Aric Almirola to Reunite with Stewart-Haas Racing for 2021 and Beyond

Another piece of the NASCAR puzzle has fallen into place, and this time it is Aric Almirola. The 36-year old penned a new contract extension with the Stewart-Haas Racing team, that runs through 2021.

This means that fans will be able to see him drive the No. 10 Ford even longer. The best part is that, his sponsor Smithfield Foods also extended its own contract with the team.

Truthfully, the team was not too surprised, since vice president Greg Zipadelli expected to retain its four drivers for 2021. During his 3-year SHR tenure, Almirola bagged one victory, 12 top fives and 43 top 10s.

This includes a handful of playoff appearances in every year. On the subject of wins, his sole victory came in October 2018 at the Talladega Superspeedway.

How has Aric Almirola performed this year?

With a new crew chief by his side, Aric Almirola has been a picture of consistency and it makes up for the lack of 2020 wins. To further drive the point home, Almirola amassed five straight top-five finishes. In the process, he added to a streak of nine consecutive top 10s.

“He’s done a really good job, him and Mike [Bugarewicz], of growing together as a team and figuring out what he likes,” Zipadelli said. “Buga has done a great job at that, but it’s time to go. They’ve been picking up and building their confidence and I feel like they’re ready, they just have to go out and execute. When you go back through and you look at the top fives and top 10s he’s had all year, I don’t know if a single one of them was just a good, clean race.”

He confessed that there were occasions where they were simply unlucky, with numerous issues. This ranged from pit lane issues to restarts or even speeding on pit road. So, he often had to start from the back and fight his way to the front.