Frankie Muniz fastest in ARCA Menards Series practice at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Frankie Muniz jumped out of his No. 30 Rette Jones Racing Ford following Thursday afternoon’s ARCA Menards Series practice session at Daytona International Speedway drenched in sweat. He said his heart was beating “400 miles per hour.”

And with good reason.

Muniz’s ARCA career began with a bang in the hour-long practice session at the World Center of Racing. He paced the field with a top lap time of 00:49:393, besting Joe Gibbs Racing’s Connor Mosack and Rev Racing’s Lavar Scott for the fastest run.

RELATED: Why Frankie Muniz is racing in ARCA Menards Series

“The car felt so good,” Muniz said. “I’m so grateful for my team for putting together this car. Ford built a sick Mustang. I’m so excited. HairClub, everybody; I’m so excited for qualifying and the race.

“Nobody wins practice, but feels good, and it’s a confidence booster, and I need that because I’m new here. But I’m having a blast.”

Muniz, a 37-year-old from Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, announced last month a full-time ARCA Menards Series schedule with Rette Jones Racing in 2023. Saturday’s Daytona 200 (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1) marks his first start on the platform.

Andy Jankowiak and Dale Quarterley recorded the fourth and fifth best lap times in practice, respectively.

Below are the complete results from Thursday’s session ahead of Saturday’s race.

  • Practice results
Pos. Car No. Driver Sponsor, OEM Best Time Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 30 Frankie Muniz* Hair Club/Ford Performance Ford 49.393 182.212 11 13
2 18 Connor Mosack* Mobil 1 Toyota 49.403 182.175 10 13 0.01
3 2 Lavar Scott* Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet 49.404 182.171 11 14 0.011
4 73 Andy Jankowiak* Whelen Ford 49.405 182.168 11 14 0.012
5 4 Dale Quarterley Van Dyk Recycling Solutions/Motul/Walker Furn Chevrolet 49.406 182.164 10 12 0.013
6 6 Jack Wood WB/Velocity Racing/Max Siegal Inc Chevrolet 49.473 181.917 7 8 0.08
7 35 Greg Van Alst Verns Concrete/CB Fabricating/Sam Pierce Chevrolet 49.477 181.903 11 12 0.084
8 55 Toni Breidinger FP Movement Toyota 49.631 181.338 2 7 0.238
9 25 Gus Dean JBL/Dean Custom Air Toyota 49.639 181.309 2 7 0.246
10 15 Amber Balcaen ICON Direct Toyota 49.643 181.294 2 5 0.25
11 8 Sean Corr The Trans Group Chevrolet 49.661 181.229 12 13 0.268
12 20 Jesse Love* Yahoo Toyota 49.713 181.039 7 7 0.32
13 32 Christian Rose* West Virginia Tourism #AlmostHeaven Ford 50.217 179.222 2 6 0.824
14 03 Brayton Laster* Indy Auto Recycles/Autorepairvinstickers.com Ford 50.224 179.197 2 13 0.831
15 36 Ryan Huff South Eastern Services Ford 50.234 179.162 2 5 0.841
16 63 Logan Misuraca* CELSIUS Chevrolet 50.254 179.09 7 11 0.861
17 3 Willie Mullins Corvetteparts.net/Crow Wing Recycling Chevrolet 50.259 179.072 17 19 0.866
18 69 Scott Melton Melton McFadden Insuracne/Donna’s Donuts Ford 50.508 178.19 14 16 1.115
19 53 Natalie Decker Splat Ford 50.784 177.221 9 9 1.391
20 66 Jon Garret* The Camping Crew Chevrolet 50.867 176.932 9 16 1.474
21 62 Steve Lewis Jr.* Telco Construction/Jeffery Machine Chevrolet 50.966 176.588 12 12 1.573
22 44 Jason White Powder Ventures Excavating Chevrolet 51.019 176.405 6 8 1.626
23 42 Robby Lyons Sunwest Construction/MMI Chevrolet 51.043 176.322 7 9 1.65
24 97 Jason Kitzmiller A.L.L Construction Chevrolet 51.108 176.098 3 14 1.715
25 12 Zach Herrin* Lambda Legal Toyota 51.348 175.275 8 11 1.955
26 10 Ed Pompa HYTORC of New York/Double H Ranch Chevrolet 51.377 175.176 10 12 1.984
27 27 Tim Richmond Latino Immigration and Legal Center Toyota 51.44 174.961 2 3 2.047
28 11 Bryce Haugeberg Magnum Contracting/Haugeberg Farms/UTI Toyota 51.747 173.923 10 15 2.354
29 02 Miguel Gomes* Simthunder Chevrolet 52.427 171.667 4 5 3.034
30 68 Gage Rodgers* SEKISUI Voltek Ford 52.893 170.155 2 7 3.5
31 06 A.J. Moyer Rivers Edge Cottages & RV Park Chevrolet 54.514 165.095 3 3 5.121
32 93 Caleb Costner* Innovative Tiny Houses/Lickety Lew’s Chevrolet 56.104 160.416 2 2 6.711
33 01 Andres Perez de Lara* Fastrackracing.com Chevrolet 0 1
34 48 Brad Smith Copraya.com Chevrolet 0