NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps has decided to resign from the stock car racing circuit less than a year after taking on the role, the company said on Tuesday. The decision by Phelps comes one month after NASCAR settled a contentious federal antitrust case filed by two teams,

Phelps, who spent more than 20 years with NASCAR, announced Tuesday that he will leave the organization at the end of the month, just ahead of the start of the season.

That led Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris, an ardent supporter of both NASCAR and Richard Childress Racing, to write a letter demanding Phelps’ removal as commissioner.