Frankie Muniz opens up on the impact of his Bristol incident
Actor-turned-NASCAR driver Frankie Muniz admitted to being affected by criticisms following an infamous race at Bristol Motor Speedway. While he made headlines for crashing with three drivers on Friday (April 11), he took the incident in a positive light.
Muniz was a lap down when Ty Majeski hit him from the back while heading into turn one on lap 53. The two Craftsman Truck Series drivers spun out and collected Stewart Friesen and Brandon Jones before exiting the short track race early.
Ty Majeski, the defending series champion, argued Muniz should've been more predictable in picking a lane before recalling the former Malcolm in the Middle star's goal to earn the respect of the field this year.
In an interview with NASCAR Insider Kyle Dalton, Frankie Muniz, driver of the #33 Ford F-150 for Reaume Brothers Racing, reflected on the impact of the criticisms after the Bristol race. He acknowledged the negative feedback and said it affected him.
"I'm not going to take it as a negative and hope it doesn't hurt my confidence going to the next race. I'm mad it happened. Like sure, it's one of the first times I've gotten a ton of sh*t... online, even from the fans," Muniz said.
After claiming he exceeded expectations in his transition to stock car racing, the 39-year-old stated:
"My whole life, I've also had people talk cr*p about me online... warranted or not, I'm used to letting it go. But it does affect you. It affects me because we haven't had things go our way." [0:33]
Following a 10th-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway, Frankie Muniz hasn't scored a single top 10 in five races. He had three DNFs, including in the recent Weather Guard Truck Race at the World's Fastest Half-Mile.
"We'll be ready to prove it next week": Frankie Muniz remained optimistic following a disastrous Bristol race
Frankie Muniz held his head up after getting involved in a four-truck crash at Bristol. The Ford pilot said he was ready to return to action with the goal of earning his second top 10 finish of his rookie campaign.
In an Instagram post, Muniz wrote:
"Bristol was not what we were going for. No practice or qualifying was obviously not ideal. I love my team @rbr_teams (Reaume Brothers Racing) and we are all working really hard. We'll be ready to prove it next week. Thanks @pbzotc (PBZ OTC) for coming on board, let's do it again but with a top 10!"
In the post, the former Hollywood star included a photo of his race-ending incident on lap 53. Muniz, Ty Majeski, Stewart Friesen, and Brandon Jones were bunched up in the top lane off turn one, with the #98 Ford squeezed in the middle. Chandler Smith later emerged victorious, followed by Kyle Larson in the #07 Spire Motorports Chevrolet.
The Truck Series rookie will return to racing on April 18 for the Black's Tire 200, the seventh race of the year. The 200-lap contest will be held at Rockingham Speedway, marking the return of the North Carolina track to the NASCAR stage.