Frankie Muniz, the child TV star-turned NASCAR driver, was rushed to the hospital after a nasty crash at Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday.
Muniz, who starred in Malcolm in the Middle and now races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, crashed while practicing ahead of Ford’s Proud to Honor Veterans Day Classic.
He was set to represent the US Air Force alongside Austin Cindric in the charity race. But instead the 40-year-old was involved in a crash that will prevent him from racing.
Many precise details of the crash are unknown but pictures from the scene showed severe damage to the front of his car and appeared to suggest that the roof had been cut off.
Muniz was released from the hospital on Wednesday evening. He said in a statement: ‘I am disappointed I won’t be able to take part in Ford’s Proud to Honor event tonight. I was looking forward to honoring the service of our veterans and racing against these other amazing drivers.
‘I am a little sore, but my Mustang did its job in protecting me. I want to thank everyone at Ford Racing, Daytona International Speedway and the staff here at the hospital. I especially want to thank everyone who has reached out and for all the prayers.’
Frankie Muniz was rushed to the hospital after a nasty crash at Daytona on Wednesday
The child TV star-turned NASCAR driver competes in the Craftsman Truck Series
‘He was taken to a local medical facility for further evaluation and is awake and alert,’ his team said
Earlier on Wednesday, his team had confirmed that Muniz ‘was involved in an incident while practicing for today’s Proud to Honor event’ and ‘was taken to a local medical facility for further evaluation.’ Team Reaume said he was ‘awake and alert.’
Ford’s Brad Keselowski later told Fox Sports that the crash did not appear to be the result of a car malfunction: ‘[We] looked through all the data and didn’t find anything happened to the car [before the crash]. I think we’re all pretty comfortable.’
Muniz, who spent years playing Malcolm in the hit Fox show, was taking part in the Veterans Day event to honor members of his family who served in the military.
‘My dad was in the Air Force and the Navy, and my grandfather was in the Navy,’ he told Page Six ahead of the race.
‘We owe so much to [our veterans], and the fact that I get to race and raise awareness and give back to so many families who have given us Americans everything, I knew I wanted to be a part of it, especially to honor my father and grandfather.’
The 40-year-old also revealed that he considered joining the Air Force when he was younger, joking: ‘I guess there’s still time for that to be my next career!’
