Frankie Muniz, the former American actor best known for “Malcolm in the Middle” and now a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver for Reaume Brothers Racing, has already encountered plenty of surprises in his racing career.
The actor-turned-racer revealed that competing in stock cars has forced him to rethink nearly everything he knew about racecraft, sharing a candid story that underscored just how different and ruthless the NASCAR world can be.
How Frankie Muniz Is Adjusting His Mindset With NASCAR
Appearing on Joe Vulpis’ podcast, Muniz explained that one of the biggest adjustments he’s had to make is adapting to the sport’s physicality. Coming from an open-wheel background, where contact can end a race instantly, Muniz said the level of aggression in NASCAR caught him off guard.
“Even though I’ve been racing for years, the type I used to do was more open-wheel racing, IndyCar racing-type stuff, where you can’t touch each other,” Muniz said. “But you can’t hit each other, cause someone’s gonna become an airplane and die, you know what I mean?”
Muniz pointed to a moment at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) that brought the difference into sharp focus. Unsure of what was and wasn’t allowed, he asked the Truck Series director if there were any rules against blocking, since nothing was mentioned in the pre-race video.
“The director basically told me, ‘There’s no rules against blocking in NASCAR,’” Muniz recalled on the podcast. “I was like, ‘So you can just block, you can punt them off the track?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah.’”
Muniz said that realization reshaped how he approached stock car racing.
“NASCAR is a bold contact sport, and they will push you out of the way; they will, they don’t care,” he said. “They don’t care if they wreck you, they don’t care if you get hurt, they don’t want to hurt you, but like they’re doing whatever they have to do to win, and there’s no rules saying they can’t.”
For Muniz, it was a turning point. The etiquette he had grown used to in open-wheel racing, where blocking and bumping are often penalized, simply doesn’t exist in NASCAR. Instead, drivers are expected to race with their elbows out, and anyone unwilling to fight aggressively risks being left behind.
Despite the steep learning curve, Muniz said he’s embracing the challenge of driving in the Truck Series and believes the tougher competition and victories have become a defining part of his development.