Frankie Muniz is still comfortable in his new life as a professional race car driver. 38-year-old ex Malcolm in the middle star is looking to qualify for this weekend’s opening race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Daytona International Speedway, one year after breaking onto the professional driving scene.
Muniz opened up about his upcoming racing season in an interview with The Associated Press. Muniz caught the attention of many in the racing world last year by finishing fourth overall in the inaugural ARCA series last year. At times during the 20-race season, Muniz held first place.
The actor-turned-driver’s journey to the next level of competitive racing may not be so easy, Muniz said. “The only thing I can compare it to is going to a new school,” he told the AP. “You can feel like you’re a man in one school, and you go to that new school and say to yourself, ‘I don’t know anyone. Will the people here welcome me?’ I have a bit of that feeling. Like walking in the garage, I don’t know if people still accept me there.”
Frankie Muniz to return to the racetrack in 2023: ‘I still have unfinished business’
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Frankie Muniz.
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Muniz drove competitively for decades. But it wasn’t until Muniz and wife Paige Price welcomed their first son, Mauz Mosley Muniz, in 2021 that the actor began pursuing his childhood dream more seriously, Muniz told PEOPLE last year.
“It hit me when I had my son,” Muniz said. “I want him to grow up watching me achieve my dreams and work hard for something I’m passionate about, and the only world where I feel like I still have unfinished business is the world of racing. That’s why I’m going to go racing.”
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Frankie Muniz.
Chris Graythen/Getty
The Agent Cody Banks star told the AP that while he found success last season in the entry-level ranks, he knows the NASCAR Xfinity Series — the racing league’s second-tier division — is “a whole different level.”
“I’m excited to prove to people that I can race in this series,” Muniz said. “I know it won’t be easy.”
He added: “Everyone out there is good. I don’t want to call it self-doubt. Never mind that. I just have to prove it to myself as soon as we get on the right track. Hopefully we can do that.”
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Muniz told PEOPLE that he first “caught the bug of wanting to be a driver” in 2004, after winning a tournament in Long Beach. And while the actor has had a “steep learning curve,” Muniz said one of his greatest attributes is his “ultra-competitive” personality combined with the clock ticking on his late-blooming career.
“I don’t have 10 years of opportunity. I have to do this right now,” he said last year. “So in that sense, I can’t wait to get going. I want to compete for wins, but I, too, am realistic.”
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Source: HIS Education