Frankie Muniz will be a part of the documentary that NASCAR Studios and Fox Sports will be releasing on February 12, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Daytona 500 that killed Dale Earnhardt Sr. The racer-turned-actor was one of the last people to speak to the Intimidator that day, and this makes it vital at this juncture to look back at how his career has progressed since.<\/p>\n
Muniz was the star of the television show Malcolm in the Middle and was at Daytona that year to serve as the honorary pace car driver. It was the first year of Fox Sports\u2019 broadcasting deal with NASCAR, and the channel was using the opportunity to promote the show. Before the race, Muniz had the opportunity to speak with Earnhardt. He spoke about this in length on the SpeedFreaks podcast.<\/p>\n
He said<\/a>, \u201cDale Earnhardt came up to me at the driver\u2019s meeting, actually. And he told me, \u2018I just have to say, you know, I\u2019m a huge fan. Your show has brought me and my daughter so much closer.\u2019 And I was 15 at the time. I was like the hugest NASCAR fan. I was in awe that a hero of mine was saying that they were a fan of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n Before climbing into the car, Earnhardt<\/a> had once again told him that he loved the show and that he was a big fan of Muniz. We all know what happened next. Muniz had been seated at Ken Schrader\u2019s pit box wearing an M&M jacket that had the signatures of Earnhardt, Schrader, and Sterling Marlin. Eerily, these three were the ones involved in the late race accident that ended badly.<\/p>\n All this came full circle for Muniz when he started his racing career in 2023. He made his debut in the ARCA Menards Series, and the chassis of the car that he drove in his first race happened to be the one from the car that Marlin drove at the 2001 Daytona 500<\/a>.<\/p>\n He said about this, \u201cAt first, it kind of, I don\u2019t want to say creeped me out. It was a little eerie to think about when you put all those pieces together, you know, but it made me actually feel like I\u2019m exactly where I\u2019m supposed to be in my life. You know what I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n Muniz is currently a full-time driver in the Craftsman Truck Series. He drives the No. 33 truck for Team Reaume and announced<\/a> this week on social media about bringing Lucid Trading as a multi-race sponsor.<\/p>\n Last week I put the call out for a Daytona sponsor after a deal shifted\u2026 and boom\u2026social media delivered! Thrilled to announce @TradingLucid<\/a> has jumped on board for a multi-race deal with my #33 truck! I love getting to bring new partners into the NASCAR world, so make sure\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/RNBa5pZ7yp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Frankie Muniz (@frankiemuniz) January 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The company will be funding his efforts at Daytona and at Darlington this season. Muniz sure is climbing the ladder.\u00a0<\/p>\n