Malcolm in the Middle star Frankie Muniz is speaking out following his crash during a practice-lap at Daytona International Speedway that led to his hospitalization.
The 40-year-old actor was practicing for a Proud to Honor Veterans Day Classic event, a benefit race set for Wednesday night at Daytona’s road course, when he crashed and was rushed to a Florida hospital.
“I am disappointed I won’t be able to take part in Ford’s Proud to Honor event tonight,” Muniz said in a statement to The Associated Press. “I was looking forward to honoring the service of our veterans and racing against these other amazing drivers.”
Muniz said he was a “little sore,” but the car he was driving did its job to protect him.
“I want to thank everyone at Ford Racing, Daytona International Speedway and the staff here at the hospital,” Muniz said. “I especially want to thank everyone who has reached out and for all the prayers.”
After Muniz’s crash, a Ford Racing spokesperson told People that Muniz was “taken to a local medical facility for further evaluation and is awake and alert.”
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Entertainment Tonight reports that the racetrack was “not open to the public” at the time of the actor’s crash.
The outlet also notes that Muniz’s former Malcolm in the Middle co-star Bryan Cranston was set to appear at the benefit race to support him.
Muniz and NASCAR driver Austin Cindric were set to represent Team Air Force in an exhibition race that benefits six nonprofits that support military and veteran communities through the Proud to Honor Fund, according to a NASCAR release.
A dozen Ford Racing drivers were split into six teams to race head-to-head in Mustang Dark Horse cars in honour of a branch of the U.S. military.
Musical performances by the Zac Brown Band, Russell Dickerson, Jo Dee Messina, Brittney Spencer, and Warren Zeiders were also part of the event.
Muniz took a hiatus from the entertainment industry in 2006 to pursue his professional racecar driving career.
He began competing in the Formula BMW USA Championship and later went on to race in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship from 2007-09. Muniz was fourth in the 2009 championship standings with two races to go before a season-ending injury resulted in multiple surgeries, according to his website.
In 2017, Muniz revealed that he doesn’t remember most of his time acting in Malcolm in the Middle, following a series of head injuries.
The actor, who suffered a serious car crash in 2009 while competing as a professional race car driver, revealed the news of his memory loss in his rehearsal video for Dancing with the Stars.
Muniz said he has suffered at least nine concussions and a “fair amount of mini-strokes,” which he said might have resulted in his severe memory loss.
He said he can’t remember most of the things he’s experienced in his life, including the six years on the comedy sitcom.
An interview with his former TV dad, Cranston, was also included. “Frankie was a TV star, then he became a race car driver, and a drummer in a rock band,” Cranston said. “I said to him once, ‘What are you going to be, an astronaut next? You are doing all the things professionally that everybody dreams about.’”
—With files from The Associated Press
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