Frankie Muniz has a big issue with a rule NASCAR has added ahead of the 2026 season. The actor and full-time Truck series driver reacted to learning that if an entry from a new OEM doesn’t qualify in the first three races of the Truck Series, they will get the spots from 37th to 40th.

“So pathetic,” Frankie Muniz wrote on X/Twitter in response to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. Muniz then responded to another post by Pockrass, who explained the one issue he had with the new rule.

“One issue (in my honest opinion) is if more than 36 trucks at first three races, Ram drivers can be more on edge in practice & qualifying b/c if they wreck, they still make the field,” Pockrass wrote. “For others on bubble on owner points, they can’t take that risk — and could be slower in qualifying b/c of it.”

Muniz responded, “The biggest thing is they don’t have to focus on building a fast car for qualifying. They can just focus 100% effort building a good car for the race, that handles better. Most teams [don’t] get that luxury.”

This rule change was made as RAM has returned to NASCAR and will join the Truck Series. RAM will have a five-truck program fielded by Kaulig Racing. NASCAR made the rule change so a new OEM can get adjusted to the competition of NASCAR’s National Series.

Frankie Muniz set to return to the NASCAR Truck Series in 2026

Muniz competed in the Tuck Series full-time last year and finished 26th in the final standings. He drove from Reaume Brothers Racing (now called Team Reaume) and will return to the team for the 2026 season.

While appearing on the Stacking Pennies podcast last year, Muniz explained why he wanted to compete in NASCAR. “2004, I got to do the pro celebrity race that Toyota put on in Long Beach,” he said. “I won that, and that feeling of crossing the finish line first… It was something I was like, whoa. And even at that point, I never thought I would be a racecar driver. I loved watching. I was a huge fan of it since I was five years old. I remember waking up and watching NASCAR races and Formula One races and IndyCar races and just loving it.”

Muniz is known for playing the title character in the FOX series Malcom in the Middle. The 40-year-old will reprise his role in the new Hulu series Malcom in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, and that will premiere on April 10.