Jean

Frankie Muniz walked away from one of the biggest sitcoms on television in 2006 to become a race car driver. It took him 20 years to win a race. Today at Road America he finally did, and he cried through the whole interview. The path was brutal. He started in Champ Car Atlantic in 2007, ran three seasons, never finished better than fourth, and injuries ended the open-wheel dream. Then came the long wilderness. Drumming in a band, Dancing with the Stars, and a series of mini-strokes and concussions so severe he's said he remembers almost none of filming Malcolm in the Middle. Most people would have stopped there. He had the money. Child stars who keep their earnings never need to prove anything to anyone again. Instead he restarted at the bottom at 37, running stock cars against kids half his age. This year, at 40, he's racing 28 times across two different series while the Malcolm reboot brings him back to the role that made him famous. The detail that gets me is from last weekend. He gave up his own truck seat so a teammate who failed to qualify could race. Seven days later he won his class by half a second and called it the end of two of the worst weeks of his life. Child star stories usually end with the money gone. Muniz kept the money and spent 20 years of it chasing a win that finally came at 40.