Frankie Muniz didn’t just stumble into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series; he fought tooth and nail for every dollar. In 2025, the former Malcolm in the Middle star stepped into the No. 33 Ford for Reaume Brothers Racing. While his celebrity may open doors, Muniz makes it clear: securing and retaining sponsors is a David and Goliath battle against well-funded teams. And as the budget balloons to $3 to $5 million per truck, smaller outfits struggle to keep pace.

In candid moments, Muniz admits the grind of sponsorship is his least favorite part. The endless outreach, navigating approval chains, and constantly reminding companies that yes, they are money, translates to speed. He has done his part behind the wheel; now the fight is whether there is enough fuel off the track to keep the engine running.

Sponsorship is everything in the NASCAR national series, and for Frankie Muniz, it’s relentless. He acknowledges that his celebrity brings attention and eases initial doors, but that’s only the beginning. In today’s truck series, even a competitive $2 million budget falls short in the high-stakes arena where money equals speed. Whether it’s laps, equipment, or crew, every dollar counts, and smaller teams like RBR fearlessly squeeze. However, Frankie’s approach is fiercely principled.

He refuses to bankroll his own ride; no personal checks or parental backers here. He is committed to proving the value of sponsorship and holding partners to it. The cost of a full wrap isn’t $5000; it’s far higher. One smaller team undercuts based on lower costs, Frankie says, which can cause long-term damage to the sports ecosystem.

Speaking on Beating and Banging, he goes on to say, “ And I will honestly say I hate it more than anything. And even talking about next year—like we’re discussing what I’m doing next year—it’s a big question mark of if I want to go through the fight of constantly trying to sell. Because that’s what you do. That’s what I sit here in my office and I’m trying to constantly sell for the team. Or they have people, I have managers, you know. I’m in a good position with the deal that I have this year to where we’re good. Like I’ve fulfilled my side of the deal, other than driving now, you know what I mean?”

It is a structural issue. If entry-level prices fly too low, the entire financial architecture can crumble. In late June, RBR announced black cat fireworks as a primary sponsor for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Pocono Raceway. That race was Black Cat Fireworks’ debut as primary sponsor for the first time in the series. Black Cat’s only other sponsorship was with Driver Tony Raines, who was the full-time spotter for the No. 33 RBR F-150 in 2024 before stepping back to part-time in 2025.

Frankie Muniz added, “People’s budgets or companies’ budgets for 2026 are closing by the end of this quarter. Then when you start asking for money in November, December, January, they’re like, ‘We’ve already allotted where we’re putting our money.’ So you’ve got to be so far ahead of the game. But it’s probably my least favorite part. It’s the most important part of being a race car driver that people, I think, don’t think about. But it makes it not fun, you know what I mean? When you’re constantly thinking you’ve got to sell, constantly.” And how does it impact his preparations and goal for the season?

Frankie Muniz opens up about his chances to win at a Superspeedway

For Muniz and RBR, superspeedways of Hope and drama. At Daytona in early 2025, he qualified 14th despite a poor lap and struck the wall mid-launch. Yet when racing began, his truck was lightning fast, enabling a surge from 24th to 10th alone, without help from the draft pack. It highlighted not luck, but potential.

Looking ahead to Talladega, Muniz is all in. No constructive play; if they are top 10 and qualifying, expect Frankie to raise the full distance aggressively. Réaume’s truck has performed. Teammate Lawless Allen finished third or fourth at Talladega last year. When Frankie went for it in Daytona’s final laps, he closed a significant distance solo, proving the truck and driver can compete. With 20 to 25 trucks on the track, Frankie crossed the line 10th, validating his belief that a superspeedway wind is within reach.

Muniz explains, ” I really do see it as a possibility based on knowing what I know of how the truck felt in Daytona. We were so fast in the race. Like, when I decided to go with three laps to go, I was—I don’t know—five football fields behind the pack, and I caught them by myself with no help. Normally, you cannot catch the pack, right? Like, you need draft, you need help, you know, to get there. I got up to them.”

The super speedway angle is more than a strategy; it is Frankie’s confidence booster. Breakthrough wins common packs, but he has shown he can catch those packs alone. If Daytona and Talladega play out cleanly, the underdog team and its underfunded driver might just break through. It’s a morale shot in the arm and possibly a sponsor magnet if he can finish inside the top five come fall.