Frankie Muniz broke down in tears during a post-race interview after capturing his first professional GT4 America victory.
The former ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ star, 40, and co-driver Tyler Stone took the checkered flag in the Am class at Road America in Wisconsin on Friday, August 28, edging out their closest rival by just half a second. Muniz, who had been struggling through what he called two of the worst weeks of his life, found himself overwhelmed as Stone crossed the finish line to seal the win.
While wiping tears from his face, Muniz said: “I’m emotional because I’ve honestly had two of the worst weeks of my entire life, to be honest. I came here, really low.
“Had a good day yesterday, and felt really good today…so to get this win is just…thank you, God, my team, Ford. This is unbelievable.
“I feel so incredible. I’m so excited for Tyler, he drove so good! This is amazing.”
The pair finished first in the Am class and 17th overall in the multi-class event, piloting their Ford Mustang GT4 for TechSport Racing. Muniz was spotted on the sidelines erupting in celebration as Stone completed the final stint, then embraced crew members before facing cameras still choked with emotion.
Stone, 34, later praised his teammate’s opening drive in a social media post, writing: “@frankiemuniz4 drove an incredible first stint and put us in position to fight up front, and after falling back at the beginning of the second stint, we were able to fight back for the win.
“We are truly blessed and grateful to be teammates in this position. Thank you to @techsport_racing and crew for all the work they put in to get us ready for the green flag and a big thanks to @fordracing for an excellent race car, for all the support this year and for this incredible opportunity!”
Muniz documented his own elation on Instagram, sharing footage of the victory celebration scored to Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions.’ He wrote: “Are you kidding me!?!?
“We won at Road America in our @fordracing Mustang GT4 car! I’ve been pretty low these past two weeks, but God is good and gave us this win right when I could use it most!!
“I couldn’t be more proud of my teammate @tstonem3 and my team @techsport_racing for being absolutely incredible all weekend,” the two-time Golden Globe nominee added.
“This Mustang was a rocketship! Let’s get another win tomorrow!”
The victory marked a milestone in Muniz’s racing career, which he launched after walking away from one of Hollywood’s most successful child-actor runs. During a 2021 appearance on Steve-O’s ‘Wild Ride!’ podcast, Muniz reflected on that pivotal decision, explaining: “When Malcolm ended, I got signed to BMW to race cars. I said to my agents and manager, ‘Look this is what I want to do. I’m not trying to just do it as a hobby, I want to be the best I can be’. Like anything, if you want to do something the best, you’ve got to put in the time, you need to get in the work.
“So I didn’t think that it was humanly possible to continue acting or continue in the entertainment business while doing the racing thing.”
Muniz, who relocated from Los Angeles to Phoenix, Arizona, told the podcast he had wrestled with whether leaving entertainment at his peak had been a mistake. He continued: “I’m so happy I went racing, I love every aspect of it and now it’s becoming a part of my life again. But I look back and I go, ‘Did I make a mistake leaving at the height of my career?’
“Like when I had hundreds of offers…I could have kept going non-stop, and I said, ‘No, I don’t want to’. Now I look back and I go, ‘I wonder what my life would have been if I stayed’.
“I look back and I go, ‘Thank goodness I left!’ Because I appreciate life in general more, I’ve started taking more in and I look back at the success I had and go, ‘That was really cool’.”
Muniz said he was a “much happier person” since the move and career change. He also competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Social media reaction to Friday’s win was overwhelmingly supportive, with fans praising the long-awaited breakthrough. One commenter wrote: “That’s a long time coming for Frankie, good to see.” Another posted: “Hell yeah! Way to go Frankie. Thats huge. Keep it up!” A third added: “Very happy for him. He deserves it.”
Muniz and Stone were scheduled to compete again the following day in Race 2 at Road America.