A new competitor has set his sights on the 2022 ARCA Menards Series. Actor and race car driver Frankie Muniz has taken on pre-race practice at Daytona International Speedway with the goal of competing in the series.
Muniz sat down with the ARCA Menards Series media team on Saturday, January 15, to discuss his participation in the practice session at Daytona International Speedway. He provided some insight into his racing history before explaining that this opportunity was fairly last-minute.
Driving in today’s pre-race practice at @DAYTONA is @frankiemuniz!
“The fact that I’m here, I don’t even know what to think,” Muniz said before taking on the practice session. “My brain hasn’t fully processed — even coming to the track — that I’m going to get in a car and even drive around here. I’m excited to learn. I’m excited to, you know, maybe show that I can do this.
“That’s all you can hope for,” Muniz continued. “Just have a good time and learn as much as I can. If I’m racing in the ARCA race in February, this is great experience. If not, next year.”
Following the interview, Muniz joined dozens of other drivers on the superspeedway for practice laps in a Fast Track Racing Ford. He posted a session-best lap of 51.796 seconds at 173.759 mph.
Muniz Previously Teased His Foray Into ARCA Racing
Muniz showing up at the track surprised some, but others knew that this move was on the horizon. The reason is that Muniz previously discussed a potential leap to the ARCA Menards Series.
Muniz launched a website, MunizRacing.com, in the weeks leading up to the pre-race practice. The original version included a call for sponsors to join the fold, as well as comments about Muniz’s desire to join the racing series and “take the stock car world by storm.” Though the site ultimately went private ahead of the trip to Daytona.
Questions remained about Muniz Racing and whether he would have the opportunity to take on stock car racing, especially after the site became private. However, he provided an update on the morning of the test session.
“I was hoping that this announcement was going to reveal a secret we’ve been keeping, letting everyone know that after 12 years out of a race car I was coming back to race full time in NASCAR,” Muniz said in an Instagram post on January 15. “I was excited to reveal our sponsors and announce what was going to be a 50+ race season this year in ARCA, Pro Late Models and Super Late Models. I have unfinished business in the racing world. That said, our main sponsor dropped out last minute do [sic] to pandemic related reasons. It’s left me in an interesting position of now not knowing if I will be driving this season.”
Muniz Has Years of Experience Competing
While Muniz rose to fame with roles in “Malcolm in the Middle” and “Agent Cody Banks” among other projects, he has also spent a considerable amount of time competing in various racing series.
As Muniz explained, he got his start in the world of racing by winning the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in Long Beach in 2004 and 2005. He moved up to the Formula BMW USA Championship in 2006 and then took on the ChampCar Atlantic Championship in 2007-2009.
Muniz had a potential opportunity to compete in IndyCar in 2010, but he suffered a season-ending injury in 2009. He missed the remainder of the ChampCar Atlantic Championship and could not recover in time to compete in IndyCar. 12 years later, he has the potential opportunity to suit up for a different racing series, provided he can find sponsorship.
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Frankie Muniz Takes On ARCA Practice, Eyes Potential 2022 Starts