Resilience always pays off in the end. Frankie Muniz, who entered NASCAR in 2023 via the ARCA Menards Series, has been riding a disastrous wave recently. He entered a full-time slate in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2025, wheeling the No. 33 Ford for Reaume Brothers Racing. Starting from his debut at Homestead-Miami Speedway in October 2024 till last weekend’s Nashville race, mishaps have never left the actor-turned-racer. However, he can now look forward to a fresh venture.
The Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational will be held on June 11th-14th, or next weekend. To be flagged off at Circuit de la Sarthe, the annual event is yet to release its full roster of drivers. However, all we need to know for now is the presence of a prominent NASCAR racer in the event, who is going all the way in preparing for it.
Turning over a new leaf with Frankie Muniz
Only a nightmare can best describe Frankie Muniz’s 2025 NASCAR season. In a freak incident at Darlington, a small rock slipped through a hole in the grill and ruptured the power steering line. The same mishap repeated itself at Rockingham Speedway. In Texas, Muniz ran his No. 33 Ford into the wall after blowing his right-front tire with 25 laps to go in the Truck race. In Charlotte, the Reaume Brothers Racing driver had an ill-handling truck on the first practice lap and during the final race, had a migraine headache. Last weekend, Muniz could not make a single lap around the Nashville track, as an oil line came loose. “I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do in life anymore,” Muniz lamented.
However, now the ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ star has a purpose in hand. Frankie Muniz made his Mustang Challenge debut at Circuit of the Americas last year. Now, Ford Performance has confirmed him and Chelsea DeNofa as next weekend’s Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational as guest drivers. Ford posted the news on its X account with a promotional picture of Muniz. The caption read, “Back behind the wheel of the Mustang Dark Horse R, @FrankieMuniz will take to Circuit de la Sarthe in France for the Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational next weekend!”
Back behind the wheel of the Mustang Dark Horse R, @FrankieMuniz will take to Circuit de la Sarthe in France for the Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational next weekend! pic.twitter.com/fUg2t3U9t0
— Ford Performance (@FordPerformance) June 4, 2025
This would be an opportunity for Frankie Muniz to prove his mettle again after so many DNFs in the NASCAR Truck races. For this purpose, he is undergoing rigorous training for the Mustang Challenge, as he revealed in an X post. He wrote, “I wish I didn’t want to be in good shape because hot damn I want some fried chicken right now.” After all, fried chicken seems like a small thing to sacrifice for his goal to be in the top 20 in the points standings. He told Ford CEO Jim Farley in an interview, “I obviously want to win the championship, but realistically, to be consistently in the top 20 in that series, I think people will take us seriously. And that’s kind of the goal right now.”
Clearly, Frankie Muniz is gearing up with all his strength and energy. In fact, his determination is visible in his defiance of his parents.
Muniz knows what he is doing
When Frankie Muniz was growing up, his household was not fond of racing. But he stood out with his interests in F1, NASCAR, and IndyCar races. Due to his acting career, Muniz got the opportunity to run the pro celebrity race in Long Beach in 2004, and he ended up winning it! A test with a pro team led to a two-year deal with Jensen Motorsport as a driver. That happened 20 years ago. A broken back incurred from a 2009 accident and multiple DNFs in NASCAR have hardly broken Muniz’s resolve. What is more, he told People in an interview this year that his parents “still don’t like” the idea of him being a professional race car driver. Nevertheless, Muniz strives ahead.
Frankie Muniz compared his acting goals with his racing goals. For the latter, he loves to go step by step and improve steadily but surely. He said, “Unlike me going, ‘Man, I gave what I thought was my best performance in this movie.’ And you go, ‘Eh, it was okay’ as a race car driver, it’s in black and white. If I got work to do, I can see it,” he explains. “I know where I finish, I know where I qualify, and you can put in that effort and continue to try to get better. And I just love that about it…I want to get out of the car whether I win or I finish 30th and go, ‘That’s what I had’…I don’t want to look back at it and go, ‘I could have prepped more. I could have tried harder.’ “
The passion to perform well still burns in Frankie Muniz’s heart. With a new venture at hand, let us see what the driver can accomplish.
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