By: Zach Arnold

Early Saturday morning, the 39-year-old announced on his Instagram page he does not have plans for the 2024 season and his time of full-time racing has come to an end. Almirola tried making a deal with Stewart-Haas Racing to run a part-time schedule after 2023, however, SHR did not agree. Since Almirola is leaving SHR, he has to find sponsorship and a new race team to run with.

“God turned my childhood dream of being a professional racecar driver into reality, and I’m incredibly grateful. Grateful for the opportunities, the wins, the celebrations, the struggles, the partnerships and, most of all, the people I’ve met and friendships I’ve made,” he said on the last slide of the post.

His career-long sponsor Smithfield Foods also announced their departure from the sport. They have sponsored him for 12 full seasons.

This leaves the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Ford Mustang with an open seat heading into the 2024 season. Other than Almirola, SHR is losing another veteran, Kevin Harvick. The replacement for the No. 4 has already been announced, though, with Josh Berry making the move from the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Almirola has three NASCAR Cup Series wins over his 459 starts. He also earned 30 top five’s and 96 top-ten finishes over the course of 16 years. He ran four part-time seasons before 2012.

SHR will have a new look in 2024, so stay tuned to see who is announced driver of the No. 10 throughout the off-season.