Associated Press
Frankie Muniz was running late. Or so he thought.
The 38-year-old actor-turned-race-car-driver was wandering through the Daytona International Speedway infield on Friday with no idea where to go. He was lost, essentially feeling like “Malcolm in the Middle” of nowhere.
He asked for help and quickly got pointed in the right direction. But a minute later, he was back. He had forgotten he was now on Eastern time, so the Scottsdale, Arizona, resident was actually two hours early for the Xfinity Series drivers’ meeting.
It was the latest round of confusion for Muniz, who had to wait until last week to announce his racing plans for 2024. Muniz, who competed in the entry-level ARCA Series last year, will try to make his Xfinity Series debut in the No. 35 Ford for Joey Gase Racing at Daytona.
“It was a really interesting offseason,” Muniz told The Associated Press on Friday. “Everything was done a long time ago and then it wasn’t and then it was and then it wasn’t and then something else was done and it wasn’t. All things out of our control.”
Muniz insisted the delays had nothing to do with Ford or financing, saying “just a lot that has to come together to make it work.”
But he made it clear the situation was far from ideal.
“I thought I was going to spend so much time with my team and in the (simulator) and in the shop,” he said. “Instead, I met my guys today; I met a lot of them today.”
Muniz still needs to qualify for the race Saturday, a potentially daunting task considering six of the 44 entrants will be sent home.
So making the race is the top goal. And that would just be the start of Muniz’s learning curve as he takes the next step in his racing career. Even though he’s driven competitively for decades, Muniz has yet to make a live pit stop since ARCA relaxed rules that make it easier for teams to add fuel, change tires and make car adjustments.
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Republished with permission of the Associated Press
