Concord, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Driver Aric Almirola and sponsor Smithfield Foods have signed three-year contract extensions with Richard Petty Motorsports, the team announced on Wednesday.
Smithfield Foods and its family of brands, including Eckrich, Farmland, Gwaltney, Nathan's and Smithfield, will increase its primary sponsorship of Almirola's No. 43 team in the Sprint Cup Series to 29 races during the 2014 season. The company sponsored the No. 43 for 15 races in 2012 and then 25 events this past year.
Almirola is entering his third full season with RPM. He finished 18th in the point standings last season. The 29-year-old driver has yet to win a race in NASCAR's top series but has three top-five finishes and 12 top-10s in 107 career Sprint Cup starts. His lone pole in the series came in May 2012 at Charlotte.
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