thought I would do well; I didn’t know that I would be leading the championship at this point. But I’m focused on continuing and learning.”
Muniz has always been fascinated by racing. He watched a few grow up in Charlotte and went to the Daytona 500, where he drove the pace car in 2001, the year Dale Earnhardt was killed in a last-lap crash. And during his youth, when he played the title role in the Fox sitcom ‘Malcolm in the Middle’, he dabbled in competitive racing.
Muniz entered 14 races in 2006 in the Formula BMW The USA series and the following year moved to the Champ Car Atlantic Series. He continued to race until 2009, when a crash left him with injuries which led him to retire.
He focused primarily on acting, although by then “Malcolm in the Middle” had long since finished its seven-year run on Fox and was fast becoming a cult classic, and he moonlighted as a drummer in indie rock band Kingsfoil.
Muniz’s comeback, shall we say, began in late 2021 when he drove a late model at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California. Next came an ARCA series test at Daytona last year, and in January, Rette Jones racing announced that Muniz would be behind the wheel for the No. 30 Ford full time this season.
“I love my past. I love everything I’ve done,” said Muniz, “but I don’t remember ever saying I wanted to be an actor. I wanted to be a garbage man, honestly, and acting took over my life. me saying, “What do I want to do? What do I want to accomplish in my life?” And here I am. I chose this. And when I put on my helmet and leave pit land, to my knowledge, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
It turns out it’s in the front of the package.
Although he is yet to win three ARCA series races, Muniz has been the model of consistency. He is the only driver to complete all 316 laps, which is why he leads 18-year-old Jesse Love by the narrowest margin in the points race.
“It is a great achievement for Frankie to lead the ARCA Racing Series championship points standings as a Rette Jones Racing driver, but that is very early in the season,” said team co-owner, Mark Rette. incredibly focused and knows that if he only focuses on his ability behind the wheel, the points will follow.”
One thing Muniz has going for him is support from Ford. The racing powerhouse recently hosted him at its world headquarters for a few events and his car this weekend carries the “Built Ford Proud” banner.
“Obviously it’s part and parcel of making these breakthroughs,” Muniz said, “that I’m with an amazing producer.”
That will only get Muniz so far, though. He also understands that displaying enough ability to level up is of the utmost importance and he doesn’t have much time to do that. Muniz is basically starting his stock car racing career at the same age that many drivers are starting to think about what comes next.
That’s a little extra pressure that many of his peers don’t have.
“There are upsides and downsides, obviously, to being my age,” Muniz said. “I’ve been through a lot in my life: many beautiful, many ugly. I’ve experienced a few things, even running in the past. I feel like I pushed hard in racing, but I always thought I could push harder, try harder. I have this opportunity now here I have a second chance to make it right.
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