Actor Frankie Muniz has revealed he’s in talks to become a NASCAR driver.
The former child-star, who became famous appearing as the titular character in Malcolm in the Middle, has decided to take his career in a different direction and is hoping to join g NASCAR's third division next year with an end-goal of hitting the Cup series one day.
In an interview with Dave Moody for SiriusXM NASCAR, he revealed that he’s already in talks to help realise his dreams.
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He said: "We're talking to a bunch of teams, both in ARCA and Trucks, Xfinity.”
He went on: "I want to be realistic, too. Obviously, I haven't done a ton of oval racing. So everywhere I am going to go next year is going to be new.
“So in that same sense I want to move up quickly. I don't want to throw myself completely off the deep end.
“I know in ARCA National, the Trucks Series - it's ultra-competitive. It's not little, local racing, it's the top level of motorsports.
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"I want to make sure that I'm ready. I believe that I am. But it's all about kind of putting the best deal together with a Truck ride or ARCA ride. I just want to be in a race car, so as much seat time as possible is gonna be key for me the rest of this year and next year just to keep learning and progressing. That is the goal is to be in a Truck or doing ARCA National or both."
The 36-year-old, who has been racing since 2006, has previously said that he now considers acting something he does ‘on the side’ with race car driving as his main focus.
His first experience on a major speedway took place earlier this year, when he drove an ARCA for Fast Track Racing, bagging himself a fastest lap time of 51.796 seconds (173.759mph).
Speaking earlier this year, he said: "I like to say now that I am acting on the side.
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"I want racing to be my focus. It's one of those things you have to do 100 percent.
“You can't just do it halfway. If I want to make it to any level of NASCAR — ARCA, Trucks, whatever it is — I'm racing against people who have been doing it since they were six years old, and I've gotta do it quickly."
Claire Reid