The judge presiding over the Joe Gibbs Racing case against Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports granted the plaintiffs’ request to amend and resubmit their complaint late last week. And while the broader accusations of the former competition director of Joe Gibbs Racing being accused of stealing trade secrets for Spire’s gain remain unchanged, one new detail instantly grabbed attention.
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According to the newly amended filing approved by Judge Rodriguez, JGR alleges that a Spire employee informed a JGR employee that Chris Gabehart is actively leading (or heavily participating in) competition strategy and decision-making inside the organization. The filing in the JGR lawsuit states:
“A Spire employee has informed a JGR employee that Gabehart is in charge of and/or significantly participating in Spire’s competition strategy and decisions. Employees were instructed not to discuss the fact Gabehart is leading and/or participating in Spire’s competition and strategy decision-making process outside of Spire. There is no legal justification for advising its employees to conceal the true nature of Gabehart’s services. Spire is aware that Gabehart leading and/or participating in Spire’s competition strategy and decision-making violates his noncompete obligations set forth in the Agreement.”
The revised complaint also adds that, “upon information and belief,” Spire employees involved in competition efforts are working with Gabehart on strategy and race decisions, something that JGR argues violates his non-compete agreement. That allegation changes the tone of the lawsuit.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s second amended complaint, which Judge Rodriguez permitted last week, has a new claim that allegeds a Spire employee has informed a JGR employee that Chris Gabehart is leading/participating in Spire’s comp. process in a way that violates his JGR non-compete. pic.twitter.com/5cVY6coyHR
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) June 15, 2026
Up until recently, the main focus of the JGR lawsuit was whether Gabehart had inappropriately obtained information from Joe Gibbs Racing after departing. Spire and Gabehart have consistently argued that no protected information was transferred.
However, forensic research revealed that Gabehart accessed JGR files, setup sheets, and financial information, took pictures of documents on his phone, and kept things on a personal Google Drive. The court’s preliminary findings also cut right through their initial defense. Since then, Gabehart has said that he erased and returned everything after JGR approached him. JGR doesn’t believe it.
The organization continues to think that Spire has profited competitively from such knowledge. Plus, the fact that Spire has two wins this season up till now only reinforces their claim. So, naturally, now the question JGR is wondering is whether Gabehart’s current title really conveys the whole story.
Gabehart was hired by Spire as their chief Motorsports officer, but JGR argues that the title itself may simply be a way to disguise duties that mirror his former role as competition director at Gibbs. In its amended complaint, JGR alleges that Spire created the position despite knowing about his non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality restrictions, allowing him to continue performing substantially similar competition-related work under a different label.
JGR also claimed Gabehart has remained involved in the Cup Series competition planning during the key race weekends, like prepping phases for events like the Goodyear 400 and Food City 500. The filing even goes further, alleging that Spire allowed Gabehart access to its race ship as early as December 2025 and January 2026, during the critical build-up to the new season, despite being aware of his contractual restrictions.
JGR also alleged that Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson has told others that he possesses portions of JGR’s confidential information and trade secrets that were allegedly taken by Gabehart. However, Gabehart strongly disputes all claims.
Gabehart contends that since JGR ceased paying him in December, which he claims constituted JGR’s initial violation, his non-compete agreement should not be applicable. JGR argues that the separation-package talks were promptly terminated after learning that Gabehart had been corresponding with Spire while concurrently gaining access to internal trade-secret documents.
Ultimately, now the question has become what he is allegedly doing at Spire, and whether the team knew about it all along…
