Frankie Muniz reveals wild career switch as Malcolm in the Middle star puts acting on hold

Frankie Muniz, the childhood star of the hit series Malcolm in the Middle, becomes a NASCAR racer at the age of 38.

He joins Reaume Brothers Racing as a full-time driver for the 2025 season of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

The actor, who also appeared in the Cody Banks film series, has been a professional racer since 2006.

Speak with PEOPLEMuniz said of the shock move: “I don’t want to say it’s a long time coming, but this has been a dream of mine forever.

‘I started doing the open wheel route. I thought I would go for IndyCar, a kind of Formula 1 route, but I always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to try NASCAR.

Muniz, who has been a professional racer since 2006, said the move had been a dream “forever.”

‘I wanted to do it. I grew up watching NASCAR. I was a big fan, but it wasn’t something I necessarily thought I would ever get the chance to do. I want people to know that I literally dedicated my life to this.

“When I’m not in the race car, I think about being in the race car. I’m training, I’m in the simulator at Ford, the Ford Performance Technical Center. I work with my engineers, my crew chiefs and the team and do everything I can.”

In 2023, Muniz competed in the ARCA Menards Series and finished fourth at the end of the season with one top-five finish and 11 top-10s.

Muniz accepted that he is still best known for his Malcolm in the Middle role and has not closed the door on returning to acting in the future – but racing is his main focus for now.

“The kid from Malcolm in the Middle races in NASCAR. You know what I mean? And people say that, but that’s me. I did it.

“I don’t want to just have made it to NASCAR — I want when people think of the truck series, they think of NASCAR and they think, oh, ‘I want to watch Frankie.’ He’s competitive.’ So I’m doing everything I can.”

Muniz’s season starts on February 14 at Daytona Beach, Florida, meaning he has almost four months to prepare for his debut race.

Speaking to FOX, Muniz said: “Making the jump to the truck series is a whole different level.

Muniz is best known for his central role in the hit sitcom ‘Malcolm in the Middle’

’36 trucks start the race and all 36 drivers are really good. So if I’m going to do this, I want to commit to it. You can’t perform there.’

Malcolm in the Middle ran for seven seasons from 2000 to 2006 and is still considered a classic sitcom. Muniz played Malcolm, a child genius with an IQ of 165 who grew up in a dysfunctional family as one of four brothers.

Malcolm’s father, Hal, was played by Bryan Cranston, who is best known for his role as Walter White in Breaking Bad.

In 2012, Muniz was hospitalized with what was later diagnosed as a mini-stroke. He has previously spoken about struggling with memory loss due to multiple concussions as a teenager.