Judge allows counterclaims by Gabehart and Spire against Gibbs to proceed

Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports can proceed with their counterclaims against Joe Gibbs Racing, according to an order handed down by Judge Susan Rodriguez on Wednesday.

Rodriguez made her ruling from the bench after hearing arguments from both sides, telling the parties she “wanted to keep this case on the track” as it proceeds toward the scheduled trial date (Feb. 1, 2027).

Gibbs had filed motions to dismiss the claims of both Spire Motorsports and Gabehart. Rodriguez granted a partial dismissal of the claims in which he alleged that Joe Gibbs Racing operated outside the allowed scope of forensic analysis by accessing privileged information on his devices. However, the additional claims Gabehart filed against his former employer will move forward. All parties have acknowledged that Gabehart had a valid contract with JGR, which he alleges they breached when he left the company. However, they disagree on when and how that happened.

Gabehart and Joe Gibbs met in November to discuss the former’s displeasure with his role. Shortly thereafter, they decided Gabehart would leave the company, with Gabehart claiming it was a mutual separation the two sides were working toward before he was terminated a few months later. Gibbs subsequently filed a lawsuit alleging Gabehart stole trade secrets.

In part of Gabehart’s counterclaims about the breach of contract, he said he is owed wages from Joe Gibbs Racing. However, in court on Wednesday, Sarah Hutchins, counsel for Gibbs from Parker Poe Adams & Berstein, argued that the claims should be dismissed, saying salary is for services rendered, but Gabehart no longer worked for the company after November.

There is also a disagreement over other wages, including whether Gabehart received a severance package and a bonus. Although the bonus ended up being paid, Gabehart claims JGR paid it late while conceding being unaware of when Gibbs received the prize money from NASCAR before the complaint was filed.

As for the claims brought by Spire Motorsports, those pertain to the alleged trade the team operated under when releasing Robert Smith from his contract and non-compete. Smith was recruited by Gibbs in 2025 and later hired by the team after Spire released him. However, it came with what Spire understood as a trade deal in place in which they would receive a Gibbs competition-level employee, or $100,000, in return.

Spire alleges that the Gibbs team has never held up its end of the deal despite multiple attempts to make it happen, and it is now well into the 2026 season. Joshua Davey, counsel for Spire Motorsports from Troutman Pepper Locke, told the court that only Gibbs benefited from the deal by being able to hire an individual of Smith’s caliber to car chief the No. 54 of grandson Ty Gibbs, who has gone on to have considerable success this season. 

Judge Rodriguez ruled that Spire Motorsports had sufficiently pleaded breach of contract claims. Hutchins argued, hoping to get it dismissed, that the agreement was based on vague promises and essentially non-binding, and that it centered on what Spire Motorsports thought was going to happen. 

Meanwhile, the litigation that started all of the disputes, in which Joe Gibbs Racing is suing both Gabehart and Spire Motorsports, continues to move through the pre-trial schedule. Upcoming discovery deadlines are set for the next few weeks, along with a mediation deadline in October.