Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Frankie Muniz at a NASCAR Truck Series Championship Race
Frankie Muniz has spent close to two decades pursuing a career in auto racing after pivoting away from acting. He was slated to compete in a race at Daytona International Speedway on Veterans Day, but those plans were derailed after he was involved in a crash that he thankfully walked away from relatively unscathed based on what he had to say after being released from the hospital.
Some actors are lucky enough to make enough money as a child star to the point where they could get away with never working again when they become an adult, and that was the case with Frankie Muniz, who once flexed on a troll by bragging about the $40 million he had in his bank account at the age of 19 thanks largely to his role on Malcolm in the Middle.
@iHeartMtnDEW Yeah, but being retired with $40,000,000.00 at 19 has not been awful. Good luck moving out of your moms house before youre 35.
— Frankie Muniz (@frankiemuniz) September 16, 2010
Muniz dabbled in car racing while he was acting, and he turned the hobby into a new pursuit when he made the decision to largely step away from the screen toward the end of the 2000s to chase his other passion.
He initially focused on open-car racing before turning his attention to stock-car competitions at the start of the 2020s, and he’s been competing in NASCAR’s Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series on a regular basis for the past couple of years.
He’d largely managed to avoid any serious incidents on the track, but that changed on Wednesday as he was preparing for a charity race at one of the world’s most iconic venues.
Frankie Muniz managed to avoid any serious injuries after being hospitalized following a crash at Daytona
On Wednesday, Daytona hosted the Proud to Honor Veterans Day Classic, an event where six teams representing America’s six military branches faced off on the road course while raising money for service members, veterans, and their families.
Muniz was slated to compete in a Ford Mustang Dark Horse R decked out in Air Force livery while teaming up with Austin Cindric, but those plans were derailed when he crashed the vehicle during a practice lap; no video of the incident has surfaced as of this writing, but a photo of the car showed it suffered some serious damage.
Muniz was transported to the hospital after being extracted from the wreck, but according to the Associated Press, it sounds like he won’t have to wait very long to bounce back from the setback.
The actor-turned-racer was discharged shortly after being admitted, and he said he was a “little sore” but otherwise no worse for wear in a statement, adding:
“I am disappointed I won’t be able to take part in Ford’s Proud to Honor event tonight. I was looking forward to honoring the service of our veterans and racing against these other amazing drivers.
I want to thank everyone at Ford Racing, Daytona International Speedway and the staff here at the hospital,” Muniz said. “I especially want to thank everyone who has reached out and for all the prayers.”
Jenson Altzman was ultimately tapped to replace Muniz in one of the Air Force cars, and Cindric ultimately earned the victory by topping Robert Noaker (who was racing for the Marines) by .136 seconds.