Frankie Muniz’s rookie campaign in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has been anything but smooth sailing. After securing a top-10 finish in the season opener at Daytona, his performances have taken a downturn, with his best result since being P23 at Rockingham Raceway.
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This weekend marked NASCAR’s return to the historic speedway for the first time since 2004, but the track proved no kinder to Muniz than the others.
According to him, an early power steering failure cost him multiple laps, and he was forced to wrestle the truck by hand, so much so that he ended up tearing a hole in his palm. Reflecting on the ordeal, he admitted, “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
Despite the string of misfortunes, Muniz hopes fans and sponsors recognize the uphill battle he’s been fighting, attributing much of his poor luck to circumstances beyond his control. Still, even his household faith seems to be waning. During his post-race interview, he quipped, “How many times can I say, I got bad luck? My wife doesn’t believe me anymore.”
Further elaborating, Muniz added, “I love my wife, and she is super supportive, but she is like, ‘Maybe it’s you! Maybe you’re just not good.’ And I’m like, ‘I can’t help that.’ So, I hope people see that…”
“We’re trying really hard. I feel like I can leave here with a little bit of a more positive [outcome] than obviously last week. But it’s still like what could have, should have… What could have happened? Sucks to think about.”
.@frankiemuniz says he lost several laps after blowing a power steering line early on, and manhandling the truck tire a hole in his hand.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do”
The @RBR_Teams 33 was still 23rd in an attrition-filled day. #BlacksTire200 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/jWTOcbb0be
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) April 19, 2025
Muniz also reflected on his run at Atlanta, pointing out that while he had the pace to contend for a top-10, a late-race wreck with 20 laps remaining derailed his effort. He emphasized that his #33 truck had the speed to finish much higher on the leaderboard at Rockingham, though.
His concern over public perception stems from incidents like the one at Bristol, where, with just 13 laps remaining, Ty Majeski made contact with his rear bumper, spinning him out. Despite being the one turned, Muniz found himself at the receiving end of fan backlash. Addressing the criticism, he remarked,
“I’ve done more than people expect at times, to where like it’s more of a positive story than, oh, he just wrecked the leaders or whatever. So my whole life I’ve also had people talk crap about me online — warranted or not or whatever. I’m used to letting it go. But it does affect you. I’m telling you, it affects me because we haven’t had things go our way.”
Although his current Truck Series results have left much to be desired, Muniz’s 2023 ARCA Menards season told a different story. With nine top-10 finishes and one top-5, Muniz wrapped up the year fourth in the standings. If luck finally swings his way, he may well turn the tide in the remaining races and secure a full-time seat for next season.
