Smithfield Foods will renew its primary sponsorship with Stewart-Haas Racing for '21, and driver Aric Almirola will continue manning the No. 10 car, Smithfield Chief Commercial Officer of Packaged Meats John Pauley has revealed to THE DAILY. Smithfield has been a major NASCAR team sponsor for close to a decade after joining Richard Petty Motorsports in '12 before switching over to Stewart-Haas Racing in '18. The company signed a one-year extension with SHR last year, and Pauley confirmed today in an email that Smithfield will be back for next season with another extension. Pauley said that Smithfield will have 25 primaries, controlling around 70% of the season. While the terms of Smithfield's deal are not known, a deal of that size at a top team like SHR would typically run close to, or into, the low eight figures. Almirola this season has garnered Smithfield hefty TV exposure and the renewal is a major win for SHR because it comes during a pandemic that directly affected Smithfield, which had to temporarily close a plant in South Dakota in April after a coronavirus outbreak. SHR had no immediate comment on the renewal and has yet to announce it. The renewal with Almirola and Smithfield leaves Clint Bowyer as the sole remaining driver out of SHR’s four-car lineup who still has yet to extend with the team for next season.
