“I might’ve unlearned stuff”: Frankie Muniz opens up about his Xfinity Series experience ahead of his NASCAR Truck debut

Actor-tuned-racer Frankie Muniz uncovered his confidence loss ahead of his Truck Series debut at the Nashville Superspeedway. This comes after the 'Malcolm in the Middle' star debuted in the Xfinity Series earlier this season but couldn't find a pleasing footing.

Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee Frankie Muniz halted his acting career in 2008 to focus on his motorsports career in the Atlantic Championship. Over a decade later in 2023, the 38-year-old ventured into the ARCA Menards Series full-time and bagged 12 top-10s from his 21 races spanning two years.

The current season has witnessed two Xfinity Series runs from Muniz for Joey Gase Motorsports, namely, his debut stint at the Daytona International Speedway and his next race at the Phoenix Raceway. He finished 33rd at DIS and 30th at Phoenix. Moreover, the New Jersey native tried to contest at the Portland International Raceway but couldn't qualify.

Moving forward, Muniz ventured into another NASCAR series as he kicked off his debut Truck Series run at the Nashville Superspeedway. But before taming his #22 Ford on the 1.330-mile tri-oval, the Reaume Brothers Racing driver unraveled his dismaying Xfinity experience to the media.

"I don't think I learned anything in the few Xfinity races I did. I might have unlearned stuff if that makes sense. I kind of lost a bit of confidence. Just the situations that weren't necessarily in my control, like the Daytona, in Portland where we got dropped on Lap 2 of our practice," Muniz told reporters (as quoted by CBS' Steven Taranto).

"I think that's my base thing this weekend. I want to make the race, I want to run all the laps, I want to feel like I'm racing and be competitive," the #22 driver added ahead of his debut Truck run.

Frankie Muniz wraps up his debut Truck Series run in the rear of the pack

Nashville Superspeedway hosted the 13th Truck Series debacle of the season and witnessed McAnally-Hilgemann Racing's Christian Eckes come home with his third victory. Despite starting his 150-lap dash from third place, the #19 Chevy driver swept all stages and fended off rivals like Corey Heim, Rajah Caruth, and Daniel Dye to emerge victorious.

On the other hand, Frankie Muniz's debut run ended on a disappointing note. The #22 Ford driver kicked off his run from 32nd place and couldn't gain significant track positions during his run. He finished Stage 1 in 31st place but during the second stage, he pitted with the hood up and thus, fell back to 32nd. In the final stage, he climbed 1 spot and ended his Nashville run in 31st place.

Despite succumbing to a disappointing finish, Frankie Muniz revealed having fun at his debut run.

"I had a lot of fun, it's been a frustrating year for me but this is the first time I really had fun," Muniz said via X.

"Lot of work to do, lots to learn, this is the first of many I had a blast. I really did, the debutant added (0.51).

Frankie Muniz is slated to compete in two additional Truck Series races this year and will be seen in an ARCA race at the Michigan International Speedway for the same team.