JGR amends complaint against Gabehart to include Spire; asks for restraining order

Joe Gibbs Racing has amended the complaint it filed last week against Chris Gabehart to include Spire Motorsports as a defendant and has additionally requested a temporary restraining order.

JGR is suing Gabehart and, now, Spire Motorsports, alleging that their confidential information and trade secrets were stolen. The lawsuit claims that Gabehart, with the intention of sharing the information with Spire Motorsports or other parties, synced his personal Google Drive with a Gibbs-issued laptop and took pictures of sensitive information he had access to as a JGR employee. The two sides parted ways in November.

The original lawsuit was filed last Thursday, Feb. 19. Spire Motorsports publicly confirmed over the weekend at EchoPark Speedway that it had hired Gabehart as its chief motorsports officer.

A negotiated forensic protocol was in place for a third-party expert to review the devices. However, in the amended complaint, JGR alleges that Gabehart “did not agree to the wholesale forensic review" of his devices and that they understood he would not “compete in the marketplace” under the terms of his non-compete period.

The forensic investigation revealed that “the ‘Spire’ folder contained, among other JGR information, 20 of JGR’s race car setup files and that Gabehart possessed additional photos of information displayed on his JGR Computer that he had taken on November 7, 2025. The examiner completed the deletion of identified JGR files from Gabehart’s Google Drive and personal cell phone on February 4, 2026.”

Gibbs formally terminated Gabehart on Feb. 9, for misappropriation of the company’s confidential information and trade secrets. As such, the team states that Gabehart violated his contract, company policy, state and federal law “in addition to being an act involving moral turpitude, fraud, willful misconduct, gross negligence, and/or dishonesty.”

JGR learned of Gabehart’s new role with Spire Motorsports on Feb. 11, and claims Gabehart previously misrepresented what his new position would be, showing that he disclosed its proprietary information to a third party.

“Since Gabehart ceased providing services to JGR on November 10, 2025, and after Gabehart received a job offer to work at Spire on November 13, 2025, at least one JGR employee who supported JGR’s competition efforts has departed JGR and joined Spire," the amended complaint says. "Specifically, one of JGR’s employees supporting JGR’s competition efforts left JGR’s employment on January 3, 2026, and began working for Spire in the same or similar role immediately thereafter. Upon information and belief, Spire agreed to pay that employee a salary significantly exceeding what the employee earned at JGR.

“Upon information and belief, Gabehart used JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets he stole from JGR concerning the compensation JGR paid its employees for the purpose of soliciting and recruiting JGR employee[s] to depart the Company’s employ and begin working for Spire.”

The complaint goes on to state that “despite the restrictive covenants in the Agreement and Gabehart’s misappropriation of trade secrets, Spire has hired Gabehart. Spire’s hiring of Gabehart and the competitive information he has used and improperly retained will give Spire a competitive advantage in the marketplace. It is a shortcut to replicate JGR’s Confidential information and Trade Secrets that have been the lynchpin of its success.”

In seeking the restraining order, Gibbs asks that Gabehart not use or disclose confidential information or trade secrets, return any information and data he still has, and be kept from working for Spire in any role that violates the agreement he had with JGR. Additionally, it requests that Spire be kept from employing Gabehart in said role and from using the stolen information.