Aric Almirola 2020 season in review

Almirola: "What a year. What a season. This Smithfield Ford team battled hard all year and we had a phenomenal year with a lot of room for improvement. We have so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to in the future."

On Sept. 1, Almirola announced he will be returning to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2021 with longtime sponsor Smithfield.

Although he went winless for the second consecutive season, Almirola posted career-best numbers in top fives (six), top 10s (18) and laps led (305).

Almirola was out front at Kentucky Speedway for a race-high 128 laps before finishing eighth, snapping his season top-five run. Almirola also scored his second and final stage win of the season in the opening stage of that race.

Almirola had a strong performance in the summer months that saw him post nine consecutive top 10s. The streak started at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a run of five straight top fives.

Aric Almirola finished 15th in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series standings after making the playoffs for the third consecutive year with Stewart-Haas Racing.