The Joe Gibbs Racing vs. Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports lawsuit has taken a new turn, and it’s not in the former’s favor. According to the latest update, JGR had to withdraw an allegation against Spire, simply because they did not have enough "non-privileged" evidence to prove it.

This happened in a legal filing on Wednesday, where JGR mostly stated what was already mentioned in the previous allegations, except for this one change.

The original claim, which was made in February, was that a Spire employee told a JGR employee that Chris Gabehart was actively leading or heavily participating in Spire's competition strategy, something that allegedly violates his non-compete agreement.

However, JGR now admits it doesn’t have the admissible or non-privileged evidence to support it. 'Non-privileged' here refers to any evidence like emails, documents, messages, or testimony that is legally admissible in court and doesn’t fall under the attorney-client privilege.

As reported by Motorsport, this is what JGR stated in the Wednesday filing:

“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.”

The court has granted this request.

 Meanwhile, while Spire Motorsports didn’t have any update from their side in the lawsuit, the team did announce a young prodigy’s entry

Spire gives chance to teen sensation

On August 14, at Richmond Raceway, Tristan McKee will debut for Spire Motorsports in the No. 77 Chevy Silverado. And he is barely 16.

McKee, 15, will celebrate his 16^th birthday on Monday, August 3. He will be one of the youngest drivers to debut in the Truck Series. Currently, he is part of Spire's Ascent Driver Development Program.

McKee already has an established racing resume, which includes his age records as well. He has five combined wins in just 17 races in the entire ARCA Series. He is the youngest winner in the CARS Tour history and the second-youngest in the ARCA Series.

“I can’t thank Jeff D, Dan Towriss, Bill Anthony, and everyone at Spire Motorsports enough for believing in me and making this possible. I’ve worked for this opportunity my entire life and I’m thrilled to take this next step in my career,” McKee said, as reported by Motorsport.

Richmond will not be his lone start, as McKee will also drive at New Hampshire, Bristol, Phoenix and Martinsville. For this race, Chad Walter will be his crew chief.

Written by

Suyashdeep Sason

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason