“Frankie Muniz was involved in an incident while practicing for today’s Proud to Honor event at Daytona International Speedway,” said a Ford representative in a statement reported by Page Six.
Actor and NASCAR driver Frankie Muniz was hospitalized on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, after crashing during a practice lap at Daytona International Speedway.
The 40-year-old was preparing for Ford’s Proud to Honor Veterans Day Classic when the crash occurred. His racing team, Team Reaume, said that the 40-year-old “was taken to a local medical facility for further evaluation and is awake and alert.”
The first-of-its-kind evening event was organized to recognize the United States Armed Forces, featuring 12 drivers split into six teams representing each of the six branches of the U.S. military. The exhibition race utilized Mustang Dark Horse Rs designed for International Motor Sports Association competitions, with the competing drivers racing head-to-head.
Frankie Muniz was involved in an incident while practicing for today's Proud to Honor event at Daytona International Speedway. He was taken to a local medical facility for further evaluation and is awake and alert. We'll share updates as they become available. Thank you for your… pic.twitter.com/WL3lQNtomL
The lineup of participants for the exhibition featured numerous prominent racing figures, including three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano, 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski, Ryan Preece, Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, and Layne Riggs, alongside 2023 Cup champion Ryan Blaney, who was originally scheduled to compete.
Muniz was set to drive for Team Air Force alongside Austin Cindric. The special benefit event also included scheduled musical performances by the Zac Brown Band, Russell Dickerson, Jo Dee Messina, Brittney Spencer, and Warren Zeiders, as well as an expected appearance by Bryan Cranston, Muniz’s on-screen father from the Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, who was slated to attend in support.
Frankie Muniz is in the hospital after he was involved in a crash at the Daytona International Speedway. ET was on site to interview Frankie, who was set to drive for Team Air Force at Ford's Veterans Day Classic, when he crashed during a practice lap. The speedway was not… pic.twitter.com/6XxUDbu7je
Reflecting on the event beforehand, Muniz noted deep personal ties to the military, sharing that his father served in the Air Force and the Navy, his grandfather served in the Navy, and another grandfather, John Preli, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Images from Entertainment Tonight showed significant damage to Muniz’s racecar, with rescue crews cutting off the roof to get him out, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay. The track was not open to the public at the time of the incident.
Brad Keselowski, in talking to us earlier tonight, indicated that the Muniz crash wasn't a car malfunction: "The team here at Ford Racing looked through all the data and didn’t find anything happened to the car (before the crash). I think we’re all pretty comfortable.” https://t.co/UrMrZEVgr6
Muniz was set to partner with driver Austin Cindric on Team Air Force in the 12-driver exhibition race. Following the crash, Ford development driver Jenson Altzman will replace Muniz in the lineup.
Before launching his professional stock-car career, Muniz rose to prominence as a child star playing the title character in Malcolm in the Middle, which ran for seven seasons from 2000 to 2006. He earned an Emmy nomination and two Golden Globe nominations for his work in the hit comedy series. Earlier in 2026, he reprised his iconic role in a four-episode revival titled Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair, which debuted on Hulu in April and earned him another Emmy nomination.
His extensive television credits also include voice acting as Mosley “Mo” Moville in Moville Mysteries from 2002 to 2003, voice roles in The Fairly OddParents from 2001 to 2017, and an appearance as a cast member on The Surreal Life in 2022. On the film side, his acting credits feature Agent Cody Banks, Big Fat Liar, Deuces Wild, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, and The Black String.
“The team here at Ford Racing looked through all the data and didn't find anything happened to the car (before the crash),” Brad Keselowski told USA Today. The event was scheduled to air live on USA Network at 8 p.m. ET.
Muniz initially stepped away from acting to pursue professional racing, competing in the Formula BMW USA Championship and the Champ Car Atlantic Championship between 2007 and 2009, where he placed fourth in the 2009 championship standings before a season-ending injury resulted in multiple surgeries. He returned to stock-car racing in 2023, competing full-time in the ARCA Menards Series for Rette Jones Racing and recording 11 top-10 finishes.
He subsequently moved to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 33 Ford for Team Reaume. Across his racing career, he has also competed in sport-car circuits, earlier partnering with Tyler Stone as a driver for the championship-winning team in the Am Class of the GT4 America Series, piloting a TechSport Racing Ford Mustang to victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Wishing Frankie a speedy recovery. 💙
The event was scheduled to air live on USA Network at 8 p.m. ET.
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BREAKING: Actor Frankie Muniz hospitalized after a crash during a practice lap at Daytona International Speedway, but is awake and alert, his team says.