Smithfield renews sponsorship with Stewart-Haas Racing; New paint scheme for Aric Almirola

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    Smithfield Foods revealed Monday morning (1/10/21) that they have renewed their contract with Stewart-Haas Racing, and will once again be the anchor sponsor for Aric Almirola in 2022. Although the number of races which the black and white Smithfield colors will adorn the car are unknown, a new paint scheme for the upcoming season has been unveiled (see above). 

Aric Almirola who was surprisingly the only driver at Stewart-Haas Racing to win in 2021, will use that lone NASCAR Cup Series win to his advantage. Almirola will use that victory to offset the No. 10’s poor performance throughout the rest of the season, and entice Smithfield Foods to back him in 2022; likely with higher expectations.

Smithfield Foods has backed Aric Almirola since his days at Richard Petty Motorsports driving the iconic No. 43. Although the company had a very “Petty” look in those days, adorning the Ford Fusions with black and white colors, as the team followed Almirola to Stewart-Haas Racing they transformed their branding into the black and white colors we know today. For nearly the past decade, Smithfield Foods has sponsored most of the season for Almirola, but last season we saw them hold off a little bit, and in 2022 races sponsored by Smithfield may be even fewer.

Almirola, who has won three times in the NASCAR Cup Series, came out victorious at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2021 as darkness grew, and lack of track lighting became an issue. The race that was scheduled to finish a couple hours earlier experienced a rain delay, as intermittent rain caused the leaders Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and others to slip and slide; some even wrecking their cars. Almirola obtained the lead towards the end of the race, and with Christopher Bell closing in to make the pass the race was called for dim track conditions. This victory stands out as possibly one of Stewart-Haas Racing’s greatest performances of the 2021 season.

Stewart-Haas Racing experienced some rather trying times in 2021, as multiple rule changes (including ones about aerodynamics) ripped the competitive nature away from the team. After winning 10 races in 2020, Stewart-Haas Racing would sparingly win only one in 2021, but 2022 could mark a fresh start for the team.

Update: The team also confirmed this morning that Aric Almirola will retire after the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, meaning that 2022 could be Smithfield’s last season sponsoring the No. 10 team, as Almirola leaves the sport.

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