Frankie Muniz set for NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Daytona International Speedway
The NASCAR regular season kicks off this weekend at the Daytona International Speedway. The Xfinity Series, NASCAR's second-tier category below the Cup Series, will open its regular season Saturday with the United Rentals 300.
Reigning Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer returns in 2024 as does his closest championship challengers in Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer, and John Hunter Nemechek. There's also one notable driver making his first Xfinity series start on Saturday: Frankie Muniz.
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Muniz - known for his title roles in the television show "Malcolm in the Middle" and the movie "Agent Cody Banks" - is racing part-time in the Xfinity Series this season. Saturday's race marks the biggest of his career and more than a decade in the making.
When did Frankie Muniz start racing?
Muniz first started racing in 2004. He entered the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in Long Beach, Calif. as a celebrity racer and finished seventh overall. Three years earlier, he'd driven the pace car for the Daytona 500 and met legend Dale Earnhardt ahead of his fatal final-lap crash.
In 2006, he raced in the open-wheel Formula BMW USA series. Fourteen races saw him finish outside of the points positions. In 2007, Muniz entered the Champ Car Atlantic Series, a lower-tier on the ladder to IndyCar and spent three seasons there. His best result came in 2009 with a fourth-place finish at the then-Miller Motorsports Park (now called Utah Motorsports Campus).
Muniz was a popular figure on the series and won the Jovy Marcelo Award for sportsmanship in 2008, voted on by fellow drivers. His 2009 season was cut short by wrist surgery and he'd go the next decade with just two racing appearances: the 2011 and 2016 Toyota Pro/Celebrity races. He finished fourth and seventh, respectively.
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Frankie Muniz's NASCAR history
Muniz turned from open-wheel racing to stock car racing starting in 2021. He made his debut at the Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif. in October of that year.
Some pop culture X racing news:@frankiemuniz is making his @SRLSWTourSeries debut in a Pro Late Model this weekend at @KernRaceway.
📸: Sal Sigala Jr. pic.twitter.com/19VDKrMUyz— Hannah Newhouse (@HannahNewhouse) October 23, 2021
In 2022, Muniz raced in the ARCA Menards Series test at Daytona. The ARCA Menards Series is the fourth level of NASCAR akin to the High-A level of minor league baseball. Muniz signed on with Rette Jones Racing in the ARCA Menards Series for the 2023 season.
Muniz's 2023 season started off strong with five top-10 finishes in the first six races. His pace fell off from there but he still managed to finish fourth in the championship as the third-best rookie driver of the year.
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On Feb. 9, Joey Gase Motorsports announced Muniz would be driving a limited schedule in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The Xfinity Series is the second level of NASCAR, similar to minor league baseball's Triple-A level or the NBA's G League.
“I know that moving up to Xfinity is a big leap for me, given my limited experience in stock cars,” Muniz said in a statement. “I know that I have an enormous amount to learn, but you won’t find someone more dedicated than I am when it comes to chasing a dream.”
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Other actors who became racing drivers
Muniz isn't the only actor to make a play into motorsports. Former "Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey began racing sports cars in 2004. In 2009, he launched Dempsey Racing in the Rolex Sports Car Series. Dempsey scored a podium in the GT class at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2011 and 2015. Dempsey Racing partnered with Proton Motorsports starting in 2013 before combining to become Proton Competition.
Actor Michael Fassbender started sports car racing in 2017. By 2019, he started competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup. His racing journey was detailed in a 90-minute documentary "Road to Le Mans" by Porsche. He joined Proton Competition in 2020 for the European Le Mans Series.
Good luck to Michael Fassbender, who makes his #Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup debut this weekend!@MFOnline pic.twitter.com/3WueKAdvos
— Racing Edge (@Racingedge1) August 13, 2020
He's continued in the European Le Mans Series through 2023 with his best finish of fifth in the championship coming in 2021. He's also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2022 and 2023.
How to watch NASCAR Daytona 500 and United Rentals 300
NASCAR Daytona 500
When: Sunday, Feb. 15, 2:30 p.m. ET
Where: Dayton International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
Cable: FOX
Streaming: FOX Sports App, FuboTV
How to watch: Catch the Daytona 500 and more with a Fubo subscription
United Rentals 300
When: Saturday, Feb. 14, 5:00 p.m. ET
Where: Dayton International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
Cable: FS1
Streaming: FOX Sports App, FuboTV
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Frankie Muniz making Xfinity debut in NASCAR United Rentals 300
