Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger. (A Racing Journey)

[CakeWalker]

Season Nine - Part One

Daytona would play host to the first race weekend of the of the 2026 Nascar Season and Red Bull had now find themselves where they had associated drivers in all three classes, having two official teams ‘Team Red Bull’ and ‘Red Bull Trucking’ but had now formed a joint deal with the Wood Brothers that would see AJ Millar driving the #21 car for the year. For AJ her first race for the Wood Brothers would be interesting as she qualified towards the back, but managed to work her way up to the front of the pack as she would finish stage one in 7th position. She would then keep on fighting in the lead pack and finish just behind Alex Bowman as she would claim 2nd position and in turn pick up a number of bonus points for her troubles. The rest of the race would go less than perfect, as a number of a caution would end up being called simply at the wrong times she would really mess up AJ’s race strategy. To the point that she would have to settle for a 24th place finish at the end of her first Cup Series race at Daytona. Looking at the positives it was clear that AJ had all the makings of a great driver in the Cup Series, as she hadn’t been at all shy about pushing her nose to gain positions in the smallest gaps. After the race former Cup Series driver Danica Patrick would speak out about AJ:

“Let's be totally honest about this whole situation. I think I am going to be the first person to actually come out and say it, but AJ Millar has the potential to become the first woman in history to win the Nascar Cup Series and this is something that absolutely terrifies the rest of the men in the field. I would be lying if I said I wasn't an AJ Millar fan and to be honest I think she has sold herself short by taking up a seat with the Wood Brothers. I think she is a driver that should be racing for an elite team that can really offer her the tools she needs to facilitate the success she is capable of bringing to the table. She is going to win races this year, mark my words. Have you seen her ability to navigate around the Road Courses and Short Tracks? Those are the locations where front runners end up dropping key points, each and every year. AJ is the future of this sport - if she wants to be.”

AJ's next few races would see her doing her best, but it was clear that she was having a slight bit of difficulty not only getting used to her car but also to the level of competition that the Cup Series offered up. She would finish 38th place in Atlanta, 22nd place in Las Vegas, 25th place in Phoenix, but would see a slight improvement as she would claim a 16th place finish at Auto Club. Although Millar wasn’t making any ground breaking moves at this point in her career there was a certain excitement in the air when the Cup Series arrived at Martinville - as this was a venue where AJ in the past had proven she was able to race competitively. It was a race that had not featured on the Xfinity Calendar but a place where she held a 2nd and 3rd place finish in the Truck Series, so there was a hope that she could transfer these learned skills in Nascar's highest level of racing.

And AJ would certainly bring her A-Game to Martinville as she would have her best race of the season and massively impress everyone attendance as she would finish stage one in 2nd position, stage two in 3rd position before going on to finish just behind Bowyer to come in 2nd place at Martinsville it what would be her first top ten finish of the season. It was clear that everyone working for the Wood Brothers’ team were struggling to contain their emotions as they would celebrate the incredible finish for the team that had been suffering in recent years. AJ had been clearly hoping to take her top five finish and translate that to her next speedway race at Texas, but it was clear that Mustang was simply not setup in a way that AJ was able to really take the reigns of the car as she would have to settle for a 14th place finish which despite everything was actually her second highest placed finish of the season although after Martinville is certainly didn’t feel like it.

AJ had raced at Bristol four times last season in the Xfinity/Truck Series with a 1st, 3rd and 4th place finish as well as a 5th place finish in her hot seat drive in the cup series, so coming into Bristol despite being in not the strongest of car on the track there was a real feeling that this might just be the track that Millar could produce a real special performance as she had proven my times before. And that is exactly what she would do, as she would qualify on the front row in second but take the lead away from Logano very early on into the race and would really started to show everyone in Bristol why she really held a mastery in understanding the workings of the Bristol Short Track as the first stage would end with only the the front twelve car remaining on the lead lap as AJ would take the stage victory.

AJ would continue to perfectly execute her strategy in second stage to the point where the only two drivers that were able to keep on pace would be Keslowski and Logano of Team Penske, with it being clear that Ford were extremely pleased to have representation in the top three of the race, but AJ would not be caught as she would go on to cross the green and white chequered flag to win the second stage of the day. Stage three would prove to be a very clean session that would see the field pit under green flag regulations, and AJ would manage to come out ahead of Harvick who had been given a free pass previously to hold onto the lead after her tyre change which would prove to be all she wrote as she would cross the line in 1st place to claim her first very victory in the Cup Series. Franz Tost would speak out following the victory, and despite it not coming from ‘Red Bull’ car it was still a very important victory for their selection path driver:

“No one can deny that this isn’t a superlative moment for the ‘Team Red Bull’ and Wood Brothers’ Racing. All our engineers and designers might not yet have a car in the Cup Series this season, but we are working hard to achieve this goal as soon as possible. However, AJ is an exception talent and for to claim her first Cup Series victory but also the 100th victory for the #21 car as a member of ‘Red Bull’ Wood Brothers - today is just going to always be a day to remember for the better. We have involvement in all three levels of nascar, and with AJ now have wins in all three series in what is very much a very short career I very much believe as a team she is our best candidate to potentially take us to a Cup Series’ Championship, in the not too distant future. And if she isn’t - well we have an assortment of driving chomping at the bit to take her place. The Red Bull brand has never encouraged complacency amongst our driver pools. ”

AJ would get to keep the same setup on her #21 car as she would have the benefit of visiting Richmond for another short track race, in what would mark as a third of the way through the regular season. Millar would race well, although would have to battle with Larson for much of the race that would be see a number of cautions being called that would see the race move into a third period of overtime before Truex Jr would win, in a race that would see Millar cross the in 5th place.

The Cup Series would travel to Talladega at a venue where AJ has always struggled to understand the track whilst qualifying and has shown a pattern that she needs a number of laps under her belt before she can really gain speed, but on this same basis has proven she understands how to ride the draft train to gain place up the track. AJ would move up to 29th at the end of stage one and then continue to battle around the midfield as she would end stage two in 25th in what was proving to be quite a tough race for the most part. With ten laps to go AJ had managed to find herself into the top ten, at which point a number of drivers were starting to take some big risks which was resulting in a number of collisions and cautions being called, sending the second race in a row into overtime. From starting in eight, AJ would manage to push ahead with better preserved tyres to push all the way up into 2nd place with only Newman ahead of her as they passed the chequered flag. This would mean that in the last three races AJ had finished claimed a top five finish and was really adding to her points tally because of it.

Xfinity Series Update:

With three drivers on their books, Team Red Bull racing were really covering themselves with Chase Briscoe and Cole Custer as two proven Xfinity drivers, as Jester Millar would take up a permanent drive in what had been his sister championship winning #82 car last season. At Daytona Custer would come 8th, Briscoe 9th and Jester 25th in what was seen as an acceptable result for the team. Atlanta would see Briscoe and Custer finish in the top ten again, whilst Jester was still getting to grips with the car as he finished 24th this time round.

Las Vegas Team Red Bull would claim their first win of the season as Custer would come first, Briscoe 7th and Jester 20th - with there being no doubt in anyone’s mind the young Brit was not in the same playing fields as his two team-mates. (It is noted that Jester races under a British Passport, unlike his sister who holds an American one.)

Phoenix would see Jester have his best career finishing in 18th place, but Custer would finish 2nd and Briscoe would claim 7th for the second race in a row. AutoClub a pattern was starting to emerge with Custer claiming his second victory for the team, Briscoe once again would finish in 7th whilst Jester would have to settle for 20th position.

At Texas Briscoe would actually laugh in a post-race interview upon finishing seventh for the fourth consecutive race, as Custer would finish 2nd and Jester in 21st position.

Bristol would be the overall best finish as a combined team with Custer 6th, Briscoe 8th but Jester finishing 10th meaning that all three drivers had finished in the top ten. Richmond would see Custer and Briscoe continue their top ten form, although Jester would drop back to 21st at the end of the race.

Talladega on the other hand would be the worst race of the season for the team with Custer down in 27th and Briscoe in 17th, but Jester would finish in 22nd which by only means of interest to a statistician meant that despite Custer holding the only two wins for the team, he was also the man who had performed worst with the lowliest position so far Team Red Bull. Upon reflection though, a number of critics were already beginning to question whether Jester Millar actually belonged in the Xfinity Series and wondered why the Red Bull collective hadn’t given the seat to someone like Majeski instead.

Truck Series Update:
Majeski would take on his role as the driver of the #65 truck knowing he was driving a truck that was capable of winning championships, but would only manage to claim a 20th place at Daytona.

Ty though. would have a much more reasonable drive at Atlanta where he would claim an 11th place for the Red Bull Trucking, before really going to impress by finishing in 5th place at Vegas in a race that would see Majeski finish in the top five for all the three stages. Majeski though seemed to struggle at Martinsville, perhaps suggesting that he might not be as proficient in driving around the short trucks as might have been wanted by the team but would still claim a midfield finish in 20th place. ​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Nine - Part Two

Dover would see the Cup Series race on a regular speedway for the first time since Texas and AJ would manage to retain her form with a fourth top ten finish as she would claim 8th place, although she would struggle with her next two races as she would only manage to finish 15th place in Kansas and falling all the way down to a 20th place at Charlotte.

The Tricky Triangle has always been a location which AJ has gone on record multiple times, as being one of her least favorite track to race at and this would show when she only managed to qualify in 24th position. However, she would actually show good form, gaining twelve places to finish stage one in 12th and then bump herself up the order to claim some points in the second stage as she claimed 8th. AJ would have a hard fought battle with Kurt Busch for the rest of the race as the pair would bump each other but manage to find themselves at the front of the grid with just a number of laps to go. AJ would manage to overtake Kurt with just two laps to go in what would be her second ever Cup Series victory as she claimed 1st place at Pocono, which was clearly a shock to Millar who would state “I can't believe I won today - because I hate racing here.”

Michigan would also see AJ claim another top five finish as she would claim 3rd place before having her first visit to the Sonoma Road Course, in what would be a fairly gritty and hard race especially as she would battle the winding S’s to claim a 10th place finish in what was proving to be a very positive rookie season in the Cup Series. Chicagoland would play host to the next Cup Series race, in a race weekend in which Millar would remain in the top ten throughout the entirety of the race and impress the fans in Chicago where there was a large amount of Polish fans that had come to watch her and would leave happy as she would end the race with a 2nd place finish. The second race at Daytona would be considerably better than the first race of the season, although AJ would improve in her results by claiming an 11th place finish at Daytona.

Kentucky would serve as the last race of the calendar, before all the drivers in the Cup Series would really start to take notice of their playoff points as there would only be eight races left in the regular season after the Cup Series finished up in Kentucky. AJ would start the race strong, winning the first stage and claiming the playoff point that would accompany the regular season points that would come with a stage victory and then proceed to bounce around the top ten for the rest of the race, leaving Kentucky with a 3rd place finish. After the race AJ would share her thoughts with the press.

“This season is just going so much better than I previously expected, and two have two wins to my name is just such an incredible feeling. Winning at Bristol is always a special feeling, but I managed to actually win a Cup Series race at Pocono. Well that just confirms in my mind that I belong racing in the Cup Series, even if it seems some of drivers on the field aren’t too pleased to have me here. To have a total of seven top five finishes in my first nineteen races of my first full season, I think I am really sending a message to the rest of the paddock that I am here to stay but also I have mounted the pressure on everyone at Red Bull to have a car of their own ready for me in the next two season - so it doesn’t feel like I am out on loan. I have a lot of love for everyone who works for the Wood Brothers but everyone knows that me driving the #21 car is nothing but a short-term deal.”

Xfinity Series Update:

Dover would see Briscoe claim 2nd, Custer 7th and Jester backing up Team Red Bull with a 17th place finish in what was seen as a fairly positive weekend for everyone involved. Charlotte though would go down as real success for the brand, as Jester would finish in 12th whilst Custer would take 3rd and Briscoe 2nd in a massive point haul for the team that was looking to claim a championship for the second successive season although not with the same car.

Briscoe would claim 3rd and Custer 5th at Kansas, whilst Jester would have to settle for a 21st place finish and Jester would look visibly annoyed after the race as if they were not pleased with the car they were driving especially in regard to performance it was putting out compared to Chase and Cole.

The race at Iowa though would change everything as Jester Millar would not only have the best race of his Nascar career, but would actually shock the entire community when he would claim his first victory in the series with a 1st place finish at Iowa. Briscoe and Custer would continue to stack their points tallies with a 5th and 7th place finish respectively, but with Jester having not only finished in the top five but also actually won a race the critics were now unsure how to determine if Jester was a one trick pony or potentially he just needed a little bit more time to settle in the sport. It would be noted that Jester was only nineteen years old, and had only spent a few years karting in the UK and had a lot less racing experience than a majority of the field.

Chicago though would see Jester fall back to his normal racing ways as he would be in 22nd as Custer would finish 4th and Briscoe 6th. Daytona though would see Team Red Bull suffer their first failure to complete a race as Custer would be noted down in 36th, with Briscoe only managing to claim 11th and Jester 18th. Kentucky would be much better though with Briscoe in 2nd and Custer in 3rd, whilst Jester would find himself outside the top twenty once again in 21st place. Jester who had been quite private and reserved for most of the year would actually have an interview with the press:

“Iowa was a really great day for me, but being perfectly honest I have really struggled to understand what it means to compete in oval racing. I face constant comparisons to my sister who has not only proven herself in the Truck and Xfinity Series with three championships, but was also a formidable rally car driver and arguably the most successful female driver in all motorsport ever. Being frank, I am not sure if Nascar is necessarily a sport that I really belong in and am highly doubtful that Team Red Bull will extend my contract next year.”

Truck Series Update:

Majeski was continuing to impress in the Truck Series even if the results being shown were not of the level which AJ had been previously producing. Ty would claim a 17th place finish in Texas, and finish in exactly the same position once more with his drive at Dover. Kansas though would prove to be the most tricky race of the season as he would have to settle for a 24th place, improving slightly at Charlotte with a 15th only to drop back down the standing at Texas with a 23rd place finish. Which in many ways was the worst luck, because it was the same weekend that Jester Millar would win at Iowa - in what many pundits were expecting the car that Majeski would drive next year if he was to be promoted.

The race Iowa would see Majeski not drive the truck though, as Esapekka Lappi would make his nascar debut driving for Red Bull Trucking for the first time in his career. The Finn would impress with a 17th place finish, although it wasn’t clear whether Lappi would get another drive in the truck series in 2026.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Nine - Part Three

AJ would arrive at New Hampshire and drive with a certain determination about her and it would be revealed that changes had been made to the car, to give it an aspect of a short track setup but with the aerodynamics for longer straights. AJ would win all three stages and claim her third win of the season with a 1st place finish in New Hampshire. AJ would maintain her good run of form when she returned to Pocono, although wouldn’t be able to pick up her second consecutive victory at the Tricky Triangle but would get a large haul of points with a 5th place finish and follow this up with a another top ten finish with an 8th place finish at the Watkins Glen Road Course. Michigan would be a tricky situation as it was clear that AJ was attempting to try and claim stage win points, but instead would just fall short utilising the wrong race strategy with an 11th place finish.

The Night Race at Bristol would be another race in which AJ and Wood Brothers Racing would make very clear during the build up, that this was a race that they team had been targeting as an expected win following AJ’s earlier victory at the start of the season and would back up this intention by qualifying on the second row of the grid in fourth position. The first stage would see AJ battling at the front of the pack, although she would have to settle for second position as Keslowski would take the first green and white flag to claim an important playoff point in the latter end of the regular season. The second stage would really see the field stretch out though as it would end with only AJ, Keslowski, Harvick and Byron remaining on the lead lap as AJ would manage to find a way past Brad to claim the second stage by a very narrow margin. With just four laps to go of the race only Keslowski and Millar were on the lead lap with AJ just ahead, only for Keslowski to reclaim the lead with two laps to go. However, on the very last corner AJ would manage to sneak around Brad on the outside of the track to cross the chequered flag and claim her fourth win of the season with her second 1st place finish at Bristol in 2026, with just two races left in the regular season.

AJ would end the regular season with an impressive 4th place finish in Darlington and maintain her good run of form with yet another top ten finish by claiming a 7th place finish at Indianapolis. AJ would end the regular season having claimed four wins and be ranked in 6th place with 905 points.

Much to everyone’s surprise Denny Hamlin who had already won eight races this season had only managed to finish the regular season in second position, with Kyle Busch topping the standing 58 points. However, Hamlin’s eight wins would mean he would have a massive advantage moving into the playoffs with a plethora of playoff point to his name.

​

Position​	Driver​	+/-​	Playoff Points​	Points​
1st​	Hamlin ​	+53​	58​	2058​
2nd​	Millar​	+27​	32​	2032​
3rd​	Kyle Busch ​	+25​	30​	2030​
4th​	Keselowski ​	+23​	20​	2020​
5th​	Harvick​	+11​	16​	2016​
6th​	Logano​	+8​	13​	2013​
7th​	Jones​	+6​	11​	2011​
8th​	Truex Jr. ​	+5​	10​	2010​
9th​	Kurt Busch​	+4​	9​	2009​
10th​	Larson​	+2​	7​	2007​
11th​	Bowman​	+1​	6​	2006​
12th​	Bowyer​	+1​	6​	2006​
13th​	Ragan​	-1​	5​	2005​
14th​	Byron​	-1​	5​	2005​
15th​	Blaney​	-4​	2​	2002​
16th​	Elliot ​	-6​	0​	2000​

With AJ have qualified for the Round of 16 on her first ever full season in the Cup Series, it was clear that she was extremely pleased with her achievement and would have this to say:

“I am no stranger to playoffs although this will be my first time taking part in the Cup Series, so I realise that it would be unrealistic to have any expectation of claiming the championship this year. However, there are certainly a few races that I have some confidence about being able to claim good results that I have feeling that I can realistically advance to the Round of 8, and then I may find myself struggle to get any further - but as everyone knows all it takes is one win to advance to the next round of the playoffs.”

Xfinity Series Update:

Watkins Glen would be a fairly positive race for Team Red Bull with Custer and Briscoe finishing in the top ten with a 5th and 7th placing respectively, whilst Jester would also perform well as he would claim 16th. Ohio would see another top ten finish for Custer and Briscoe, whilst Jester would really suffer with a 22nd place finish. However, Jester would seem to share a similar trait to his older sister as he would claim a second career victory at Bristol on the same weekend that his sister would win in the Cup Series whilst Briscoe would come 6th and Custer 8th. At Road America the trio would all finish in the top ten with Custer 6th, Briscoe 7th and Jester 9th in what was starting to look like all three drivers were in impressive form and all looking likely to be involved in the playoffs.

Darlington would see Briscoe and Custer finish in the top five, whilst Jester would struggle with the pace and finish in 19th. The race at Indy would be a struggle with all three falling to finish outside the top 15th and the final race of the regular season would see Briscoe come 1st, Custer 8th and Jester 17th with the win for Briscoe having a massive knock on effect.

By just three points Briscoe had come 1st in the regular season rankings which was a great achievement for Briscoe who had won the regular season for the second season in a row, but also great for Team Red Bull who could potentially claim a second successive Xfinity Championship for the team with all three driver advancing to the playoffs.

Truck Series Update:
Not only would Majeski claim his second top ten finish of the season at WWT, but he would also claim his first 1st place finish for Red Bull Trucking in the #65 truck in a race that would see him win all three stages to claim seven playoff points. The remainder of the regular season would see a 17th at Chicagoland, 15th at Kentucky, 15th at Eldora before ending the regular season with an impressive 3rd place finish at Michigan. By way of his victory at WWT - Majeski had manage to advance himself into the Round of 8 although it was clear that he would have to really pull out the drives of his life if he had any chance of moving into the Round of 6 based upon his points differential being -9 and a number of really talented and proven drivers ahead of him on the board.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Nine - Part Four

The Round of Sixteen would begin with the second race of the season at Las Vegas, in what would prove to be a difficult race for AJ as they would struggle throughout the race spending much of the time in the midfield and being fortunate in getting a top twenty finish by claiming 19th place, in a race that would be won by Kevin Harvick who would automatically advance to the Round of 12.

The second race would be the short track at Richmond where AJ had placed 5th towards the start of the year, but had shown as of late to have a real ability at driving at the short and medium tracks. AJ would have a much better race than she had had at Vegas by finishing stage one in 2nd, the second in first and then reclaiming the lead with twenty laps left in the race and going on to win at Richmond and advancing to Round of 12 automatically with a 1st place finish in the Federated Auto Parts 400. AJ would struggle at the Charlotte Roval, and would have to settle for a 25th place finish which wouldn’t be a loss considering she had already advanced to the next round of the playoffs. Larson, Jones, Byron and Ragan would be the four men that would be eliminated at this stage in the competition.

The Round of 12 would be much more of a struggle for AJ who would fail to impress with a 31st place finish at Dover, a 22nd place at Talladega and a 29th place finish which despite having had a +31 points differential going into the round would actually find herself falling out of the playoffs and failing to make the Round of 8.

With AJ no longer able to claim the championship, but having an incredibly impressive season would go on record and say:

“I have no pressure now to worry about the rest of the field and as I come into Martinville my only ambition to win the race, I have nothing to lose so I can take as many risks as I want and I don’t have to worry about falling short.”

AJ would crash in qualifying however and find herself at the back of the grid in 39th position to start the race, however would really impress as she would surge through the pack to finish the first stage in 6th. AJ would take on a large amount of fuel as a favoured strategy dropping place because of the long pit stop, but really impress despite having a heavier car to claim 1st at the end of the second stage. The third stage would see only eight car on the lead lap towards the end of the race, with car having to pit under the green flag. AJ wouldn’t need any fuel and would choose to only change her right tyres which would prove to be the perfect strategy as she would claim the victory with a 1st place finish in what would be her sixth win of her Cup Series career. The next race at Texas would be a struggle as AJ would finish in 31st place and then suffer from a tyre puncture during the end of the third stage and rapidly fall down the order finishing 30th at Phoenix despite having claimed a win at ISM earlier in the season.

The final race of the season at Homestead would be another struggle as AJ would have to settle for a 27th place finish, whilst Kevin Harvick would win the race and upon doing so would be crowned the 2026 Cup Series Champion.

The Round of 12 would be a mixed bag for Team Red Bull as Cole Custer and Chase Briscoe would continue to impress and advance to the Round of 8, whilst Jester would do the best he could but fail to advance to the next round. Custer and Briscoe would continue to impress whilst Jester would have nothing to show for during the final three races leading up to Homestead but Team Red Bull would be left delighted as both Custer and Briscoe would advance to the Championship Four meaning that Team Red Bull had a 50% chance of winning the Xfinity Championship for the second season in a row. Briscoe would finish in 3rd and Custer would finish 5th, and by doing so Chase Briscoe would win the Xfinity Championship, whilst Custer would claim second meaning that Team Red Bull would finish the season having dominated the competition.

Majeski would continue to do his best for Red Bull Trucking by claiming an 18th place at Bristol, 14th place at the Canadian Tire Road Course and 15th at Las Vegas in what would prove to not be enough as Majeski would be eliminated from the Round of 8.

The rest of the season would see Majeski finish 15th at Talladega, 7th at Martinville and 8th at Phoenix in what was showing the potential of Majeski as a driver. At Homestead Majeski would claim a third top ten finish by claiming 8th once again with Ross Chastain being crowned the Truck Series Champion.

At the conclusion of the season it would be announced that Team Red Bull were partially ending their partnership with Wood Brothers Racing as they would be cancel AJ two year contract with the team, but as part of the deal offer Cole Custer as a replacement to driver the #21 car in the 2027 Cup Series season. After this news started circulating, it would be revealed that Team Red Bull after just one year were withdrawing the right to the #00, #98 car and the #58 car from the Xfinity Series announcing that they would not participate in the competition after two successful seasons. It was also announced that Red Bull Trucking had been put up for sale, as Team Red Bull would be entering the Cup Series in 2027 and would be Ford Powered with AJ Millar driving the #58 car in the series. Franz Tost would have this to say about the decision:

“We decided after AJ’s impressive performance this year - roughly after he won the Bristol Night Race that we would do everything in our power to put her into a car that we would have full control of for the 2027 season. Selling the rights to the Xfinity cars frees up some capital and it means that we will enter next season with two short track cars, two speedway cars and one setup for the super speedways. However, as much of a talent as AJ is when it comes to the Road Course (RC) races we won’t be outfitted with an RC car next season - although we do have faith she will still be able to put on a good performance driving one of the other setups depending on which track we find ourselves at. We will have a lot of work to do next year, but if AJ is able to claim six victories in the #21 car, then I have enough confidence in everyone at Team Red Bull that she will claim even more wins next season with a car that will be built for a championship contender.”

It would be announced that the #65 car would be purchased by two parties ahead of the 2027 season with Toyota Gazoo Racing taking up a 70% share of the car and would do so in partnership with AJ Millar. It would be revealed that this union had come about because of AJ’s previous good relationship with Tommi Makkinen during her days in the World Rally Championship and that Gazoo Racing saw the Truck Series as the perfect arena to create a racing team focused on simply the trucking aspect of Nascar racing.

It would be revealed that Ty Majeski had been signed to driver the #65 truck on two year contract, in what would be Majeski’s first full time contract in the Truck Series and that Toyota Gazoo Racing had set Majeski a target to win the Truck Series in the second year of his contract, in what would be his third year driving the #65 truck in the series.

Despite having claimed two races in his first full season in the Xfinity Series, Jester Millar would reveal that despite only being twenty years old he was choosing to leave Nascar and take part in other driving formulas. It would be revealed that Jester would be taking part in the GT5 Ginetta Winter Cup in Europe, as well as attending the DirtFish Rally School with the intention of entering the RX Lites Euro Trophy and following in similar footsteps to his sister by taking part in a RallyCross series.

The most interesting part of this announcement would be that Jester would take part in the Porsche Cayman Euro Cup with the premise that if they performed well in the Euro Cup they would earn entry into the International version of the competition the following year. Jester would make it clear, that he hoped that he would impress teams with the intention of being involved in either LMP or a Touring Car racing series in at least the next five year. It would be made clear that Jester felt that the style of racing that took place in Nascar was a style of racing, that he wasn’t that comfortable with.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Ten: Part One

AJ’s would find herself driving the #58 car for the newly established Red Bull Racing Cup Series Team and would have a considerable start to the team’s first Cup Series race as she would cross the line in an impressive 10th place. The team would struggle in Atlanta though and after making a bad strategy choice and a late caution being called the team would be forced to pit and have to settle for a 20th place finish. Las Vegas would show reflections of the positive showing the team had shown at the Daytona and unlike the Atlanta race the team would benefit from a late caution that would lead to overtime being called and AJ benefitting from it to claim a 9th place finish and a positive points haul in the process. After the race it would be announced that Red Bull Racing had invested $1.5m into improving their overall Aero and Suspension packages.

AJ had finished 25th and 30th last season at Phoenix with Wood Brothers Racing, but there was a certain air of confidence about AJ going into the first Short Track race of the season and would really turn people’s heads by finishing 6th at the end of stage one and gauging even more interest by claiming 1st at the end of stage two and fully certify herself and the Red Bull Racing CST by claiming her first victory of the season and being described by the commentary team as the ‘Queen of Short Track Racing’ with a 1st place finish at ISM. The next race at Auto Club would prove to be equally as impressive for AJ who would claim 2nd place in a strange last lap incident that would see Bowman and Harvick battle for the lead, but Harvick would make a mistake allowing Bowman to take the lead but Harvick would lose grip and speed and drop massively down the pack and have to settle for 9th. The sixth race of the season at Martinsville would also be a good points haulage for AJ as they would claim two playoff points as they would continue to impress at the short track by winning both the stage one and stage two, but would be met with stiff condition as a result of an incident with a lapped car that would force her to pit and a late caution to be called - but AJ would still have a top ten finish as she would finish in 5th place. The Texas race would be a tough race in which a number of brave strategies would be called, but AJ and the team would have to settle for an 11th place finish with the additional positive that the team would reveal that their suspension package had been improved upon once more.

The recently named ‘Queen of the Short Track’ would arrive in good spirit at Bristol having won both races at Bristol last season in the Cup Series and with a number of wins in both the Xfinity and Truck Series the short track oval was for many season as a location that AJ had very much made her own in recent years and would further back this up by qualifying on the second row of the grid in third place and go on to dominate winning all three stages and claiming her second victory of the season with a 1st place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. AJ would then do one better as she would secure back-to-back victory by finishing in 1st place at Richmond and was living up to her nickname as she had managed to win three out of four races at short tracks this season. AJ would have this to say regarding her recent form.

“Red Bull Racing has put together a drive package where they really allow me to play to my strengths. Performing well at the short tracks has always been an important aspect of my Nascar career and for the team to take this into consideration when they put together the car makes me really thankful. Red Bull have made all of this possible, and I really feel that we could pull off a few more wins this season if lady luck stays on our side.”

Talladega would see AJ claim another positive result as she would claim 3rd place at the Super Speedway - although her career weakness of qualifying at a Super Speedway would continue. AJ solid run of form would go from good to great as she visited Dover and would claim a stage one win and then second in stage two before continuing to show her dominance as she would claim her fourth win of the season with a 1st place finish at Dover. Kansas would continue to see AJ score highly by finish in 2nd place, but would slightly fall off the pace as she would only manage to claim a 13th place finish at Charlotte and would fail to claim another top ten finish in either of the four stages in the season’s longest race of the year in what would be the halfway point of the the regular season. AJ current regular point and playoff point haulage was already looking like she had already confirmed her place in the playoffs at this stage in the season.

Truck Series Update:

Majeski would impress in his first race in the #65 under the new management of Toyota Gazoo Racing by claiming a 12th place finish at Daytona, but Majeski would really impress everyone at Toyota by finishing in 1st place at Atlanta. He would have another solid finish at Las Vegas with a 10th placed finish before claiming a second season victory with a 1st place finish at Martinsville before going on to claim 7th place at both Texas and Dover.

Jester Millar would start 2027 by participating in the GT5 Winter Cup which would take place in the United Kingdom and be Jester’s first competitive drive since departing the Xfinity Series. In his first race for Machuca Racing in the #20 car at Oulton Park he would only manage to finish in 14th place, but perform much better at his second race by claiming his first victory with a 1st place finish at the Snetterton 200 track and then claim another podium with a 2nd place finish at a very wet Silverstone National circuit race.

In the penultimate race of the Winter Cup Jester would cross the line in third place at Donnington Park but would suffer a time penalty for cutting a corner and be relegated to 9th place at the end of the race. The short five race competition would end with a race at Brands Hatch GP in which Jester would claim a third podium of the season by finishing in 2nd place. Jester would readily impress though as they would finish the Winter Cup as the overall points leader and win the championship.
​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Ten: Part Two

In the early portions of AJ’s career Pocono had publicly been labelled by her as the least favourite circuit on the Nascar Calendar and despite her mixed success at the venue it would continue to be a theme that she did not enjoy driving at the ‘Tricky Triangle’. Despite her dislike of the venue AJ would impress by finishing in first in the second stage and then with a clever pit strategy of pitting earlier rather than lead would manage to secure her fifth win of the season with a 1st place finish at Pocono. AJ would then really struggle at Michigan by only managing to crawl over the line in 28th place, but having a much better race at Sonoma despite Red Bull Racing CST not owning a car built for Road Course which in itself would make her 4th place finish even more impressive.

Chicagoland had always been considered as AJ home-track being the closest to Chicago which had been the city of her birth and she would put on one hell of a performance in front of all the Polish-American in attendance and rack up a number of points by finish stage one in fourth, stage two in first and then after the race was halted a number of times with five restarts in overtime she would manage to win for the sixth time that season which would equal the number of wins she had claimed for the entirety of the 2026 season. The 1st place finish would also seem to very much solidify the fact that AJ would without a shadow of a doubt have a place in the first round of this season’s playoffs. AJ’s second visit to Daytona would very much be an improvement on the first race of the season as she would manage to push herself all the way up to 7th place in a race that she described as “a real battle!” with the commentary team described AJ as very much having become a master of the draft train. The next race at Kentucky would also prove to be a solid points haul with the second 7th place finish in a row.

Franz Tost, the man in charge of everything to do with the Red Bull Racing Cup Series Team would speak out ahead of the race at New Hampshire.

“We are having a fantastic maiden season and I think it is clear that the Red Bull brand made the right choice in putting AJ in our own owned car despite not having a completed setup which means that we still have a lot of room for improvement. To have claimed six wins at this point in the season is outstanding and as a team we really need to make sure we give AJ all the support she needs and create car packages that can maximise our potential. Of course I also want to thank everyone at Ford for once again building a Mustang engine that is without a doubt the stronger manufacturer in the field of play.”

AJ would claim yet another victory as she would readily impress with a 1st place finish and also pick up an additional one bonus point by way of finishing in first place in stage one. Despite not being seen as being one of the short tracks on the calendar, AJ would make it clear during the post-race press conference that the track’s makeup and racing line had felt similar to that of Richmond and been a real pleasure to drive on. AJ would then return to Pocono to claim a 5th place finish, a 10th place finish at the second Road Course track of the season at Watkins Glen and a 9th place finish at Michigan. It would be announced that an $8m invested in both the suspension and aero packages ahead of the Bristol Night Race would be the last upgrades that the Red Bull Team would have in 2027.

AJ would return to Bristol in fine form and wouldn’t even surprise anyone when finished the race in 1st place in what would be her 8th win of the season and would mean that she had won the Bristol Cup Series race four times in a row. AJ then claimed back-to-back victories by finishing in 1st place at Darlington before ending the regular season with a 2nd place finish at Indianapolis.

Despite having claimed nine wins in the regular season, it would be Kyle Busch that would claim the Regular Season Championship by a margin of just eleven points with three wins to his name. It was no surprise however that moving into the Round of 16 that AJ had claimed a massive amount of playoff points - 69 to be exact and looked as if she would be close to impossible to stop advancing all the way to the Championship Four.

​

Position​	Driver​	+/-​	Playoff Points​	Points​
1st​	Millar​	+64​	69​	2069​
2nd​	Kyle Busch​	+33​	38​	2038​
3rd​	Logano​	+18​	23​	2023​
4th​	Hamlin ​	+15​	20​	2020​
5th​	Truex Jr.​	+15​	20​	2020​
6th​	Elliot​	+13​	18​	2018​
7th​	Keselowski ​	+8​	13​	2013​
8th​	Harvick​	+2​	10​	2010​
9th​	Stenhouse​	+2​	10​	2010​
10th​	Bowyer​	+1​	6​	2006​
11th​	Almirola​	+1​	6​	2006​
12th​	Henric​	+0​	5​	2005​
13th​	Suarez​	+0​	5​	2005​
14th​	Briscoe​	-3​	2​	2002​
15th​	Jones​	-4​	1​	2001​
16th​	Larson ​	-5​	0​	2000​

AJ would speak out ahead of the playoffs beginning:

“This season has gone in a way that I totally wasn’t expecting, I can’t believe that in one and half seasons I already have fifteen cup series wins to my name. The #58 car that Red Bull Racing have put together this season has been nothing short of phenomenal and as much as I don’t want to tempt fate, this could be the best chance if any for us to really push for the championship. To achieve it on our very first season to most would seem like such an unrealistic goal, and that is because it was never our expectation to be in that situation. Saying that though, I am going to do everything in my power to climb to the top of the mountain.”

Majeski would have a pretty average drive at Kansas with a 15th place finish, a 14th place finish at Charlotte and then slump slightly down in the standings with a 21st place finish at Texas. Majeski though would really impress at the short track at Iowa with their second win of the season by finishing in 1st place. Ty would follow up with a 13th place finish at WWT, a 15th place at Chicagoland, 18th place at Kentucky, 19th at Pocono, 18th at Eldora and would finish the regular season with a 2nd place finish at Michigan. Ty would finish in 7th position at the end of regular season standing, but had earned himself a position in the playoffs.
​

Position​	Driver​	+/-​	Playoff Points​	Points​
1st​	Friesen​	+21​	31​	2031​
2nd​	Crafton​	+19​	29​	2029​
3rd​	Chastain​	+13​	23​	2023​
4th​	Majeski​	+7​	17​	2017​
5th​	Burton​	+5​	15​	2015​
6th​	Moffit​	+3​	13​	2013​
7th​	Dean​	-3​	10​	2010​
8th​	Enfinger​	-5​	8​	2008​

Jester Millar had been invited to take part in the DirtFish Rally School Invitation with the highest performers earning entry into the RX Lites Euro Constructor’s Cup. At the Mill Run course Jester would impress with a 2nd place finish, would reach the Semi Finals but finish dead last in her heat at the Boneyard course before finishing in 1st place at the Dirt-Pro Rally Course in what would prove to be enough to finish in first overall with an eight point lead ahead of her closest rival to be offered a seat with Olsberg (Red Bull Jr. Team). At the Euro Constructor’s Cup the first race would take place in France in which Jester would struggle and find themselves eliminated after finishing in 5th place in the Semi Finals. The second race in Scotland would see Jester dominant and finish in 1st place, before having a terrible outing at the final race in Norway and failing to earn their way out of the heats. At the end of the short competition the Olsberg team would finish in 2nd position overall.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Season Ten: Part Three

At the first race of the playoffs AJ would do fairly well in claiming points picking up key points in all three stages, finishing ninth in the first stage and third in the second stage before crossing the line at the chequered flag in 4th place at Las Vegas. The race would be won by Denny Hamlin who would automatically advance to the Round of 12 by way of his victory.

The next race would take place at Richmond and AJ would start the first short track of the playoffs by claiming a first at the end of the first stage for an important playoff point, and then staying up towards the front with a fourth position at the end of the second stage. AJ would then have a really important drive to claiming double digits wins for the season by claiming 1st place Richmond meaning she had won at the track twice and had very much certified herself as truly being the ‘Queen of Short Track Racing’ and with her win automatically advanced to the next round of the playoffs. At the Road Course race at the Charlotte Roval AJ would do their best, but once again without a customised road car wouldn’t be able to fully maximise their potential and would have to settle for an 8th place finish, in a race that would be won by Martin Truex, Jr. who would advanced to the next round. Almirola, Suarez, Henric and Stenhouse would end up being the four men that would find themselves being eliminated from the Round of 16.

As the Cup Series moved into the Round of 12, AJ would suffer at Dover after finding themselves in second position before a caution would force the race into overtime. The car would stay out with a chance to win the race, only for the care to run out of fuel with half a lap to go as Millar would rapidly fall down the standings and creep over the finish line in 19th place as Brad Keselowski would be confirmed the winner and advance to the next round. AJ would be supported though by the points they had accrued in the first two stages. AJ would then end up being the highest playoff finisher at Talladega as they would finish in 2nd place - as Ryan Newman would claim the victory at the final Super Speedway race of the year. AJ would claim a consecutive 2nd place at Kansas with Larson win and advancing, as did Chase Briscoe, Jones, Harvick and Truex, Jr. all being dumped out of the playoffs with just four races left in the season.

AJ would race with a particular focus at Martinsville to claim a record eleventh win in a Cup Series season breaking Kevin Harvick’s previous record of ten with a 1st place finish which would also mean that AJ and the Red Bull Racing CST would automatically advance to the Championship race at Homestead. The next two races in the Round of 8 would be both won by Keselowski with AJ finishing in both 27th place at Texas and 21st place at Phoenix but there was clear suggestion that AJ had approached both races very conservatively deliberately not wanting to make any mistakes ahead of the final race of the season.

The final race of the season would see AJ, Keselowski, Hamlin and Kyle Busch battling it out with the hopes of becoming the 2027 Nascar Cup Series Champion. And It would be AJ who would have the best start as they would cross the line first at the end of the first stage, with Hamlin in 2nd, Busch in 3rd and Keselowski slightly off the pace in 9th position. The second stage would see the pendulum swing with Kyle finishing in first, AJ holding 2nd, Brad moving up to 4th and Hamlin in 5th with all title contenders really battling with each other for what could be vital points. In the final stage both Hamlin and Busch would really fall off the pace, with just AJ and Brad seeming left in contention but both would fall slightly off the pace as AJ would cross the finish line in 8th place, whilst Brad would finish just behind in ninth. The points would be calculated and the points table would be updated....

​

Position​	Drivers​	Points Difference​	Points​
1st​	AJ Millar​	Champion​	5029​
2nd​	Brad Keselowski​	-1​	5028​
3rd​	Denny Hamlin​	-10​	5019​
4th​	Kyle Busch​	-14​	5015​

...as a message being sent to AJ over the radio would be heard for all the viewers on FoxSports.

Franz Tost: You’ve done it! You’ve done it! You’ve beat Brad by just one point. Congratulations AJ you are the 2027 Nascar Cup Series Champion!

AJ:YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS! LETS GO! LETS GO! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

In her tenth season in professional motor racing AJ had accomplished the prize that she had very much been aiming to achieve for most of her professional career and was now part of an elite class of drivers who had won the Cup Series. At this moment AJ was untouchable, a true elite in motorsport racing.

The first race of the playoffs would see Majeski claim a 3rd place finish at Bristol, a 12th place finish at the Canadian Tire Road Course and a 15th place finish at Vegas that would be enough for Ty to move on to the Round of Six as Dean and Enfinger that would be the two men eliminated from contention. In the Round of Six Majeski would finish 15th at Talladega, 15th once more at Martinsville before finishing in 3rd place at Phoenix. However, because Brett Moffit won the race at ISM, Majeski would find himself eliminated and unable to reach the Final Four along with Burton. At Homestead Miami Majeski would end the season with a 14th place, in a race that would see Ross Chastain crowned as the Gander Outdoor Truck Series 2027 Champion.

Jester Millar’s end to the 2027 season racing for Rexott Racing in their #88 car in the Porsche Cayman Euro Cup (under GT4 Classifications) and the first race of this four round competition would see Jester fishing in 16th place (out of 18 drivers), then finish in 2nd place at Hockenheim, 4th place at Oschersleben before finishing the season with a 1st place finish at the Czech venue of Brno. When the points were tallied it would emerge that Jester had finished in 3rd position overall, just one point behind second and three points behind first but had because of their top four finish overall had qualified to the 2028 Porsche Cayman Cup (International Series).​

 

[CakeWalker]

Interlude: Part I

​

AJ Millar's Story (2028-2029)

The 2028 Nascar Cup Series would see reigning champion AJ compete for the Red Bull Racing CST for what would be their third full season in the competition. AJ would claim 1st place finishes at Phoenix, Texas, Bristol, Pocono, Michigan, Bristol (Night Race) and thus end the regular season with six wins, but having to second place behind Hamlin, but enter the playoffs with a massive haul of playoff points. In the Round of 16 Millar's best drive would be a 3rd place Las Vegas which would aid them in advancing to the Round of 12 - with their best performance being a 4th place finish at Dover, with advancement to the Round of 8 with hopes of them to win back-to-back Cup Series Championships. In the Round of 8 AJ would manage a 5th place finish at Martinsville, but struggle at Texas and Phoenix to find herself eliminated from the playoffs with just one race to go. AJ would manage to win the final race of the season with a 1st place finish at Homestead, with Justin Haley #11 ending up being the 2028 Cup Series Champion.

At the conclusion of the season, it would emerge that Red Bull Racing Cup Series Team had decided to depart the sport with the reason seeming to the be a conflict of interest between Red Bull and competition main sponsor Monster Energy.

For the 2029 season AJ would sign with Roush Fenway Racing in what would emerge as a temporarily one season third car for the team #73 in what would prove to be a tough season for the one time Cup Series Champion with AJ only managing to claim 1st place at both of the Bristol races, which would somehow see AJ manage to creep into the playoffs despite having their worst season of their Nascar career, to the point that the other races in the regular season had all been below 20th position to really sum up the struggles that AJ had been having this season. AJ would fail to advance past the Round of 16 with a car that clearly wasn't performing at the level that it would have been expected of it. AJ wouldn't impress very much in the last few races of the season but nonetheless with the two additional wins now had achieved 26 wins in the Nascar Cup Series.

​

Ty Majeski's Story (2028-2029)

Majeski's regular season in the 2028 Truck Series would be fairly positive with 1st place finishes at Atlanta, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Iowa and Eldora with these positive sets of wins resulting in Majeski winning the Regular Season Championship. A 7th place at the Canadian Tire Road Course would be Ty's best finish in the Round of 8, but because of such a large points haul in the season they never had really been worrying about being eliminated in this round. Ty would claim a 4th place finish at Talladega, but underperform at the short track races and Majeski would fail to advance to the Championship Four. Majeski would resign with Toyota Gazoo Racing for one additional year.

In the 2019 season Ty was clearly motivated to fix the mistakes of having falling short after having had such a positive 2028 regular season and claim 1st place finishes at Atlanta, Las Vegas, Iowa with the three win managing to be enough to get him into the playoffs. Ty would mange to be propped up by their regular season playoff points to manage to advance to the Round of 6, but with poor results at Talladega and Martinsville looked as if they were in really trouble only to claim a season defining win at Phoenix to advance to the Championship with a vital 1st place finish. Majeski would end the season with a career defining win by winning at Homestead to crown themselves as the 2029 Truck Series Champion.

At the conclusion of the 2029 Nascar Season, it would reveal that AJ had all of her shares to Toyota Gazoo Racing giving them complete control of her iconic #65 truck. It would then be revealed that AJ had been promoted to drive the #6 truck for Roush Fenway with Newman departing the sport and that Majeski had also been signed by Roush Fenway to drive the #17 car. AJ would reveal that she had made it clear to the Fenway Sports Group that it would be in their best interest to sign Majeski as he had proven themselves as not only a truly talented driver, but were certain someone who stayed loyal to those that believed in them.
​

Jester Millar's Story (2028-2029)

In the 2028 season Jester would begin by competing in the Cayman Cup with their best finish being a 2nd place finish at the Fuji GP. Jester would struggle with a 17th at Dayonta Road Course, and 18th finishes at both Dubai and Zolder before finishing the season with an 11th place finish at Imola finishing the Cayman Cup in a disappointing 11th position overall.

Jester would drive for Petroblast Racing in the Renault Sport Series and perform much better in the second portion of the year with a 1st place finish at Dubai, 2nd place finish at Brno, 10th place at Spa, 1st place at the Algarve and 1st place at Barcelona to mark their third win of the season which would prove to be more than enough as Jester would end up winning the championship trophy.

Jester would end the season by competing in a LMP3 car for the first time in their career for a very different style of motor racing in the Asian Le Mans Series. With three races in Japan, one in New Zealand, one in Australia and one in the UAE Jester would manage to claim three impressive second place finishes with the remainder of their result being 10th and 11th to end the season in 3rd position overall.

Jester would focus their 2029 season by taking part in the Touring Car Masters Europe Competition driving for K Max Racing in the #99 BMW.

Jester would start the season poorly by finishing 10th of ten touring car. Better performances would come with 4th at the Nurburgring, a 1st at Imola and then two more wins with 1st at Barcelona and 1st at Brno. It would then be an even better season for Kmax Motorsports as they had dominated with Tobias the driver of their second car had won the other two races meaning they had dominated the constructors with both their drivers finishing 1st and 2nd with Jester claiming another championship trophy to his trophy cabinet. Jester would make it clear that he ended to progress in the Touring Car Masters and take part in the the higher classifications of the sport in 2030. When asked Jester would make it clear, that since departing had not even considered a return to the world of Nascar.
​

 

[CakeWalker]

Interlude: Part II
​

AJ Millar's Story (2030-2031)

AJ would move into #6 car and prove to have a much more successful second season with Roush Fenway Racing claiming regular season 1st place finishes at Martinsville, Bristol, Charlotte, Michigan, Chicagoland and New Hampshire in what would see AJ claim her 30th Nascar Cup Series win at Michigan and continuing to prove herself as one of the most talented drivers of a generation and would earn her way into the playoffs looking to be a in a much better situation than the previous season. Meanwhile Ty Majeski would finish his first regular season in the Cup Series in 30th position. AJ would perform well in the playoffs claiming a 3rd position at Charlotte Roval in the Round of 16, a 2nd place position at both Dover and Kansas in the Round of 12, but despite a 2nd place finish at Martinsville would struggle at both Texas and Phoenix and end up falling short and failing to make the Championship Four. At Homestead AJ would finish in 2nd place with Joey Logano being crowned the 2020 Cup Series Champion.

At the end of the season it would be announced that AJ Millar would be departing Roush Fenway and sign a a contract with Hendrick Motorsport in what would be the first time that AJ had driven a Chevrolet powered in the Nascar Cup Series and would so in the #48 car, replacing Just Allgaier who would move to drive the #1 at Chip Ginassi Racing, Chase Briscoe would move to #18 at Joe Gibbs Racing after both the Busch Brothers had retired from the sport. Majeski would move up to drive the #6, whist Cole Custer would be signed from Wood Brothers Racing to drive the #17 at Roush Fenway.

AJ first season at Hendrick Motorsport would see the young American-Pole claim a number of 1st place finishes in her sixth full season in the Cup Series with win at Daytona, Phoenix, Bristol, Richmond, Kansas, Bristol and Indianapolis that would secure AJ an important playoff berth in her Chevrolet.

The Round of 16 would prove to tricky for AJ who would only manage one top twenty finish with a 19th place at Las Vegas, but because of the seven win in the regular season had enough of a point margin to advance to the next round of the playoffs. AJ would claim an important 1st place finish at Talladega to advance to the Round of 8 and then an even more important victory with a 1st place finish at Phoenix which would turned into the situation that if AJ had not won, then she would not have advanced to the Championship Four. At Homestead AJ would win the first and second stage at the final race of the season and had claimed a slight point lead over rival Allgaier, Briscoe and Truex Jr. and would end up finishing the final race of the season in 3rd place, with Allgaier in 4th, Truex, 6th and Briscoe 7th. AJ would end up winning the championship by just a slim margin of just one point ahead of Truex, Jr. and thus be crowned the 2031 Nascar Cup Series Champion for the second time in her career.

AJ would end the season by announcing she was pregnant and was taking a year away from the sport, but that her long-term boyfriend Ty Majeski and father of the child would continue to race in the sport. AJ would make it clear that she had every intention of returning to the Cup Series at a time that made the most sense for her and her future child. AJ would depart the sport with 41 Cup Series Wins to her name and combined total of 55 wins in all three current Nascar Series (Xfinity Series x5 & Truck Series x9) putting AJ ahead of the likes of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Herb Thomas although in the case of AJ it was unlikely her buck would stop at 55. In her fourteen years in Motor Racing this would be the first time AJ would be taking an extended leave of absence at the age of 32. Some questions would arise, as whether AJ would actually ever return to the track and if the legacy of the Millar Dynasty now lay in the hands of her younger brother Jester. ​

Jester Millar's Story (2030-2031)

Jester would drive for for K-Max Racing for the second season in a row, but this choose to enter via the US Championship entry route claiming a 4th place finish at Willow Springs, 7th place at Texas Motor Speedway Road Course, 4th place at Watkins Glen and 4th place at Sonoma Raceway in what would see Jester finish in 3rd place in the competition and proceed to advance to the TC Masters Entry Cup where she would finish 5th at the Red Bull Ring, 2nd at the Fuji GP, 7th at Circuit of the Americas, a DNF in Dubai and 8th at Spa-Francorchamps to finish the competition in 6th place and unfortunatley not be enough to progress to the International Cup Series.

Jester would enter through the Asia Championship in 2031 performing well with victories at both Sakitto and Ruapuna to win the Asia Championship and advance to the Entry Cup once again. For the third year in a row AJ would be unable to advance despite being with new take Decksbern with Mercedes AMG power despite a victory at Dubai, and would fall short of the mark by just one position with a 4th place finish overall although a noticeable improvement from the previous year.

Jester would also enter into the Pirelli World Challenge also for Decksbern Racing, but this time in the BMW M6 GT3 Class. AJ would struggle at Road America finishing in 32nd and Spa finishing 28th, but impress with a 6th at Long Beach, a 2nd at Dubai and a 1st place victory at the Red Bull Ring along with midfield finishes at Circuit of the Americas, Bathurst and Sonoma to finish in 9th place overall in a field of some of the most talented GT3 classification drivers. AJ would announce that the had signed a partial agreement with Toyota Racing with the intention of being involved in the team Le Mans Prototype 1 team plans in the Grand Endurance Trophy within the next few seasons if they continued to impress. AJ would make it clear that despite having become more familiar with car in the GT3 and Touring Car category that this was a massive milestone to be able to work towards. ​