Judge delays ruling on Gabehart's move to Spire Motorsports until Monday

There was no decision made on Friday by Judge Susan C. Rodriguez after a lengthy hearing on a temporary restraining order in the dispute between Joe Gibbs Racing and Chris Gabehart.

Instead, the parties were urged to continue working through the situation over the weekend. The court will reconvene on Monday if those discussions don’t result in a resolution.

Gibbs is seeking a TRO to prevent Gabehart from working in a role they claim is similar, if not the same, to the one he held at their company. The argument took up much of Friday’s proceedings as Gibbs argued over Gabehart’s non-compete clause. The lawsuit, filed Feb. 19, alleges that Gabehart stole confidential information and trade secrets from Gibbs for his new position.

Gabehart served as competition director at Gibbs. He was hired by Spire Motorsports to be their chief motorsports officer.

Judge Rodriguez honed in on the roles and repeatedly questioned both sides to clarify their scope and overlap. Gibbs argued that Gabehart oversaw how to make their race cars go fast while working with their crew chiefs and drivers. It’s information that, should it get into the hands of a competitor, is harmful to the success and business of Joe Gibbs Racing.

“JGR does not want to be here,” Sarah Hutchins, counsel for Joe Gibbs Racing, stated. However, they filed the suit over respect and protecting the company.

The goal of enforcing an 18-month non-compete on Gabehart is for the information he has to become stale. It was described as a “cooling off period,” considering how integral Gabehart was to Joe Gibbs Racing. Additionally, Hutchins argued that while they don’t want Gabehart working for Spire or any other race team in the same role, he is free to find a job elsewhere, including within NASCAR, in another racing series, or in marketing, the press, or the private sector.

Gabehart’s counsel was unable to fully define his role with Spire Motorsports and admitted it was newly created. But counsel Cary Davis acknowledged there would likely be some overlap, considering the nature of the sport.

Davis rehashed the timeline of events that led to the lawsuit and explained that Gabehart did take the photos, which he now regrets, considers stupid, and understands led to Gibbs' action. However, Davis said that Gabehart has owned up to doing so and, since then, has “wanted to do the right thing.”

Gabehart paid for the forensic investigation of his electronic devices and returned his Gibbs-issued laptop. The information he photographed was not used to get his job at Spire Motorsports or given to them. Hutchins admitted that it is only speculative at this point if Spire has any of the information.

Joshua Davey, counsel for Spire Motorsports, told the court that the organization “doesn’t need JGR [information] and doesn’t want it.” On the nature of Gabehart's role, Davey explained that he would serve in both a development and executive capacity, which is what he wanted at Gibbs but was denied prior to his departure.

There were multiple recesses during the proceedings, which extended the day; the hearing began around 1:20 p.m. ET and wrapped after 4:30 p.m. ET.

A recess was called early in the proceedings so the parties could reach agreement on additional forensic analysis. It will include a review of devices that stored or accessed Gibbs information, and any information uncovered will either be deemed confidential or deleted. It will also include any accounts that Gabehart’s wife, Jennifer, is linked to.

Another recess came when Judge Rodriguez needed time; however, the short break resulted in the judge requesting that all lawyers come to chambers. The conversation--the nature of which was never disclosed--lasted more than an hour before the hearing resumed.

It was then that Judge Rodriguez asked the parties, “Y’all sure you want to do this now?" She urged them to proceed into the weekend with further communication, which they agreed to, and said her ruling would come on Monday if no resolution was reached.