Joe Gibbs Racing kept insisting for months that their former competition director, Chris Gabehart, was secretly running Spire Motorsports’ strategy, despite having signed a non-compete clause when leaving the team late last year. But in legal filings on Wednesday, the organization was forced to eat its words.
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JGR said, as reported by Matt Weaver, “In discovery Spire Motorsports II, LLC (“Spire”) requested information supporting the allegations contained in paragraph 129 of the Second Amended Complaint. JGR responded to Spire’s request and concedes that it does not possess nonprivileged information sufficient to support the allegations contained in paragraph 129 of the Second Amended Complaint.”
“I look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate to the Court that I have not shared JGR’s confidential information with anyone,” this was Gabehart’s response back in February, and his team, Spire Motorsports, backed him throughout the process. Back then, Gabehart and Spire warned about proving JGR’s allegation wrong, but it looks like the Toyota powerhouse team has yielded before the hearing begins next year.
That said, the other accusations that led Joe Gibbs Racing to file the $8 million lawsuit against Gabehart remain. JGR claims Gabehart stole confidential information by taking photos of sensitive data on his company laptop. It also alleges that he copied important files to his personal Google Drive account. On top of that, the team says Gabehart had a folder named “Spire” on his laptop before joining the team and lied to everyone at JGR by saying he didn’t already have a deal in place with Spire.
Gabehart, meanwhile, continues to fight back against his former employer. He’s seeking millions in allegedly unpaid wages and bonuses. He has also accused JGR’s legal team of violating his privacy by reading confidential emails between him and his lawyers.
Spire, on the other hand, has accused JGR of not holding up its end of the deal involving former engineer James “The Cheddar” Smith. According to Spire, it allowed Smith to join JGR earlier than expected to help Ty Gibbs during a difficult period. In return, Spire says it was promised either $100,000 or an employee of similar value.
The lawsuit is far from over. While JGR has dropped one of its biggest claims, both sides still have several other accusations to fight over in court. The next big date is the nine-day jury trial, which starts on February 1, 2027. It was scheduled that way to give both sides enough time to gather evidence, deal with legal issues before the trial, and avoid the busy NASCAR season.