Frankie Muniz crashes his racecar but he's fine: 'I had a crazy adventure'

KiMi Robinson, Arizona Republic
Updated ·4 min read
Ahead of the ARCA Menards General Tire 150, NASCAR ARCA Menards Series driver Frankie Muniz (30) stands by his car and talks to his crew, fans and the media on March 10, 2023, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale.
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Though Frankie Muniz is sore after his first big crash of the racing season in Minnesota, the actor-turned-racecar-driver has reassured fans that there’s “nothing to worry about.”

“I had a crazy adventure yesterday,” Muniz told his followers in an Instagram Live on June 25. “I felt really, really confident with how we were running kind of in the top five the entire night. Unfortunately, on lap — I think — 199 or 200 of the 250-lap race, I was involved in a pretty big accident.”

Muniz, who races in the ARCA Menards Series, had “a hard crash in the closing stages of the race” after he “got turned and slammed into the wall,” according to ARCA’s summary of the race.

“It's not a super high-speed track; it's the smallest track that ARCA goes to on the entire schedule,” Muniz explained in the video. “(I) just got clipped in the right rear and went straight head-on into the wall at about 100 miles an hour, completely destroyed our racecar and ended our night early. I didn't get my top five.”

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Muniz says his crash injuries are ‘nothing serious’

Muniz’s No. 30 Ford Mustang was going between 100 and 110 miles per hour when he crashed, he said. He finished in 16th place at Elko Speedway.

“I am definitely way sorer than I thought I would be,” Muniz said in his 13-minute Instagram video. “In the scheme of racing crashes, no, it wasn't very high speed, but definitely, definitely feeling it.”

He added, “My back is sore. I'm pretty tired. But yeah, I hit my head pretty hard. You know, your head bounces off the headrest, but in that sense, you know, I'll be fine. Nothing serious, nothing to worry about for sure.”

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Crash was ‘the lowest point of my season’ for Muniz

Muniz took 12 years off before re-entering the world of racing in 2023. The June 24 race was the seventh of the season for the NASCAR-owned ARCA Menards Series.

“The season's been going so well. I've been extremely proud of the performances I've been putting in,” he said in the Instagram video.

That’s why the crash felt “defeating,” he said.

“You put in so much work, so much effort. You try so hard, and you don't get the result that you were expecting or that you wanted,” Muniz said. “I think that's one thing that I do love about racing, is the highs are really high and the lows are really low. And yesterday was definitely the lowest point of my season so far.”

This is far from the end for Muniz's racing career

The accident has not deterred Muniz from wanting to win.

“I'm competitive, you know — I want to be successful for myself. For all you guys who have supported me, it really means the world to me,” he said. “I know it's not the typical path for people to go from acting and other things into racing. But I'm really, really working hard at this. I love it, and I feel like it's where I belong.”

He also said he feels he’s “nowhere near kind of the top level that I'm going to be in in motorsports and racing.”

Muniz told The Arizona Republic in January that though he was aware he could get hurt, he was dedicated to putting everything into his racing career.

“I don't want to get hurt, but you know that there's a possibility. You know, I'm not doing a safe thing,” he said. “But like, you can't let that affect you in any way, shape or form, right? If you're thinking about 'Oh, I'll be a little more cautious,' you just got passed by 10 guys, you know what I mean?”

Hear from Muniz himself in his Instagram video below as he discusses the accident and his latest film.

Reach the reporter at kimi.robinson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin and Instagram @ReporterKiMi.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Frankie Muniz's racecar 'destroyed' after ARCA crash