The Spire Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing lawsuit has further deepened. Spire Motorsports has now filed its response to Gibbs ’ second amended complaint and has revealed numerous things, adding another layer to this legal battle. 

The lawsuit first came to light in mid-February 2026 when the Joe Gibbs Racing accused Chris Gabehart of stealing JGR's sensitive information and giving it to Spire Motorsports. On June 15, JGR filed a second amended complaint against their former employee, Chris Gabehart, and Spire Motorsports. 

But now, according to the court filings put out by NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass on X, Spire Motorsports has alleged that JGR does not have strong proof to condemn Gabehart, but rather baseless accusations. Here is an excerpt from the document put out by Pockrass:

"JGR’s claims of trade secret theft are baseless, and its lawsuit is nothing more than a smear campaign designed to punish an employee for fearing to leave."

According to NACSAR insider Shannon Hanson's tweet, the introduction, as she terms it, feels like a setup for Spire explaining their side of the story rather than being strictly necessary legal pleadings.

To add to Spire's answer, Gabehart also filed for counterclaims as reported by Courthouse News Service, which stated that the now Spire Employee complied with JRG’s forensic investigation of having all of his personal devices checked.

Gabehart further claimed in the filings that the Joe Gibbs Racing co-owner, Heather Gibbs, wrote him a $500,000 check in an effort to persuade him to work with her son and No. 54 driver, Ty Gibbs. 

Besides the $500,000, Gabehart was also paid $25,000 per race weekend in addition to his competition director salary. Regarding this claim, Hanson further terms this as ‘very expensive babysitting money.’  

While Judge Suzan Rodriguez has ruled that Gabehart did steal important information, JGR has failed to produce any evidence of the same.

However, the filing does not end here. Spire has also claimed that JGR did not uphold a contract involving employee transfer. 

Spire Motorsports hits JGR with one more point

In the ongoing NASCAR lawsuit, not only is Joe Gibbs Racing accused of making this lawsuit a ‘smear campaign,’ but Gibbs is also accused of not upholding the employee transfer contract. 

In 2025, the JGR team picked Robert "Cheddar" Smith, who currently works on the No. 54 team, as the crew chief. In exchange for Smith, JGR had promised Spire to hire an employee in the future. 

According to NASCAR reporter Matt Weaver, the filing states: 

"Spire has countersued Joe Gibbs Racing over Spire releasing car chief Cheddar Smith from his contract last year so he could join the No. 54. Spire claimed earlier this year it had agreed to an employee trade or cash agreement that JGR never honored."

Spire also mentioned that JGR didn't compensate with the $100,000 alternative, which was decided.

As of now, the ball is in JGR’s court. It is yet to be seen what the Joe Gibbs-led team does next.

You can read more on the Daytona Racing Digest!

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason