Smithfield Foods will once again adorn Aric Almirola‘s Stewart Haas Racing Ford for the 2020 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
2020 will mark the third year of the partnership between SHR and Smithfield, while Almirola will be backed by Smithfield for the ninth consecutive season, dating back to his first full-time MENCS circuit in 2012.
“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 in a team release. “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.”
In 310 starts, Almirola has notched two victories, including the MENCS playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway last fall. Additionally, the Florida native has recorded 16 top fives, 59 top 10s, two pole awards and is one of only 31 drivers to have won a race in each of NASCAR’s three national touring series.
This season, Almirola has recorded 10 top 10s, a pole award at Atlanta Motor Speedway and made the playoffs for the third time in his career, though he was eliminated after the Round of 16.
#TBT to the day we made the announcement that I would drive the No. 10 @SmithfieldBrand Ford for @StewartHaasRcng. Today, we announced that the relationship will continue. I'm proud to be with this race team, supported by such an amazing partner in @SmithfieldFoods. Life is good. pic.twitter.com/54IVZ0vfAH
— Aric Almirola (@Aric_Almirola) October 10, 2019
While terms of the deal were not publicly disclosed, Smithfield is expected to be the primary sponsor on Almirola’s No. 10 Ford for 25-30 events in 2020.
Never at a loss for words, Zach Gillispie is a young, talented marketing professional from North Carolina who talks and writes on the side about his first love: racing! Since joining Frontstretch in 2018, Zach has served in numerous roles where he currently pens the NASCAR 101 column, a weekly piece delving into the basic nuts and bolts of the sport. Additionally, his unabashedly bold takes meshed with that trademarked dry wit of his have made Zach a fan favorite on the weekly Friday Faceoff panel. In his free time, he can be found in the great outdoors, actively involved in his church, cheering on his beloved Atlanta Braves or ruthlessly pestering his colleagues with completely useless statistics about Delma Cowart.