NASCAR star Kyle Larson has announced that he will be canceling his gym membership after Hendrick Motorsports struck a partnership with Atrium Health, with a new 35,000-square-foot facility set to open on the team’s campus.

Hendrick vice chairman Jeff Gordon announced the exciting new partnership on Thursday, with athletes, crew members, and staff set to receive access to the stunning health facility. Larson reposted Gordon’s post and wrote on X: “Canceling my gym membership now.”

Larson won the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series and is set to be in even better shape heading into next season. Atrium Health already supports more than 20 professional and collegiate teams, over 100 high schools across North Carolina and South Carolina, and now, Hendrick Motorsports.

The new Atrium Health Motorsports Athletic Center will be located on the team’s campus in Concord. The facility includes a “high-performance gym with the latest training equipment, modern locker rooms, a team operations center for race-day competition operations, a nutrition area, athletic meeting and film rooms, and dedicated spaces for physical therapy, hydrotherapy, and recovery.”

The facility also has a dedicated space for sports science research, and features a closed-loop pit stop practice circuit that can accommodate two teams, allowing Hendrick to perfect its craft. In return, Atrium Health will have logo placement on driver fire suits, crew apparel, athletic training gear, and track equipment.

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“The demands of NASCAR are different from any other sport – the schedule is relentless, the margins are extremely tight, and performance is about preparation as much as it is execution,” Gordon said. “This new facility allows our coaches and staff to work side by side with Atrium Health clinicians, ensuring every aspect of training, recovery, and readiness is aligned.

“Everything in this space is designed around our athletes and our teammates. At the end of the day, it always comes back to people, and this new partnership reflects a shared commitment to supporting them the right way every day.”

Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick added, “People are the foundation of our organization, and supporting their health and performance is essential to our success. Our new partnership with Atrium Health brings best-in-class clinical and performance resources directly to our campus.

“There’s no facility like this in the world of auto racing. It’s a game-changer. The Atrium Health Motorsports Athletic Center will help our athletes perform at their best and give our teammates convenient access to high-quality health care.

“We value the shared commitment to people that defines both of our organizations, and we look forward to a truly incredible collaboration in the coming years.”

Larson is extremely excited about the new facility, but he isn’t the only driver who will benefit from it. Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Alex Bowman are also on the Hendrick Motorsports roster.

In 2026, Honda will newly enter the FIA^*2 Formula One World Championship (F1) as a factory power unit supplier to the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team (AMAF1). Honda’s motorsports operations arm, Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), will be responsible for the core activities of F1 participation, including the development, manufacturing, and trackside operation of the power unit (PU).

The 2025 season marked the final year in which Honda provided technical support and marketing collaboration as a team partner to Oracle Red Bull Racing and the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls. At the final round of the season, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Max Verstappen achieved a pole-to-win result, providing a fitting conclusion to the eight-year partnership. From 2026 onward, Honda will take on a new challenge together with AMAF1, aiming once again for the pinnacle of the sport.

In Japan-domestic racing, during the 2025 All-Japan Super Formula Championship^*3, TEAM MUGEN driver Ayumu Iwasa claimed the Drivers’ Championship. Meanwhile, DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING, represented by Tadasuke Makino and Kakunoshin Ohta, secured the Teams’ Championship. The team will once again target a double title in the 2026 season.

In the SUPER GT Series^*4, STANLEY TEAM KUNIMITSU, with Naoki Yamamoto and Tadasuke Makino, finished second overall in the 2025 season. For 2026, Honda will introduce the all-new HRC PRELUDE-GT, based on the Prelude.

From an operational standpoint, Honda will appoint a new Technical Director to provide cross-team support for the five teams campaigning the HRC PRELUDE-GT. This structure will strengthen collaboration among teams and drivers while improving the quality of technical feedback to HRC’s Sakura development division. In addition, Car No. 8 will compete under the newly named Team HRC ARTA MUGEN, with multiple dedicated HRC engineers assigned, further deepening HRC’s direct involvement. Through these initiatives, Honda aims to reclaim the championship title.

Furthermore, Yuto Nomura, champion of the All-Japan Super Formula Lights Championship, will step up to Super Formula with San-Ei Gen with B-Max, and will also compete in the SUPER GT GT500 class with Astemo REAL RACING.

In North America, Honda will continue supplying power units to five teams competing in the IndyCar Series through Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US). In the IMSA^*5 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, two Acura ARX-06 entries supplied by HRC US will compete in the top-tier GTP class. Continuing its partnership with Meyer Shank Racing, Car No. 93 will again see HRC US engineers responsible for key aspects of team operations, further accelerating both human resource development and technical advancement.

In addition, Kakunoshin Ohta, who began competing in IMSA last year, will once again contest two events with the team this season, including the 24 Hours of Daytona.

With a new NASCAR season so close and sweeping changes already in motion, from horsepower adjustments to an updated playoff format, Hendrick Motorsports has moved to strengthen its foundation away from the racetrack as well. After publicly backing the new Chevrolet body unveiled in December, the organization has turned its focus inward, emphasizing the physical demands on its people as speed increases and the calendar tightens.

To that end, Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) has partnered with Atrium Health, one of the largest hospital networks in the southern United States, to provide integrated medical, wellness, and sports performance services for more than 50 pit crew athletes. The collaboration will also extend care and resources to HMS employees based in the Charlotte area, a move that Jeff Gordon believes could play a significant role in the team’s long-term development.

The partnership includes the construction of a 35,000-square-foot facility, the Atrium Health Motorsports Athletic Center, which is scheduled to open later this month. Sports facility design firm Forty Nine Degrees played a key role in designing the space. As part of the agreement, Atrium Health branding will be featured across HMS assets, including driver fire suits, team apparel, and track equipment.

Explaining why the collaboration struck the right chord, Gordon, vice chairman of HMS, emphasized that progress in the sport constantly circles back to people. He said, “We’re always looking at how can we make our race teams stronger and better, and it always falls back to people… I love that Atrium is interested in how our athletes train.”

Gordon noted that NASCAR places a unique strain on the body, unlike traditional stick-and-ball sports. “It is different than other sports. It’s a different discipline on your body. Performance, execution, and recovery after an event, you need the experts in those fields to be able to do that properly,” he added.

He further stressed that NASCAR’s grind leaves little room for error. The schedule offers no real pauses, margins remain extremely thin, and success depends as much on preparation as on what happens in the car or over the wall. By housing coaches, performance staff, and Atrium Health clinicians under one roof, the new center would allow training, recovery, and readiness to move in lockstep.

The layout places athletes and team members at the center, reinforcing the belief that sustained performance is built on consistent, comprehensive care. From HMS’s perspective, the partnership reflects a shared commitment to supporting its people the right way, every day.

Inside the new facility, HMS athletes will have access to state-of-the-art training equipment, modern locker rooms, a race-day operations center, nutrition and recovery spaces, film rooms, therapy and treatment areas, and dedicated sports research zones. The center also features a closed-loop pit stop practice circuit designed to accommodate two teams simultaneously, further enhancing preparation and efficiency.

In fact, support for the partnership arrived quickly from the HMS driver lineup as well. Kyle Larson publicly endorsed the move, resharing Gordon’s post that offered an early look at the facility, including the gym and swimming areas. Larson punctuated his approval with a short message: “Canceling my gym membership now .”

Atrium Health’s ties to NASCAR extend well beyond this agreement. The organization has supported the sport for years through efforts such as the NASCAR Day Giveathon and by providing sports medicine coverage at marquee events, including the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Team owner Rick Hendrick and his wife Linda have also maintained a long history of philanthropic involvement with the health system.

HMS President Marshall Carlson serves on Atrium’s governing board executive committee, further strengthening the relationship. Atrium Health operates as part of Advocate Health, a nonprofit system ranked third-largest in the United States, serving nearly 6 million patients.

The GR Yaris MORIZO RR is a special-edition model created with Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman and Master Driver Akio Toyoda, aka Morizo, by applying insights gained through the challenge of competing as TOYOTA GAZOO ROOKIE Racing (TGRR) in the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race.

TGR, with its core mission of making ever-better motorsports-bred cars, and ROOKIE Racing, which hones GR vehicles, transcended organizational boundaries and came together based on roles rather than titles under Morizo’s leadership to form TGRR, aiming to further accelerate the making of ever-better cars.

In the Nürburgring 24 Hours, Morizo, as a team driver, took the wheel of the GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission-equipped No. 109 GR Yaris fielded by TGRR, logging more laps than scheduled despite the course’s grueling conditions. Upon the team’s successful completion of the race, Morizo was quick to convey how good he found the GR Yaris to be, and he credited its 8-speed automatic transmission with enabling him to conquer 15 laps.

The GR Yaris MORIZO RR is exceptional for its Nürburgring-cultivated delivery of car-driver unity for a high level of driver-vehicle interaction, its reliability and security, and its ability to make car-lovers smile and want to keep on driving it.

The GR Yaris MORIZO RR for the Japanese market is to be available in a total of 100 units from spring 2026, with purchasing lottery applications now being accepted via the TGR official smartphone application “GR app”. The model is also to be released in certain European markets in a limited run of 100 units.

Mando Deodorant will expand its relationship with NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Josh Bilicki in 2026, serving as an anchor partner of the No. 07 Chevrolet Camaro for SS-GreenLight Racing.

The company will serve as the primary sponsor of Bilicki’s Chevrolet in multiple events in NASCAR’s second-tier division in 2026, including the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway on February 14.

“Josh [Bilicki] is the kind of racer you want to root for,” said a representative from Mando. “He’s talented, humble, and puts in the work – just like the guys who count on Mando every day. We’re proud to expand our partnership with him in 2026 and to be part of what he’s building with SS-GreenLight Racing. He’s the kind of competitor who keeps fighting when others fade, and that grit is why he’s such a natural fit for Mando.”

Bilicki and Mando first partnered for a one-off last Summer in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the Wisconsin-native picked up a top-20 finish in the No. 91 for DGM Racing.

The 30-year-old driver moved away from his role as the anchor driver for DGM Racing at season’s end, to instead pursue a full-season effort in the No. 07 for SS-GreenLight Racing. Bilicki has worked with the organization previously, but 2026 will mark the first time the two parties have united for a full-season effort.

“I’m extremely excited to welcome Mando as an anchor partner for the 2026 season,” said Bilicki. “Their focus on confidence and performance aligns perfectly with what it takes to compete at this level, and having them on board for seven races, starting at Daytona, is huge for our team.”

Mando Deodorant will also expand its relationship with Bilicki beyond just the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, with the company serving as a partner for the Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-native in the Chili Bowl Nationals next week in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Bilicki is a veteran of more than 250 starts across NASCAR’s National Series, having competed in NASCAR since 2016. The lion’s share of those starts, though, have come in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, where he’s collected four top-10 results — three for DGM Racing and one for Joe Gibbs Racing. Over the last decade, Bilicki has made starts for several organizations, including BJ McLeod Motorsports, RSS Racing, DGM Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, and SS-GreenLight Racing.

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series campaign will begin at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 14 at 5:30 PM ET on The CW, Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

What looked like a perfect NASCAR startup, a rising driver, massive funding, and veteran leadership, collapsed almost instantly. The Tabasco-backed Todd Bodine program promised the world, but became one of the fastest implosions of the modern era, leaving chaos in its wake and unexpectedly changing one career forever.

• How did an $8 million per year Tabasco sponsorship unravel before the season even started?
• Why did elite promises like exclusive chassis and top-tier equipment never materialize?
• What red flags during testing exposed deeper problems inside the operation?
• How did missing the Daytona 500 trigger a life-changing opportunity for Jeffrey Baker?

On paper, the team had everything: manufacturer support, high-level personnel, and direct backing from one of the biggest sponsors in the garage. In reality, key deals quietly collapsed, used equipment replaced what was promised, and decision-making behind the scenes raised serious concerns. When the team failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, the entire project effectively imploded under the weight of its own hype. For Jeffrey Baker, the fallout became a turning point. A last-minute move to Penske Racing during Speedweeks led to a career spanning decades, championships, Indy 500 victories, and a permanent place inside one of motorsports’ most successful organizations. One of NASCAR’s biggest sponsor disasters accidentally launched a Hall of Fame-caliber career.

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