When you think of drivers who have been able to increase viewership in NASCAR within the last 20 years, names like Danica Patrick, Hailie Deegan and Bubba Wallace come to mind.
In 2023, a new name entered the stock car scene that everybody turned their attention toward. Not because they were screaming through the ranks like Connor Zilisch. Not because they were breaking barriers for women like Deegan or Patrick, nor breaking barriers for racial minorities like Wallace or Daniel Suarez.
This driver changed the game in the sense that racing wasn’t even their first career.
Frankie Muniz is recognized most as a Hollywood actor. Having starred in movies such as Big Fat Liar and Agent Cody Banks, as well as the titular character in the hit TV show Malcolm in the Middle, Muniz has gained critical acclaim throughout his nearly 30-year career in Hollywood.
However, the Wood-Ridge, N.J., native has always had an interest in racing that heightened after attending the 2001 Daytona 500. The thirst for auto racing went beyond fandom — Muniz wanted to drive a car himself.
After originally attempting an open-wheel career in the late 2000s, Muniz turned his attention to stock car racing a dozen years later. The opportunity snowballed into a full-time endeavor in the ARCA Menards Series in 2023 with Rette Jones Racing.
For little to no stock car racing experience before the 2020s hit, Muniz impressed in his lone full-time ARCA season. In the 20-race season, more than half of Muniz’s results were top 10s, including a top five at Michigan International Speedway, where he finished a career-best fifth. He even spent a majority of the year second in points behind Jesse Love before a performance decline late in the year dropped him to fourth.
Yes, it’s today’s ARCA, so there wasn’t a ton of competition, but for the car he was driving and the people he was competing with, it was an impressive season for the actor-turned-racer.
But Muniz’s fame as an actor resulted in more eyes being placed on motorsports. Not just any motorsport — the ARCA Menards Series. While ARCA very rarely has its ratings released, there were certainly a demographic of people who tuned into ARCA races solely because they were made aware of Muniz’s presence in the field.
This season, Muniz has had scattered starts throughout the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Craftsman Truck Series, and ARCA. He has remained loyal to Ford, despite a lack of any full-time…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …