Croke held the Team Principal role at Dick Johnson Racing for three years before the return of Ryan Story to that role.

With that, Croke reverted to Team Manager duties again.

He missed the most recent event of the season due to a family holiday, meaning Taupo turned out to be his last with the Staptylton-based squad.

A statement from the team today advised, “The Shell V-Power Racing Team today announces the departure of Team Manager, Ben Croke.

“We thank Ben for his invaluable contributions and leadership throughout his tenure.

“He leaves behind a legacy of success, excellence, care and camaraderie. We wish him well for the future.

“Josh Silcock and Mikey Flynn will undertake all internal and at track operational, administration and technical requirements.”

Croke was part of DJR for its most successful period, at least in recent memory, when it competed in Supercars as DJR Team Penske.

He was also Marcos Ambrose’s mechanic at Stone Brothers Racing, winning championships together in 2003 and 2004, and stayed on for the transformation to Erebus Motorsport.

Croke would land at DJRTP after Erebus moved its team from the Gold Coast down to Melbourne, and was promoted to Team Principal in a 2021 restructure post-Penske.

Story returned to the Team Principal post this year, with David Noble continuing as CEO after arriving at the squad in time for the 2023 season.

Croke is the latest high-profile exit from DJR after Competition Director Ludo Lacroix left in the off-season, with the Frenchman now holding the same title at PremiAir Racing, where he has also assumed race engineer duties with the departure of Mirko De Rosa.