The Bristol chaos came in hot early this weekend, and it starred an unexpected face: Frankie Muniz. Hollywood’s own Muniz is now doing burnouts instead of red carpets. The Malcolm in the Middle star-turned-NASCAR driver had a rough night during the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday, April 11, and it all blew up thanks to a tangle with none other than defending champion Ty Majeski.
As if that wasn’t enough, two other drivers — Brandon Jones and Stewart Friesen — had no room to dodge the chaos and plowed right into the pile. Just like that, four trucks were toast and saw their race end early. Friesen came home 27th, Muniz 31st, Jones 32nd, and Majeski rolled in dead last at 33rd.
‘Ty Majeski Got Just Mad’ – Frankie Muniz Speaks Out
It was still early in the race (Stage 1, to be exact) when things took a messy turn. Majeski, trying to lap Muniz, misjudged where he was going. He thought Muniz would stick to the outside lane, but the rookie was never on the outside, instead staying in the inside lane.
The next moment, Majeski slammed into the rear of Muniz and spun him, leaving both trucks with their driver-side windows facing each other. It was awkward, dramatic, and classic Bristol mayhem.
After the race, Muniz wasn’t exactly holding hands and singing songs about it.
“I was specifically trying to get out of the way. I’m not trying to race them,” Muniz said when asked about the crash.
“And I had been running on the bottom the whole time. I was just staying at the bottom, so they knew to go around me. And I think there were two trucks behind me racing. I don’t know if (Ty) Majeski got just mad that I went there and punted me. Or he didn’t expect me to go back to the bottom and back high. I mean, he yelled at me after he got out of the truck,” he added.
From Muniz’s post-wreck interview, it seemed like Majeski had yelled at him and accused him of being indecisive about the lane he chose. Muniz replied by saying that throughout the 53 laps, he stuck to the bottom lane and never changed.
Chandler Smith Steals the Show
While all eyes were on the Muniz-Majeski drama, Chandler Smith was out there doing the real business. The No. 38 truck driver held off NASCAR Cup Series superstar Kyle Larson in a nail-biting seven-lap sprint to grab his first Truck Series win of the season. He also won the $50,000 bonus from the Triple Truck Challenge.
As for Larson, this brought an early end to his weekend sweep dreams. Smith shut the door on this one, beating him by just under a second.
Bristol didn’t disappoint with drama, wrecks, and heartbreak. And for Muniz, he’s had his official welcome to the rough-and-tumble world of NASCAR.