Drivers aren’t usually thrilled about finishing in the top 10 of a race. While it is a matter of noteworthy praise, they know deep inside that they could’ve done so much better. This wasn’t the case for 39-year-old Frankie Muniz after he finished 10th in the Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona. Why? Simply because it was the best result of his career.
Advertisement
The former Hollywood star drives the No. 33 Ford F-150 for Reaume Brothers Racing this year. He originally finished the season-opener in 11th place, but when race winner Parker Kligerman was disqualified, he moved a spot up. Securing this result was a big moment for Muniz. In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, he spoke about how surreal it was all for him.
“I stayed in Daytona for Saturday and Sunday. Sunday for the [Daytona] 500,” he said. “We were walking on the grid and the amount of Cup drivers and, you know, Jeff Gordon and everybody… Came up to me, and they obviously knew the result, and they’re like, ‘Oh, Congrats!’ It felt really good to be, I don’t know, just to have a positive a positive result.”
Getting praise from the best drivers in the game meant a huge deal to Muniz, particularly after the trying season he had in 2024, where he ran an eight-race schedule over ARCA, Trucks, and Xfinity last year. He continued to note that climbing out of his car with a big smile on his face felt good and expressed pride in his No. 33 team.
How Muniz became a big Jeff Gordon fan
Muniz was one of Hollywood’s most bankable teens once. He played the titular character in the hit sitcom Malcolm in the Middle and gained huge recognition. As a young boy, he was a big fan of the former Nationwide Series driver David Green. The attraction came from the Slim Jim car that Green piloted.
However, when he was around 10 years old, Muniz got the chance to share screen space with Gordon in the ABC sitcom Spin City. This experience made him switch sides to become a devoted Gordon fan.
He said in an episode of Dale Jr. Download last year, “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.” From being enamored with the four-time Cup Series champion as a boy actor to being appreciated by him as a NASCAR driver, Muniz has come a long, long way.
