Frankie Muniz finished in 33rd place on Saturday during his first Truck Series race since announcing that he will be a full-time NASCAR driver next season.
At 38 years old, Muniz recently moved from part-time racing to a full schedule with the No. 33 Ford for Reaume Brothers Racing. This season, he has made two starts for Reaume Brothers in the Truck Series.
Muniz believes that his team can do well in this series, but his race on Saturday was affected by mechanical problems with his Toyota. He qualified in 31st place out of 34 cars.
Earlier this season, he raced twice in NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series, including the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, and has also taken part in the ARCA Series, which is a lower level in NASCAR’s development system.
Muniz mentioned on Friday that his main goal as a full-time driver is to win races.
“I want to be the best,” he said, “but realistically, the series is tough. There are a lot of good drivers and a lot of good teams, but I think if we could consistently be in the top 20 that would be a huge achievement for us.”
The former actor has loved racing for many years. In 2001, Muniz drove the pace car for the Daytona 500, a race where seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt tragically lost his life on the final lap.
Grant Enfinger of CR7 Motorsports won the race, marking his second consecutive victory.
