Prior to the weekend, Joe Gibbs Racing notified both Spire Motorsports and Chris Gabehart that it intended to amend and refile its lawsuit against them both.
As a result, their intended responses to the lawsuit due on Monday is no longer necessary. The below in italics is taken from the notice to the Western District of North Carolina.
“Defendants requested JGR provide a copy of the proposed Second Amended Complaint so they could determine whether to consent to its filing. JGR agreed to provide a copy of the proposed Second Amended Complaint as soon as practicable.
“Upon receipt of Plaintiff’s proposed Second Amended Complaint, Defendants will promptly inform JGR whether they will consent to the filing of the Second Amended Complaint. Absent agreement, JGR intends to file a Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint promptly.”
The first version of the lawsuit was filed against Gabehart on February 19. It claimed damages of $8 million dollars against its longtime engineer and crew chief turned competition director over an alleged ‘brazen scheme’ to steal proprietary data and share with new employer Spire Motorsports.
To date, JGR has proven that Gabehart ‘misappropriated’ such data by storing it on his personal devices but has not proven that it was shared with Spire or any other entity within the sport. JGR amended its complaint on February 24 to also include Spire as a defendant, alleging breach of contract and tampering with Gabehart’s non-compete.
It’s a non-compete that Gabehart claims he was not subject to because JGR voided their agreement. JGR claims that Gabehart voided first through misappropriation.
Both defendants have denied wrongdoing and have defended their position during numerous hearings over the course of the spring. How Joe Gibbs Racing would expand its lawsuit currently remains unclear until that filing is made with the court.
Trial timeline disagreement
Independent of the potential amended lawsuit, JGR and Spire/Gabehart also disagree over the proposed timeline to reach trial. Joe Gibbs Racing wants a trial to begin on December 7 to have a resolution prior to the start of the 2027 season.
The defendants argue that this timeline is too expedited for a fair procedural defense. However, they agree that an earlier trial is warranted but just not one that transpires in December.
Joe Gibbs Racing pointed to the increased competitive success of Spire Motorsports, including a victory on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway as reason to resolve this dispute as soon as possible.
“NASCAR commentators have openly noted that Spire—a team long regarded as a perennial back marker—now appears transformed. Suddenly, ‘everything’s looking up for them,’ with multiple cars qualifying inside the top 10.
“As one analyst candidly acknowledged, there is a ‘rhyme and reason’ behind Spire’s newfound speed and ‘there’s a reason there’s a lawsuit going on.’ As the commentator explained, ‘everything is about people in this world, and [Spire] hired a good one with Chris Gabehart’—a person who admittedly misappropriated JGR’s trade secrets and confidential information—and ‘that’s a big reason why they’re running good.’”
“These are not isolated musings. They reflect an emerging recognition that Spire’s implausible single season competitive leap coincides directly with Gabehart’s arrival and influence on the Cup Series. In fact, just this past week, a Spire driver—who appears in previously submitted evidence to be in close proximity to Gabehart during Qualifying—won a Cup Series race for only the second time in Spire’s history. Spire’s only other win occurred in a weather-shortened race seven years prior. This underscores that unfair competitive harm is already underway, visible on the track, and being openly attributed to the very conduct at issue in this case. The case should proceed to merits discovery and trial for a judgment on Defendants’ actions as quickly as reasonably possible.”
Gabehart was also present with Spire on Sunday at Talladega, with permission from the court as long as he does not do anything that resembles the duty of a competition director, and Spire took exception to that as well.
“Within weeks, he progressed from observing races from the grandstands while wearing a two-way team radio to positioning himself inside Spire’s pit road workstation alongside personnel actively monitoring race data.”
Editor’s note: There hasn’t been a single photograph that showed Gabehart wearing a two way radio with a mouthpiece, objectively speaking
“This steady encroachment places Gabehart in precisely the environment where he can violate the Court’s order through real-time, oral, or radio communications—conduct that is difficult to detect but impossible to ignore. Defendants have yet to offer a plausible explanation for services Gabehart is performing at these times and places that do not violate his restrictive covenant. Against this backdrop, Defendants’ insistence that ‘there is no potential harm to JGR during pendency of this litigation’ and a delayed trial ‘would have no impact on the 2027 NASCAR season’ rings hollow.
“Without explanation of Gabehart’s activity at the Cup Series races, discovery is necessary to understand his role and any improper competitive harm already underway.”
For what it’s worth, Spire says Gabehart is acting in a manner identical to top executives like Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports or even Joe Gibbs, team owner of JGR, himself.
Cheeky response
While not an actual legal declaration, Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson poked fun at the lawsuit through a Spire Motorsports tweet that referenced Joe Gibbs Racing perpetually citing Spire as an organization that has just one win — a reflection of how far behind it is to JGR.
Filings
Practice broadcast reference
JGR’s motion for expedited trial
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