Jamie Whincup has bought into the team he has piloted to seven championships, becoming a minority owner of Supercars outfit Triple Eight.
"The guys and girls at Triple Eight are like family to me and if it's my choice, I will keep racing with them until I am 80 years old," he said.
"My motivation to be a team owner has risen from the fact I simply love the concept of motorsport.
"I want to ensure that I'm still racing well after my driving career."
Since joining the team in 2006, Whincup has claimed 113 race wins - the most in Supercars history - in the Triple Eight Commodore.
The team, founded by Roland Dane back in 2003, now counts Dane, Tim Miles, Paul Dumbrell, Jessica Dane and Whincup as owners after the Brit opened up his outfit to minority stakeholders three years ago.
"Jamie and I have been working on a plan for him to come into the business side of the team for a few years, so to see this start to come to fruition now is very satisfying," Dane said.
"I've no doubt he'll put every effort into learning as much as he can about the running of Triple Eight to make sure that his contribution is valuable."
Whincup, 35, has a driving contract to the end of 2019 but has signalled he wants to continue in the seat full-time for at least another two years.
As Whincup consolidates his role in the sport, speculation continues to rage around Craig Lowndes' position.
The 44-year-old announced his intention to step back from full-time driving at the end of this season, but then rolled back the years to win the Bathurst 1000 earlier this month and carried the Enduro Cup with Steven Richards for good measure.
That performance would suggest Lowndes has race-winning efforts left in him, but there's been no firm announcement of future plans.
As it presently stands, Lowndes would race as a co-driver to either Whincup or Shane van Gisbergen as a co-driver at the three endurance events in 2019, and possibly beyond.
