Aric Almirola’s 15th season as a full-time racer in NASCAR’s Cup Series will be his final one, the driver of Stewart-Haas Racing’s (SHR) No. 10 Smithfield Foods Ford announced on Monday, January 10. The Floridian made his Cup Series debut three days before his 23rd birthday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 11, 2007. HIs final checkered flag will come at the 2022 season finale on the Phoenix Raceway mile oval.
Almirola began his tenure as Smithfield’s designated driver in 2012 while driving for Richard Petty Motorsports during his first full year of Cup Series competition. Smithfield Foods will continue as an anchor partner of Almirola and the No. 10 team throughout 2022, the company’s 11th year with Almirola and its fifth with SHR. Their partnership is now one of the longest in NASCAR, and after both driver and sponsor came to SHR in 2018, they’ve gone to the Cup Series playoffs each year and scored a pair of victories: in the fall race at Talladega Super-speedway in 2018 and in July of last season on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway oval. Almirola also scored victory in 2014 while driving for Richard Petty Motorsports.
The driver of the No. 10 SHR Smithfield Ford Mustang intends to make his final year a successful one: “I truly enjoy driving race cars and I”m excited to race my heart out in 2022 for Smithfield and Stewart-Haas Racing,” Almirola declared. “But to be the best in the business, you’ve got to be selfish, and for the last 37 years, my life has always revolved around me and what I needed to do.”
While some might disagree, Almirola believes there’s a life beyond motorsports. “I want to be present,” he said. “I want to be the best husband and father, and that, to me means more than being a race car driver. So it’s one more year where I’m all in on racing, where we’ll do whatever it takes to compete at the higher level. But when the season is over, I’ll be ready to wave goodbye. I’ve loved…
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