State Water Heaters has expanded its partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018 with the team's No. 41 car driven by 2017 Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch sporting the State Water Heaters black and orange paint scheme in two races.

A leader in water heater manufacturing, State Water Heaters will serve as the primary sponsor of Busch's No. 41 Ford Fusion for the Federated Auto Parts 400 on Sept. 22 at Richmond Raceway and the AAA Texas 500 on Nov. 4 at Texas Motor Speedway. The company will also serve as an associate sponsor throughout the 2018 season with the State Water Heaters logo appearing in a major associate location on the racecar and on the chest of Busch's firesuit each week.

State Water Heaters will sponsor Kurt Busch at Richmond in September and Texas in November. Haas will be on the car for one of the races. Stewart-Haas Racing

This year will mark State Water Heaters' sixth year partnering with Stewart-Haas Racing, co-owned by three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. It's State Water Heaters' fifth year with Busch, the 2004 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion. State Water Heaters has been an active racing sponsor since 2006.

"The plumbing contractors, wholesalers and builders who work with State Water Heaters take pride in seeing our brand on race days, and it's exciting for us to help connect them to the action," said Jeff Storie, director of marketing for State. "The Stewart-Haas Racing partnership has helped us introduce more plumbing professionals to our Contractor Rewards program through racing-related promotions held exclusively for Contractor Rewards members. Contractor Rewards is our way of giving back to all of our contractors by letting them earn rewards as well as win prizes like race day experiences just for installing State products."

For more than 60 years, State Water Heaters has stood for durability. Tested under the toughest conditions in the most hostile environments, State Water Heaters builds long-lasting products that provide years of service. Motorsports also provides tough conditions and hostile environments, making State Water Heaters' presence in NASCAR a natural fit.

"State Water Heaters has been a great partner for Stewart-Haas Racing, and our win with them in last year's Daytona 500 was certainly a tremendous experience for all of us," Stewart said. "We know this will be a winning partnership in 2018, and we're proud to represent State. We're honored to have partners that work hard to deliver such high-quality products and service to their customers."

--- State Water Heaters ---