Frankie Muniz is in the midst of his first full-time ARCA Menards Series season, and he has the goal of contending for the champion. However, he also has plans to move up to one of the three national NASCAR series in the near future.
Muniz provided the revelation during a discussion with Forbes. He told Joseph Wolkin that his plans are to advance through the series while working with Ford Performance and ultimately reach the NASCAR Cup Series. This will not be a simple task, but Muniz expressed belief in his ability to achieve this goal.
“I know it’s a very lofty goal for me to set, but I want to race in the Cup Series,” Muniz told Forbes. “I’m pretty sure every driver probably says that, but I really do.
“I’m 37 years old, and I’m getting into the sport of stock car racing. I definitely plan on moving up, and the plan is to move up to Xfinity or the Truck Series next year.”
As Muniz continued to explain, there are some things that must fall into place for him to achieve this goal. Obviously, sponsorship is one of the biggest due to the current financial landscape in NASCAR. The ability to contend is also very important to the actor-turned-driver. He doesn’t want to run at the rear of the field every week.
Muniz Has Performed Consistently During the 2023 Season
GettyFrankie Muniz walks on stage during driver introductions.
The 37-year-old took part in an ARCA Menards Series practice session at Daytona International Speedway ahead of the 2022 season, but he was not able to secure a spot for the schedule. However, he accomplished this ahead of the 2023 season when he joined Rette Jones Racing.
Muniz has made seven starts in the No. 30 Ford, and he has delivered consistency. He has five top-10 finishes and an average finish of 8.9. The lone exception is a 16th-place finish at Elko Speedway when contact from Davey Callihan led to a hard crash into the outside wall.
Muniz is currently second in the championship standings. He is 40 points behind Venturini Motorsports driver Jesse Love, who has four wins on the season.
The next test for Muniz will take place at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 7. This will be his first road course race in the ARCA Menards Series. The rest of his starts have been on ovals ranging from short tracks to superspeedways.
While the road course will present a challenge, it will also present an opportunity. He has experience at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course from his time in the Formula BMW Championship, and he competed at a variety of street and road courses while competing in the Champ Car Atlantic series.
Finding a Seat Remains a Question Mark
GettyXfinity Series drivers race at Nashville Superspeedway.
Locking up sponsorship for a full season will be Muniz’s biggest concern. This is something that he has to deal with currently in the ARCA Menards Series. Though he noted that he is having discussions about the 2024 season as he pursues his first win for Rette Jones Racing.
The other pressing concern will be finding an open seat. There are not many Ford Performance-affiliated teams in the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series.
For example, Stewart-Haas Racing has two full-time entries in the Xfinity Series while AM Racing has one. Emerling-Gase Motorsports, RSS Racing, and SS GreenLight Racing have also fielded Ford entries. Of these teams, the latter three have worked with a variety of drivers and manufacturers over the past two seasons.
The Craftsman Truck Series has two main Ford Performance-affiliated teams — ThorSport Racing and Front Row Motorsports. Reaume Brothers Racing and Roper Racing have also fielded part-time Ford entries during the 2023 season.
There is a scenario where the FRM entry opens up for the 2024 season. The expectation is that reigning champion Zane Smith will move up to the Cup Series for 2024, whether he remains with FRM or joins another Ford team.
Smith is only one of the drivers that could move to another series and open up a spot with a Ford team. The same could happen in the Xfinity Series if SHR moves Riley Herbst or Cole Custer to the Cup Series.
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Frankie Muniz Eyes National NASCAR Series in 2024