If you know Frankie Muniz, chances are you remember him from Malcolm in the Middle. He has since returned to the famous series, won a professional racing championship with Ford, and continued a NASCAR career that has yet to deliver the results he wants. That last part is in focus now. Despite a difficult 2026 campaign in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Muniz is still strapped in for 2027.

The 40-year-old is still figuring out what next season will look like. However, his latest comments reveal why poor results haven’t convinced him to call it quits.

“It’s been an amazing journey. I always try, when I do something, I do it fully. People always ask me what my hobbies are. I don’t have hobbies. Like when I do something, I want to do it at the highest level I could possibly do it and try to be the best,” Muniz said on a media call, in a clip shared by Steven Taranto on X. 

For Muniz, racing is no side quest or fun thing to do on a weekend. Muniz has already taken one detour in his racing career. The actor-turned-NASCAR driver went to open-wheel racing before a back injury interrupted his plans, then switched to stock cars and worked his way from ARCA into NASCAR’s Truck Series. But the move up brought tougher competition, and the results haven’t followed as he’d hoped.

“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, a tough sport. There’s so many good drivers, so many good teams, you know, and I feel like I’ve figured out a lot.”

There’s a fairly apparent difference here, and it’s worth a look to understand what he’s saying.

Frankie Muniz isn’t done with stock cars just yet

Racing with Tyler Stone for TechSport Racing in the Pirelli GT4 America series, Muniz won the Am class championship in the Ford Mustang GT4. Their season together accumulated three wins, with two runner-up finishes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 10-11 helping them close out the campaign.

It was a new experience for Muniz. He had never raced sports cars before this year, and the team came to Sonoma Raceway without testing its Mustang GT4. Their first race ended in second place, a result that neither driver had expected. As Muniz learned the car and its electronic settings, he became increasingly confident about his chances of winning.

“By time mid season, when I really felt like I had a grasp of the car, I really was showing up with the intention, like we’re at least going to be on the podium and if not win races. And like I said, I’ve never necessarily been in that position in my career,” Muniz commented on the same.

Hold onto that feeling for a minute. For once, Muniz wasn’t just hoping to make progress. He was showing up expecting to compete for wins, and he eventually left with a championship. Ford had encouraged him to explore its sports car program, including GT4 and potential GT3 opportunities. Now, he wants to keep racing in that world, with a possible move into a GT3 car under discussion for 2027.

But winning elsewhere hasn’t settled his NASCAR ambitions. If anything, it has made the gap between what he wants and what he has achieved in trucks wider. 

Muniz drives the No. 33 Ford for Team Reaume, a smaller team facing established organizations and experienced competitors. His 2026 results have been frustrating, as recently as a 33rd-place finish at Phoenix Raceway on October 16.

Yet he said the race felt better from inside the truck than the final position suggested. He was fighting alongside other drivers, and that gave him something to build on. In his own words,

“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. That’s why I’m not finished yet in the NASCAR world.”

He understands that switching disciplines doesn’t guarantee success. Sports cars suit his driving style, he said, while trucks demand a different set of skills. Still, he describes NASCAR’s close racing as the most exciting he has experienced. That is why he wants to keep going, even without knowing how many starts he will make.

“I don’t want you guys to discount like, oh, I’m dropping out of NASCAR,” he added as a concluding sentiment.

His 2027 schedule remains unsettled. Muniz expects sports cars to be a major focus, but he has confirmed that he will race in the Truck Series in some capacity. If he returns, he intends to do so with Team Reaume, where he wants to show what the team has been working towards. After racing 42 times this year, he may plan an even busier calendar next season.