Stewart-Haas Racing has extended its relationships with Aric Almirola and Smithfield Foods to keep Almirola in the driver's seat and Smithfield on the hood of its #10 Ford in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series beyond the 2019 season. Both driver and sponsor are in their second seasons with the #10 team.
“I said when I first came to Stewart-Haas Racing that this is the opportunity every driver wants, and I’m obviously very proud to have it continue,” Almirola said. “Our relationship with Smithfield is strong. From the customers, to the retailers and all of the employees, we take a tremendous amount of pride in representing the Smithfield brand. They’re our biggest supporters and it’s what drives us every time we hit the racetrack.”
Almirola has had a sponsorship deal with Smithfield since his first season of full-time competition in the Cup Series with Richard Petty Motorsports in 2012. He drove for RPM through the 2017 season before moving to SHR ahead of the 2018 season, taking Smithfield with him.
“The Smithfield brand has enjoyed great success with Aric Almirola and Stewart-Haas Racing,” Smithfield Foods Senior Marketing Director Michael Merritt said. “It’s a true partnership that performs on the race track with retailers and our consumers. Aric resonates well with them because he’s genuine and, overall, a great ambassador for the company. He has worked incredibly hard to get to where he is today, and we’ve been a part of that journey for nearly a decade, and the payoff from all that hard work has been amplified by Stewart-Haas Racing.”
Almirola has contested 66 races with SHR, and during that time claimed his second of two-career series wins at Talladega Superspeedway last season. He also has five top-fives and 27 top-10 finishes in those 66 races. He has made the playoffs in both of his seasons with SHR and finished a career-best fifth in the series standings last year. This season, he was eliminated after the first round.
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