“They Don’t Care”- Frankie Muniz Opens Up on Violent Reality of Racing in NASCAR

Hollywood star? Check. Emmy nomination? Oh, yes. Golden Globe nomination? You got it. However, it was ultimately the ride in the pace car for the 2001 Daytona 500 that switched up something in the 15-year-old actor. It was the same race that saw the demise of The Intimidator. And soon enough, Frankie Muniz found himself competing in the annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity race, even winning one in 2005. What followed was his decision to transition to full-time racing. But the nuances that dawned later on? The NASCAR “rubbing is racing” mentality.

So far, Frankie Muniz’s NASCAR Truck Series has been nothing short of a disaster. A freak ladder accident at home left him with a broken wrist, forcing him to miss out on not just Darlington but potentially upcoming races as he embarks on a 6 to 8-week recovery. Before this, he competed in the Mustang challenge at Le Mans in a TechSport Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse R (DHS class) and delivered a standout performance; he placed second in his category and 10th overall in the second race of the weekend. Meanwhile, he finished midway in the first race, showing both pace and composure on the endurance-style stage. But more than a lifetime and clean air, what stuck with him most was a cultural jolt.

Speaking on Joe Vulpis’ podcast, he reflected and realized NASCAR’s full-contact reality: “You have to be, and that was a big wake-up call this year. You know, even though I’ve been racing for years, the type of racing I used to do — more open-wheel racing, IndyCar racing, stuff like that — you can’t touch each other. You can’t hit each other, because someone’s gonna become an airplane and die, you know what I mean? I mean, NASCAR is a full-contact sport, and they will push you out of the way. They don’t care.”

That perspective comes from experience. Before diving first into stock cars, the 39-year-old cut his teeth in open-wheel discipline, testing in Formula BMW, and even spending time around the IndyCar paddock while competing in the Atlantic championship. Those series taught him the delicacy of racing without contact, with a skill set rooted in surgical precision and mechanical sympathy. So when NASCAR’s “rubbing is racing” mentality collided with his open-wheeling instincts, it took months for him to collaborate.

The full-time driver for Reaume Brothers Racing for the 2025 season of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series added, “They don’t care if they wreck you; they don’t care if you, you know, get hurt. They don’t want to hurt you, but they’re doing whatever they have to do to win, and there are no rules saying they can’t. Whereas in F1, if you hit someone, you’re getting a penalty, or you’re gonna get suspended, or you’re gonna lose your license. In NASCAR, it’s almost celebrated, and it took me a really long time to get that in my head. I was racing everybody fairly clean, and I’d get hit, knocked out of the way, and I’m like, ‘Whoa, dude, you know?’ And then it finally clicked.” 

And Frankie knows this technique all too well. In NASCAR, bump and run is a calculated passing tactic where the trailing car gives the leader’s bumper a slight nudge, usually under braking, to unsettle their grip just enough to slip underneath in the corner. It is rooted in the sports culture of full-contact racing, where drafting and gentle taps are strategic tools rather than fouls. Muniz notes that if a driver is faster but can’t find the space to pass, a well-timed bump can make the lead car draft up the track, opening the inside line. It might drop others, but in NASCAR, that edge is often celebrated as smart, hard racing.

And amidst all this, Muniz reveals the reason that reeled him into racing. But the actor-turned-racer also shared how stepping away from Hollywood and shifting his focus to racing professionally saved his life.

Frankie Muniz opens up about how moving away from Hollywood saved his life

At the height of his fame, Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz made the surprising decision to step away from Hollywood. Muniz had shot to stardom at just 13, playing a child in the hit sitcom from 2000 to 2006. He even went on to star in box office hits like Big Fat Liar and Agent Cody Banks. But at 21, he pressed pause on acting.

In a recent interview with US Weekly, Muniz revealed that leaving Los Angeles for Phoenix was a turning point, one that may have saved his life. He said, “I’m so lucky taking that step back happened, because it made me appreciate everything more. 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. I didn’t have to fight [to] find a parking spot or pay for valet.”

The move gave him space to explore new passions, including racing, which ultimately led to his career as a NASCAR driver. Though he took a long break from Hollywood, Muniz is now gearing up for a major return. Nearly a decade after joking on Twitter about reuniting Malcolm’s family, the idea for a reboot began gaining momentum.

He added, “Having stepped away from Hollywood a bit to focus on other things and get the opportunity to jump back into it in a big way was awesome. At times, you take things for granted… now I try to put more effort into everything.” And now, as Frankie Muniz continues racing full time in the NASCAR Truck Series, all this is left behind.