Frankie Muniz may be best known for his role as the lead in Malcolm in the Middle, but he’s been making a very different career switch of late.
He’s become a racing car driver in recent years, and is eyeing a run in NASCAR as the end goal, with the iconic Daytona 500 the race he wants to drive in most of all.
Speaking to GQ magazine recently, Muniz underlined how serious he was about his aims:
“This isn’t a hobby for me. I want to race in the Daytona 500 in two years, which would make me the oldest rookie in the NASCAR Cup Series. That’s my goal.
“I’ve been a big fan of racing my whole life, going to NASCAR and IndyCar races growing up. But then in 2004, I did a celebrity race in Long Beach and I won. Crossing that finish line first was the coolest feeling on the planet.
“I actually competed in open-wheel racing after that in the mid 2000s, and I only stopped because I got badly hurt in an accident in 2009. I broke my back, had pins in my hand, broken ribs, a broken ankle. It took me a long time to heal. I thought I’d continue racing after, but I ended up joining a band and playing drums for them, touring all over the world. Life sort of took me away from racing, and I figured it was too late for me to start over.
“I have a son now, he’s two years old. It’s kind of cheesy, but I was holding him and thinking, who is he going to think I am? Everything I’ve done is in the past. I can tell him, ‘Hey, I used to be really cool! I was in a TV show, played in a band.’ But I wanted him to grow up and see me working hard towards a goal, of me reaching that goal and actually making it to the NASCAR Cup Series, racing in the Daytona 500, winning the Daytona 500. I’m 37, so if I’m going to do it, I have to do it now.”
Muniz currently drives in the ARCA Menard series and has recorded some impressive results along the way, showing that he is adept as a racing driver and is taking this venture very seriously.
Making the Daytona 500 would be an incredible achievement for someone who has obviously taken a very novel route into the sport, and if he can get there who knows what he might be able to achieve afterwards.
Source: https://www.givemesport.com/malcolm-in-the-middle-star-is-now-eyeing-a-racing-career-in-nascar/
