Frankie Muniz crashes “Malcolm in the Middle–”themed NASCAR truck hours after show's revival premieres

Shania RussellSun, April 12, 2026 at 5:25 PM UTC

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Franie Muniz in 2023Credit: James Gilbert/Getty

It's been a big weekend for Frankie Muniz, and an even bigger weekend for Malcolm in the Middle.

On Friday night, the former child star celebrated the premiere of his hit sitcom's revival series, Life's Still Unfair. Then, just a few hours later, Muniz was involved in a crash — while driving his Malcolm in the Middle–theme NASCAR truck.

Muniz, who is a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racer, crashed his F-150 truck in a wreck with fellow racers Tyler Reif and Timmy Hill at Tennessee's Bristol Motor Speedway. He suffered no serious injuries, but the incident took Muniz out of the race and damaged his vehicle. He received a DNF (or, Did Not Finish) status in the final results, and Christopher Bell was declared the winner, driving for Halmar Friesen Racing.

Multiple outlets reported that on the heels of the crash, Muniz and Reif had a heated exchange, with the actor later claiming that Reif was "yelling" at him and calling him a "lapper."

Frankie Muniz attends the 'Malcolm in the Middle' revival premiere event in New YorkCredit: Stephanie Augello/Disney via Getty

Muniz, who began his racing career in 2004, later told reporters, "I think [Reif] just maybe got impatient. I don't know… I'm fighting. I belong on that racetrack just as much as he does, just as much as the leaders do. And I'm not going to back down on that. I haven't seen a replay, but based on what I felt, I went to the middle of the track. I didn't track all the way out to show that I was going to go back to the bottom. And next thing I know, I'm destroying a truck."

When one reporter commented on the "irony" of the Malcolm in the Middle–themed truck crashing on the very same day the revival premiered, Muniz joked, "Hopefully it got TV time, you know what I mean? Hopefully, people are going to watch the Malcolm in the Middle reboot right after this race!"

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The original Malcolm in the Middle series ran for seven seasons on Fox from 2000 to 2006. From his early days on the show, racing was one of Muniz's passions. When the sitcom ended, his Hollywood career took a backseat to his dream of being behind the wheel. Muniz signed his first contract with a major racing team in 2008, and became a full-time NASCAR driver in 2024.

Now, Muniz is juggling his racing career with a trip down memory lane. The actor recently returned to his roots for a four-episode Disney+ revival of the beloved sitcom, titled Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair. The series sees him reuniting with Jane Kaczmarek, Christopher Masterson, Justin Berfield, and, of course, his beloved TV dad, Bryan Cranston.

Justin Berfield, Emy Coligado, Frankie Muniz, and Christopher Masterson on 'Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair'Credit: David Bukach/Disney

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Muniz recently said in Entertainment Weekly's cover story that his NASCAR job threw quite the wrench into the show's production process, as it had to coordinate around his full-time commitment.

"I would film Sunday through Wednesday, fly Thursday, race Friday, and fly back Saturday," Muniz recalled. "It was exhausting, but I also know how cool it is to have the opportunity to get to do this again, so I wasn't going to complain at all. I am so thankful to everybody on the production for working around my NASCAR schedule."

Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair is streaming now on Hulu and Disney+.

on Entertainment Weekly

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”