Frankie Muniz, the child star of the hit series Malcolm in the Middle, will become a NASCAR racer at the age of 38.
He will join Reaume Brothers Racing as a full-time driver for the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.
The actor, who also appeared in the Cody Banks film series, has been a professional runner since 2006.
talking to PEOPLEMuniz said of the shocking move: “I don’t want to say it’s going to be a long time coming, but this has been a dream of mine forever.”
‘I started doing the open wheel route. I thought I was going to go to IndyCar, sort of a Formula 1 route, but I always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to try NASCAR.
Frankie Muniz, child star of TV show Malcolm in the Middle, joins NASCAR
Muñiz, who has been a professional runner since 2006, said the move was a “forever” dream.
‘I wanted to do it. I grew up watching NASCAR. I was a big fan, but it’s not something I necessarily thought I’d ever get the chance to do. I want people to know that I have literally dedicated my life to this.
‘When I’m not in the race car, I think about being in the race car. I’m training, I’m in the Ford simulator, the Ford Performance Technical Center. “I’m working with my engineers, my team leaders and the team and doing everything I can.”
In 2023, Muniz competed in the ARCA Menards Series, finishing fourth at the end of the season with one top-five and 11 top-10 finishes.
Muñiz accepted that he is still best known for his role as Middle Malcolm and has not closed the door on acting again in the future, but racing is his number one focus for the moment.
‘Malcolm’s boy in the middle is racing in NASCAR. You know what I mean? And that’s what people say, but I am. I did it.
“I don’t want to just have gotten to NASCAR. I want when people think of the truck series, they think of NASCAR and they think, oh, I want to see Frankie.” It’s competitive. “So I’m doing everything I can.”
Muñiz’s season begins on February 14 in Daytona Beach, Florida, meaning he has almost four months to prepare for his debut race.
Speaking to FOX, Muniz said, “Making the jump to the truck series is another level.”
Muniz is best known for having a central role in the hit comedy ‘Malcolm in the Middle’.
’36 trucks start the race and all 36 drivers are really good. So if I’m going to do this, I want to dedicate myself to it. You can’t act sideways.’
Malcolm in the Middle aired for seven seasons from 2000 to 2006 and is still considered a classic sitcom today. Muniz played Malcolm, a child genius with an IQ of 165 who grew up in a dysfunctional family as one of four siblings.
Malcolm’s father, Hal, was played by Bryan Cranston, best known for his role as Walter White in Breaking Bad.
In 2012, Muñiz was hospitalized with what was later diagnosed as a mini-stroke. He previously spoke about his struggle with memory loss due to multiple concussions as a teenager.