Mark Skaife has stepped down from race driving to become chair of the new V8 Supercars Commission.
The five-time touring car series champion says it was one of the most difficult issues he'd faced when accepting the two-year position as inaugural chairman.
Under the rules of the commission, which will be in place for next V8 Supercars season, the chairman must be independent of any individual team, meaning Skaife could not compete in the championship.
Skaife, a six-time Bathurst 1000 champion, had already retired from fulltime racing but he has enjoyed stints as Craig Lowndes' co-driver for endurance races over the past two years.
Skaife did not rule out competing as a race driver again after his two-year stint as chair.