Joe Gibbs Set to Go to All Lengths to Expose Chevy Teams as JGR Lawsuit Takes a New Turn

They say all is fair in love and war. And when it comes to Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing looks ready to go all out, planning to drag Chevrolet teams in the process. Less than three months in, and the JGR lawsuit against its former employee is escalating to the point where teams beyond JGR and Spire could potentially soon be involved.

Joe Gibbs demands Gabehart’s interactions with Chevy teams

On 1st April, Joe Gibbs filed a motion in the Western District of North Carolina Court demanding that Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports release documents related to deleted text messages. In a filing from March, JGR had alleged that the former competition director had deleted the text messages prior to the lawsuit against him despite the court’s order to produce relevant information under the expedited discovery order.

And now JGR’s recent filing has pressed on the discovery of those deleted texts from cell phone providers as they seek respite and repair for the ‘irreparable harm’ done by Gabehart.

“The nature and significance of the irreparable harm JGR is experiencing cannot be overstated. Gabehart has repeatedly admitted to taking JGR’s trade secrets, and has admitted to deleting communications responsive to the narrow scope of discovery the Court permitted to determine if he used or disclosed those trade secrets. Once a trade secret is lost it is lost forever, and ‘the potential for the loss of trade secrets . . . demonstrates irreparable harm.’”

JGR’s latest filing also requests “to subpoena Trackhouse, Haas, RWR owners/execs b/c they’re ‘among the most likely individuals Dickerson may have communicated with concerning Spire’s possession of JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets due to their common Chevrolet relationship,'” tweeted Bob Pockrass.

JGR renewed request to subpoena Trackhouse, Haas, RWR owners/execs b/c they’re “among the most likely individuals Dickerson may have communicated with concerning Spire’s possession of JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets due to their common Chevrolet relationship” 2/2

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 2, 2026

The long back and forth of accusations and admissions of the JGR lawsuit against Gabehart and Spire began on February 19. JGR has insisted on its claim that Gabehart shared confidential information with Spire. They also allege that Gabehart was communicating with and working for Spire while he was still under the JGR umbrella.

While Spire and Gabehart have continued to deny and make sense of most allegations, several of JGR’s accusations have been correct so far, as per the findings and admissions. Gabehart had indeed accessed proprietary JGR files despite the November conversation with Joe Gibbs about parting ways. He also admitted to taking photos of sensitive team information. Gabehart also accessed a ‘Spire’ named folder on his Google Drive, which was synced with the laptop provided to him by JGR.

However, the former competition director has also thrown reverse accusations against JGR. He alleged that JGR breached its contract and refused to pay him bonuses. Spire also emphasised that they never asked for any information or secrets from Gabehart regarding JGR.

Denny Hamlin fears long-term damage to NASCAR in worst case scenario

Given the fact that Spire Motorsports has a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports, one of JGR’s biggest rivals, Denny Hamlin wondered if Gabehart leaking confidential information with Spire could cause long-term damage to the whole sport. The #11 driver feared that if Gabehart had indeed leaked the information, it could lead to damage as far as NASCAR losing credibility among the fans.

It’s worth mentioning that Hamlin’s own team, 23XI Racing, is also in an alliance with JGR. Therefore, any harm caused to him as a driver by a competitive advantage gained unfairly could also mean harm to his own team as an owner.

“Allowing Gabehart to use JGR’s proprietary and confidential information for the benefit of a competitor like Spire would cause major harm not only to JGR but also to the sport of NASCAR. Should any of JGR’s competitors obtain JGR’s proprietary and confidential information, it would greatly diminish the value of such information, erode JGR’s competitive advantage and undermine the sanctity of fair competition in the sport,” Hamlin stated as per Frontstretch.

With that said, it’ll be interesting to see how the JGR lawsuit saga against Chris Gabehart & Spire Motorsports turns out in its next chapter.

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