Frankie Muniz, 38, will be driving full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series for Reaume Brothers Racing beginning in 2025. The actor-turned-racer played the title role in the hit sitcom Malcolm in the Middle and was once considered to be one of the most prolific teens in Hollywood.
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Although he once shared screen space with Jeff Gordon, it isn’t the four-time champion who was his favorite driver as a kid. He was on a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download Reloaded podcast when he revealed the unlikely driver whom he admired the most back then.
He said, “Nothing against him, but this is probably an answer you are not expecting me to say. I was a huge David Green fan. He drove the Slim Jim car back then and as a kid, I was like, ‘Oh, man! I love Slim Jims!’”
Green was a Nationwide Series regular in the 90s and spent many years driving for teams like Labonte Motorsports and American Equipment Racing.
He made 78 Cup Series appearances over six years but failed to win a race. Although he was a favorite for Muniz, the then-youngster changed sides when he was around 10 or 11 years old and got to play a role alongside Gordon in the ABC sitcom Spin City.
November 17, 1998: Jeff Gordon and Frankie Muniz appeared together in an episode of Spin City pic.twitter.com/LNUsyiIp6D
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) November 17, 2023
He narrated, “I played a sick kid in the hospital and he came in saying how he was going to win these races for me and it was a funny skit. I met him when I was maybe 10 or 11. I don’t know if I am allowed to say that in this building, but I became a big Jeff Gordon fan because he was always nice to me.” The episode Muniz mentioned aired on November 17, 1998.
Muniz’s incredible transition from the screen to the race track
Roughly a decade after his appearance alongside Gordon on Spin City, Muniz decided to quit acting and get into the race car. He noted on the podcast that he always felt like an outsider in Hollywood, but never in the car.
He said, “I just never felt like I was part of that Hollywood world. Felt like I was just an outcast that got to show up.”
“And as a racecar driver even though I am still new in it, when I am at the racetrack, I feel like it is where I am supposed to be.” The man has to be applauded for having the nerve to choose to go down the path that he is passionate about regardless of its difficulty.
He had a successful time in the ARCA Menards Series last year and finished fourth in the standings. This performance is what has landed him a full-time seat in the Truck Series for next season. If he keeps this up, he might very soon find himself alongside Gordon again.
