- Frankie Muniz crashed in practice for the Proud to Honor Veterans Day Classic at Daytona on Wednesday, was cut from his Ford Mustang and was released from the hospital within hours, per Motorsport.com.
- The 40 year old said in a statement that he is “a little sore” and thanked Ford Racing, the speedway and the hospital staff.
- Jenson Altzman took his seat in the charity race, which Muniz’s Team Air Force partner Austin Cindric won.
The Actor Who Left a Wrecked Mustang and Thanked Everyone Who Prayed
“I am a little sore, but my Mustang did its job in protecting me. I want to thank everyone at Ford Racing, Daytona International Speedway and the staff here at the hospital. I especially want to thank everyone who has reached out and for all the prayers.”
Those were the words Frankie Muniz chose after safety crews cut the roof off his Ford Mustang on Wednesday to extract him. The car had hit a tire barrier nose first on the infield road course at Daytona International Speedway. By the time the statement came out, he was out of the hospital and thanking the people who had worried about him.
What Happened in Practice
Muniz was one of a dozen Ford drivers, a group that included three time Cup champion Joey Logano, entered in the Proud to Honor Veterans Day Classic, a night race around the Daytona road course that benefits six nonprofits supporting military and veteran communities through the Proud to Honor Fund. Practice came first. Muniz was second fastest of every driver in that session when the car went into the barrier.
The impact destroyed the front of the Mustang. Muniz was awake and alert. Team Reaume, his Craftsman Truck Series team, said so publicly, and Ford issued its own statement that Muniz “was involved in an incident while practicing for today’s Proud to Honor event at Daytona International Speedway. He was taken to a local medical facility for further evaluation and is awake and alert.”
The same statement carried a request: “We’ll share updates as they become available. Thank you for your support and for respecting Frankie’s privacy at this time.”
A few short hours after the crash, Muniz was released. He described himself as sore, gave credit to the car and thanked the staff who had treated him.
A Missed Tribute and a Father Figure at the Track
The first half of his statement shows what the night meant to him. “I am disappointed I won’t be able to take part in Ford’s Proud to Honor event tonight. I was looking forward to honoring the service of our veterans and racing against these other amazing drivers.”
Muniz and Cindric were assigned to the Air Force team, one of six squads that each represented a branch of the U.S. military in Mustang Dark Horse cars. Cindric, the 2022 Daytona 500 winner, started the day with Muniz as his partner and ended it with a substitute.
One familiar face did make the trip. Bryan Cranston, who played Muniz’s father on “Malcolm in the Middle,” was at Daytona for the event. “When I got here I was hoping to my ‘son’ Frankie Muniz,” he told USA Sports before the race. “He is fine, he was in an accident earlier, but he’s fine now. He sends all of his love to everyone, and he wishes he could be here.”
Cranston delivered the message that Muniz could not deliver in person.
From Malcolm to the Atlantic Series to Trucks
For a generation of viewers, Muniz is Malcolm. He was nominated for an Emmy for the show and appeared in films including “Big Fat Liar,” “Deuces Wild,” “Agent Cody Banks” and “Racing Stripes.” In 2006 he stepped away from entertainment to race professionally.
The climb started in the Formula BMW USA Championship. From 2007 to 2009 he raced in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship, and in 2009 he sat fourth in the standings with two races left. A season ending injury and multiple surgeries stopped that run. The details come from his own website.
Stock cars came later. He started in ARCA in 2023 and earned a top five at Michigan. In 2024 he ran 38 races in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and 38 more in the Truck Series. Over the last three years he has made 117 Truck starts, with one top 10, at Daytona in 2025. This season he drove the No. 33 Ford for Team Reaume, and as recently as Oct. 30 he qualified at Martinsville Speedway for the Black’s Tire 200 playoff race.
Twenty Years to a First Title
The practice crash arrived a month after Muniz won the first professional racing title of his career. He and co-driver Tyler Stone won the GT4 America Am class championship in the No. 30 TechSport Racing Ford Mustang. They entered the finale weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a one point lead, finished second in both races and won the title by 19 points over James Walker Jr. and James Clay. The team took three wins and seven podiums in 2026. Muniz drove the car into the podium positions in the closing minutes of the finale, passing a title rival, after the team started tenth in class.
To chase that crown he skipped several Truck Series races.
“I mean, going into this, I’ve never raced sports cars,” said Muniz. “My first time ever in a GT4 car was for the first practice session at Sonoma. You know, I thank Ford Racing for pushing me in this direction. It was so incredible. I mean, I feel like halfway through the year, we really figured everything out and we won a few races and put ourselves in the position to win the championship.”
“With yesterday, we had a great race. We finished second, had the lead in the points, but we had a kind of a bad break with the start. We had to start 10th today in class, so I didn’t really know what was going to happen, but he [Stone] drove incredibly, handed me the car off, we had a clean pit stop, and now we are the champs. And this is the best feeling in the entire world for sure.”
The title came after twenty years of racing. He offered advice to anyone in a similar spot. “I mean, definitely go for it. I know sometimes you have to take a leap and it’s scary. You can’t be afraid to fail. I mean, I feel like I failed. I mean, not failed, but it was a working process for 20 years, but it took me 20 years to feel this feeling of winning and being champions. And thanks to Tyler and Texport Racing, Ford Racing. I love this so much. Thank you so much.”
The Night Without Him
Altzman, a Ford factory development driver and Michelin Pilot Challenge race winner, climbed into the Air Force Mustang next to Cindric. He ran a strong fourth before a spin at the exit of the backstretch chicane dropped him down the order, and he finished 12th, a lap down. Austin Cindric won the first Proud to Honor Veterans Day Classic by 0.136 seconds over Robert Noaker.
Noaker was not on the original entry list either. He filled in for Ryan Blaney, the 2023 Cup champion, who was sidelined by a fall after winning the Cup finale at Homestead-Miami. The field also included Logan Sargeant, with the Zac Brown Band headlining the music.
What Comes Next for Muniz
The Truck season is over. Muniz put his plans for 2027 on record last month at a media availability. “It’s been an amazing journey,” said Muniz. “When I do something, I do it fully. People always ask me what my hobbies are, I don’t have hobbies. When I do something, I want to do it at the highest level I can possibly do it and try to be the best. I still feel like I have a lot of unfinished business in the racing world, especially in the NASCAR world. It’s such a tough series. It’s such a tough sport. There are so many good drivers, so many good teams, and I feel like I’ve figured out a lot. I feel like I’m a much better racer and driver than I was when I came in, but I’m still not necessarily seeing the results that I expect to see or want to see.”
“So, that’s why I’m not finished yet in the NASCAR world. Like I said earlier, I have an amazing relationship with Ford and I’m so grateful to have an amazing manufacturer supporting my racing journey, and they pushed me this year to give the sportscar world a try because they have the Mustang Challenge Series, the GT4 car, the GT3 car. They have the Hypercar coming out. They’re really putting an emphasis on their sportscar program and I went over there not knowing what to expect and won the championship and won a bunch of races. That felt incredible. That’s not something I’ve ever done in my racing career, like to really kind of be there and feel like you can win, and it feels really good. I’m not gonna lie. That said, I am not finished in the NASCAR world.”
He said he is taking “guidance from a bunch of places” on the next steps of his career, and he asserted that he “will be racing NASCAR … As of right now, it’s not necessarily full-time, but it’s not that it won’t be. There’s a lot of moving pieces as always when it comes to everybody’s schedule in the racing world, and we’re ironing it out. I love Josh (Reaume). I love my team and if I’m back in the NASCAR world, it will be with them again, but I know we want to prove what we’ve been working on even more, so we’ll do that, whether it be a part-time basis or full-time, I will be in the NASCAR Truck Series next year in some capacity.”
Muniz left Daytona sore, thankful and a GT4 America champion. By his own account, the next chapter still includes a seat in the NASCAR Truck Series in 2027.
