Joe Gibbs Racing is suing its former competition director

Joe Gibbs Racing has filed a federal lawsuit in the Western District of North Carolina against former racing director Christopher Gabehart. Gabehart, who was also Denny Hamlin's crew chief, left the team last November after the championship finale in Phoenix. The championship was won by Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports), ahead of Hamlin.

Now the competition director at Spire Motorsports, a team that uses Chevrolets, unlike Joe Gibbs Racing which is in the camp ToyotaChris Gabehart is accused by his former team of data theft. In a complaint filed in the Western District of North Carolina, Joe Gibbs Racing accuses Gabehart of photographing sensitive data from his company laptop, syncing confidential files to a personal Google Drive folder called "Spire," and storing documents related to car setups, analysis reports, mechanic salary data, driver compensation figures, and sponsorship revenue information.

JGR's lawsuit seeks an injunction against the use of these trade secrets, as well as up to eight million dollars in damages. Gabehart responded this weekend with a statement, on the sidelines of the second race of the 2026 season in Atlanta on Sunday night.

“Joe Gibbs Racing has filed a lawsuit alleging – falsely – that I shared confidential JGR information with Spire Motorsports and/or other unidentified third parties. I feel compelled to speak out today and strongly and emphatically deny these frivolous and vindictive allegations. I look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate to the Court that I have not shared confidential JGR information with anyone. In fact, I have already demonstrated this to JGR. A third-party forensic expert hired by JGR recently examined my laptop, mobile phone, and personal Google Drive and found no evidence to support the baseless allegations in JGR’s complaint. We even offered JGR a similar examination of Spire’s systems. JGR refused this offer and instead filed this malicious lawsuit.”

After a lengthy legal process in the second half of 2025 against the NASCAR Led by two teams, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, the world of American stock car racing is once again preparing to look towards a court of law in the coming weeks.

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