Ex-Joe Gibbs Racing competition director files response denying lawsuit claims

Ex-Joe Gibbs Racing competition director files response denying lawsuit claims



Joe Gibbs Racing added Spire Motorsports as a defendant in its lawsuit against Chris Gabehart, who previously worked with JGR.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. β€” The former competition director of NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing has filed a legal response to a federal lawsuit against him, denying that he shared race setups and other confidential information with a competitor.

Chris Gabehart, a longtime crew chief and senior member with Joe Gibbs Racing, filed an opposition to the team’s request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in the case. The filing was made on Wednesday in a federal court in Charlotte.

JGR sued Gabehart last week, claiming Gabehart saved files of car setups, the company’s employee payroll, and other crucial race data into a Google Drive folder labeled “Spire.” The team believed Gabehart shared the information with Spire Motorsports. Gabehart admitted in his Wednesday filing that he joined Spire as its chief motorsports officer last week.

However, Gabehart claims he did not share any confidential information with Spire. He admitted to taking photos of the information, as alleged in JGR’s federal complaint, but states he had no intention of spreading those files to other teams.

Gabehart detailed his professional demise with JGR in Wednesday’s filing, noting his rise from engineer to crew chief to competition director across 13 years. He stated that his dissatisfaction began in 2025 regarding the operation of the race teams, notably the No. 54 team driven by Ty Gibbs. Gabehart stated that the No. 54 team was not held to the same standards as JGR’s other entries and that Coach Joe Gibbs oversaw the team himself.

Gabehart says he was routinely asked to crew chief the No. 54 car but declined until midway through the season, when he served in the role for nine races. He also accused Ty Gibbs of not being held to the same meeting attendance standards as the other drivers.

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JGR contends that Gabehart was unhappy with his situation with JGR and asked for an increased role within the organization. When his demands were not met, JGR offered him an exit from his contract, which Gabehart accepted.

After this meeting, is when JGR contends Gabehart began saving confidential team info. The team used digital forensic analysis to determine when Gabehart viewed the team’s confidential information and what he did with it.

Gabehart states, though, that he did not access confidential JGR information while accessing the “Spire” folder. He notes Spire has agreed not to solicit any confidential JGR information from him as part of his new role.

JGR is seeking $8 million for its various accusations. The team added Spire as a defendant in an amended complaint filed on Tuesday.

The new complaint included a statement Gabehart made on social media where he denied any wrongdoing. JGR labeled Gabehart’s statement as “false and misleading.”

Spire has not legally responded to the federal lawsuit.

Joe Gibbs Racing is one of NASCAR’s most successful teams, with 227 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, which is the third most all-time. Across NASCAR’s top three series, JGR’s 494 wins are the most of any team.

Spire Motorsports debuted in 2019 and has attempted to challenge the larger NASCAR teams in its run. The team’s lone NASCAR Cup Series came in the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400. The team has 10 wins in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

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