Malcom in the Middle star Frankie Muniz shares details of return to NASCAR racing
The actor is participating with Team Reaume in a 2026 NASCAR racing series
Malcom in the Middle alum Frankie Muniz is expanding his racing career, with a return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series next year.
The 40-year-old actor took up professional racing in 2006, after taking a step back from acting in Hollywood. While he took a 14-year hiatus after experiencing major injuries in a 2009 crash, he made his official return to professional racing in 2021 and went on to take part in multiple events. This past year, he participated in NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series as a full-time driver for the first time.
Now, Muniz is announcing his return to the NASCAR event in 2026, marking his second full-time season with Team Reaume. Next year, he will be driving a Ford F-150.
“I thought I was done. I really did. Hung up the helmet, said ‘that’s a wrap’ on racing… then realized I’ve still got way too much unfinished business on track,” he wrote on X Monday. “So here’s the news I’ve been dying to share...I’m coming back FULL TIME in 2026.”
In addition to the Craftman Truck Series, Muniz announced that he’ll be driving a Ford Mustang GT4 with Techsport Racing in the GT4 America, with his co-driver, Tyler Stone.
He opened up about his busy 2026 schedule — including the release of the Malcolm in the Middle reboot that he’s in — during an interview with People on Monday. He said that he’s doing 25 races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and seven races with SRO America.
Although he knows next year will be “pretty intense,” he didn’t initially see himself racing again.
“If I'm being 100 percent honest, I really thought that last year was gonna be my final year racing,” he said. “Just because of the amount of time and focus and everything that goes into being a driver at the top level. So when I did my last race in Phoenix a month ago, I had this thought like, 'Well, this could be the last race I ever do as a NASCAR driver.”
However, it was during that recent race in Phoenix that he had a change of heart.
“I was like, ‘No way. I'm not done with this. The story is not done. I haven't accomplished the goals that I want to accomplish in it,’” Muniz explained. “There's still a lot of unfinished business.”
Muniz starred as the main character on the popular family sitcom, Malcolm in the Middle, from 2000 to 2006, after joining the cast when he was 13 years old. After garnering Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for his work on the show, he had a string of successes with films including Big Fat Liar and Agent Cody Banks, before pressing pause on his acting career at age 21.
During an interview with US Weekly in September, he said that leaving acting behind and moving to Phoenix to pursue his passion for racing changed his life for the better.
“I’m so lucky taking that step back happened, because it made me appreciate everything more,” he admitted. “It allowed me to do other things and realize a lot more about myself.
“I feel like it saved my life in the sense that I started enjoying the little aspects of life more, like hiking [and] going to the grocery store, because it was easy,” he continued. “I didn’t have to fight [to] find a parking spot or pay for valet.”
Muniz may have hit pause on his acting career, but he’s set to return to the small screen in the Disney+ reboot of Malcom in the Middle, airing in 2026 as a four-episode mini-series.
Joining Muniz are fellow original cast members Jane Kaczmarek, who played Malcolm’s mom, Bryan Cranston, who played Malcolm’s dad, and Christopher Masterson and Justin Berfield as Malcolm’s older brothers, Francis and Reese, respectively. Erik Per Sullivan’s role as younger brother Dewey has been recast and will now be played by Fargo actor Caleb Ellsworth-Clark.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments