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Two NASCAR Cup Series stars are capping off their two-week break with a one-off race. William Byron and Aric Almirola will head to Wisconsin and compete in an ARCA Midwest Tour race on Tuesday, Aug. 3, giving them another opportunity to get out on the track before the final stretch of the 2021 season.
According to “Speed Sport,” the two Cup Series drivers will compete in the Gandrud Auto Group 250 at Wisconsin International Raceway. This event is the first for Almirola in nine years, following a trip to Milwaukee with Wauters Motorsports. He will reunite with the team for the race on Aug. 3 while driving the No. 5.
Byron, on the other hand, will make his series debut in the No. 6 Hamke Race Cars/Hamner Racing Engines Chevrolet. He will compete for the checkered flag, as well as the $10,000 prize purse. Though he will have to defeat several local and regional stars, such as Rich Bickle Jr., Luke Fenhaus, Casey Roderick, Carson Kvapil, and Dalton Zehr among others.
Three Other NASCAR Drivers Will Compete in Wisconsin
Almirola and Byron will not be the only men joining the stacked field of drivers in Wisconsin. Camping World Truck Series regulars Johnny Sauter and Derek Kraus will also take part. A former champion in the Camping World Truck Series, Sauter competes full-time for ThorSport Racing. Kraus drives full-time for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.
Additionally, part-time Truck Series driver Ty Majeski will compete in the race and try to add another victory to his career resume. He is a two-time winner of the Gandrud Auto Group 250 and the defending champion.
Majeski will likely enter the race as one of the favorites to capture the checkered flag and the $10,000 prize, but he will have to defeat a stacked group of drivers to achieve this goal. Byron and Almirola, in particular, will pose a considerable challenge given their level of experience across multiple series.
The Race in Wisconsin Will Lead Into the Remaining Schedule
Once Almirola and Byron finish off the Gandrud Auto Group 250, they will flip a switch and prepare for the remaining races in the 2021 Cup Series season. Neither driver has to worry about pursuing a playoff berth considering that they previously won races. Byron captured the Dixie Vodka 400 on Feb. 28 while Almirola won the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 on July 18.
With playoff berths secure, the two drivers will now simply focus on stacking playoff points. Byron has multiple stage wins in the season and will enter the chase with some extra points on his side. Almirola, on the other hand, only has five playoff points to his name after securing his win.
The driver of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang will strive to win some stages and add more points to his total before the end of the regular season in order to keep pace with the other drivers. He is currently on pace to enter the playoffs with only five extra points, tied with Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell for the worst mark among the winners of races.
His next opportunity to secure some points will be the road course race at Watkins Glen International in New York. The drivers will head to the track on Sunday, Aug. 8, and will face off at 3 p.m. ET. NBC Sports Network will provide coverage as Almirola, Byron, and the other drivers fight for stage wins and the checkered flag.
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