It didn’t take long for Frankie Muniz to get acclimated with Daytona International Speedway, or the ARCA Menards Series as it turns out, as the former Hollywood star rocketed to the top of the speed charts in the series’ sole practice on Thursday.
Muniz, piloting the No. 30 HairClub Ford Mustang for Rette Jones Racing, posted the quickest time in Thursday’s 50-minute practice session, getting around the 2.5-mile superspeedway in a blistering 49.393 seconds.
Connor Mosack, driving the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, put down the second-quickest lap in the session, with Lavar Scott, Andy Jankowiak, and Dale Quarterley completing the top five.
Jack Wood, the anchor driver of Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 51 Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, ended up sixth-quickest in the session, with ARCA full-timer Greg Van Alst in seventh.
Venturini Motorsports, which usually has a stranglehold on the ARCA Menards Series field at the superspeedway, failed to place a car inside the top five, with Toni Breidinger’s eighth-place lap being the fastest of the team’s four entries.
Breidinger’s teammates Gus Dean and Amber Balcean rounded out the top-10 in Thursday’s practice session, ranking ninth and 10th, respectively. Jesse Love, the team’s only full-time driver, ended up 12th.
Over the course of the 50-minute practice session, only 33 of the 41 entries turned a lap around the 2.5-mile superspeedway, with the slowest full-speed lap belonging to Caleb Coster, approximately seven seconds off-pace of the Rette Jones Racing No. 30.
ARCA Practice Results:
| Pos | # | Driver | Best Time | Diff | Best Lap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 | Frankie Muniz* | 49.393 | 11 | 13 | |
| 2 | 18 | Connor Mosack* | 49.403 | -0.009999999999998 | 10 | 13 |
| 3 | 2 | Lavar Scott* | 49.404 | -0.011000000000003 | 11 | 14 |
| 4 | 73 | Andy Jankowiak* | 49.405 | -0.012 | 11 | 14 |
| 5 | 4 | Dale Quarterley | 49.406 | -0.012999999999998 | 10 | 12 |
| 6 | 6 | Jack Wood | 49.473 | -0.079999999999998 | 7 | 8 |
| 7 | 35 | Greg Van Alst | 49.477 | -0.083999999999996 | 11 | 12 |
| 8 | 55 | Toni Breidinger | 49.631 | -0.238 | 2 | 7 |
| 9 | 25 | Gus Dean | 49.639 | -0.246 | 2 | 7 |
| 10 | 15 | Amber Balcaen | 49.643 | -0.25 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 | 8 | Sean Corr | 49.661 | -0.268 | 12 | 13 |
| 12 | 20 | Jesse Love* | 49.713 | -0.32 | 7 | 7 |
| 13 | 32 | Christian Rose* | 50.217 | -0.824 | 2 | 6 |
| 14 | 03 | Brayton Laster* | 50.224 | -0.831 | 2 | 13 |
| 15 | 36 | Ryan Huff | 50.234 | -0.841 | 2 | 5 |
| 16 | 63 | Logan Misuraca* | 50.254 | -0.861 | 7 | 11 |
| 17 | 3 | Willie Mullins | 50.259 | -0.866 | 17 | 19 |
| 18 | 69 | Scott Melton | 50.508 | -1.115 | 14 | 16 |
| 19 | 53 | Natalie Decker | 50.784 | -1.391 | 9 | 9 |
| 20 | 66 | Jon Garret* | 50.867 | -1.474 | 9 | 16 |
| 21 | 62 | Steve Lewis Jr.* | 50.966 | -1.573 | 12 | 12 |
| 22 | 44 | Jason White | 51.019 | -1.626 | 6 | 8 |
| 23 | 42 | Robby Lyons | 51.043 | -1.65 | 7 | 9 |
| 24 | 97 | Jason Kitzmiller | 51.108 | -1.715 | 3 | 14 |
| 25 | 12 | Zach Herrin* | 51.348 | -1.955 | 8 | 11 |
| 26 | 10 | Ed Pompa | 51.377 | -1.984 | 10 | 12 |
| 27 | 27 | Tim Richmond | 51.440 | -2.047 | 2 | 3 |
| 28 | 11 | Bryce Haugeberg | 51.747 | -2.354 | 10 | 15 |
| 29 | 02 | Miguel Gomes* | 52.427 | -3.034 | 4 | 5 |
| 30 | 68 | Gage Rodgers* | 52.893 | -3.5 | 2 | 7 |
| 31 | 6 | A.J. Moyer* | 54.514 | -5.121 | 3 | 3 |
| 32 | 93 | Caleb Costner* | 56.104 | -6.711 | 2 | 2 |
| 33 | 01 | Andres Perez de Lara* | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 34 | 48 | Brad Smith | -- | -- | -- | -- |
