Spire Motorsports had a terrible day at Chicagoland. All three cars buried deep in the field, no top-20 finishes, nothing to show for it. Denny Hamlin was watching. And he had thoughts.
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“No past setups, huh?” Hamlin said on Actions Detrimental. But if you know what’s been going on between JGR and Spire this year, those four words hit like a sledgehammer.
Here’s the background. Chris Gabehart was at Joe Gibbs Racing for 13 years – crew chief, engineer, eventually Competition Director. He left in November 2025 after a falling out with Joe Gibbs over how much authority he’d actually be given. Days later, he was photographed meeting Spire owner Jeff Dickerson, at which point his exit paperwork was still being signed.
JGR went through his returned devices. What they found became an $8 million federal lawsuit. According to JGR, Gabehart used his personal phone to photograph his laptop screen, specifically to dodge tracking, and clicked images of over 20 proprietary files. Per reports, the material included race setups, engine sheets, pit crew analytics, sponsor revenue projections, and payroll data.
Then there was the folder on his personal Google Drive, named “Spire.” And inside it, a subfolder called “past setups.” Gabehart’s side says nothing was actually sent to anyone. An independent forensic audit found zero evidence of any file being transferred, emailed, or shared with Spire.
He argued that the folder was personal research while he weighed a job offer, nothing more. He also pointed out that JGR stopped paying his salary mid-November, before an agreement was signed, which he says voids every non-compete clause they’re trying to enforce.
A federal judge sided partially with JGR in March 2026, issuing a limited injunction. Gabehart could work at Spire as Chief Motorsports Officer, but couldn’t perform duties substantially similar to his previous role. JGR then started filing compliance complaints, including photos of Gabehart standing on pit road at Bristol during practice sessions. Their competition director said in court that just being there proved he was crossing the line.
By June, JGR expanded its claims against Spire, arguing that Spire invented a fancy title to hide what Gabehart was actually doing. Both defendants hit back with countersuits. Spire says JGR owes them $100,000 under a separate agreement. Gabehart is suing for the wages they withheld.
The performance angle is where it gets complicated. Spire used to be a backmarker team, reliably mediocre, rarely relevant. Then Gabehart officially joined in February, 2026. Carson Hocevar won at Talladega shortly after. JGR cited Spire’s improved results as circumstantial evidence supporting its allegation that confidential information had been used.
Spire’s answer is simple. Their gains may also have come from a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet. All of these were locked in before Gabehart walked through the door.
Chicagoland made that defense harder to lean on. No Spire car finished in the top 20. Hocevar got collected in a Zane Smith incident early and never had a chance to recover.