Carson Hocevar(Left): Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire Denny Hamlin (Right):Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire
Carson Hocevar(Left): Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire Denny Hamlin (Right):Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire
NASCAR has seen its fair share of off-track legal disputes this season. Amidst one of the ongoing lawsuits between Spire Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin has now taken a sly dig at Spire Motorsports.
The $8 million lawsuit was filed by JGR back in February this year. The suit claims that their former crew chief and performance director, Chris Gabehart, misappropriated proprietary information like car setups as part of his defection to Spire Motorsports.
During the recent episode of the "Actions Detrimental" podcast uploaded on Monday, Hamlin was asked a trivia question by his co-host Jared Allen about who is the highest-scoring Chevrolet-backed team in the NASCAR Cup Series. Hamlin seemed to take a swipe at Spire Motorsports as he responded,
"Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s our satellite team."
TALLADEGA, AL - APRIL 26: Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing King s Hawaiian UBE Coconut Rolls Toyota looks on prior to the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Jack Links 500 on April 26, 2026, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega AL. Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire AUTO: APR 26 NASCAR Cup Series Jack Links 500 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2604262724
TALLADEGA, AL - APRIL 26: Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing King s Hawaiian UBE Coconut Rolls Toyota looks on prior to the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Jack Links 500 on April 26, 2026, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega AL. Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire AUTO: APR 26 NASCAR Cup Series Jack Links 500 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2604262724
Further adding to his swipe, Denny Hamlin remarked about Spire’s success this season.
"It’s interesting," Hamlin said on the podcast uploaded on YouTube. "Everywhere that I had good runs last year, it seems like their cars got a lot of speed. But I digress."
Hamlin’s comments reference Spire Motorsports' improved performance this season. Most recently, during the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, Carson Hocevar finished the race in ninth. He finished ahead of all their alliance team, Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers.
When Denny Hamlin took a subtle jab at Spire Motorsports after Chicagoland
This is not the first time that Hamlin has taken a swipe at Spire Motorsports after a race.
After their torrid outing at Chicagoland which took place on July 5th, while sharing his thoughts about the team's performance at the 1.5-mile track, Hamlin took a sly dig at the team.
While talking about the same during an episode of "Actions Detrimental" uploaded on July 7th, Hamlin quipped that Spire did not have the past JGR setups and hence performed poorly.
"All of the Spire cars were bad. Hmm... (smirks) No past setups, huh?" he said on his "Actions Detrimental" podcast.
At the Chicagoland race, all three of the Spire Motorsports cars struggled to get decent results. , Daniel Suarez finished 14th, Carson Hocevar finished 22nd, and Michael McDowell finished 29th. As for Joe Gibbs Racing, they locked in the podium places.
A part of Joe Gibbs Racing’s lawsuit accusation also alleges that Spire Motorsports has used the competitive data Gabehart provided his current employer to improve their performance this season.
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Written by
Chionia Libania Colaco