Spire hits back at latest JGR filing

Spire Motorsports issued a defiant statement towards Joe Gibbs Racing on Friday night as the organizations continue to progress through a contentious court case in North Carolina.

JGR asked the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina to hold former competition director Chris Gabehart and Spire in contempt through a new filing on Thursday, claiming they violated a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction placed on them in March. It’s also requesting that sanctions be levied against Gabehart.

The temporary restraining order claims that Gabehart can’t offer similar services to Spire to the ones he provided to JGR. The injunction called for Gabehart to turn over communications including text messages with Spire’s Jeff Dickerson, some of which have been deleted and appear unrecoverable. JGR provided evidence that it feels proves Gabehart has served a similar role at Spire and it feels those deleted texts included proprietary information.

JGR sued Gabehart and later Spire in February, asking for damages over what it feels was theft of confidential information amid a move to the company over the offseason.

Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson responded to the latest legal proceeding with a fiery statement on Friday night.

"Yesterday, Joe Gibbs Racing filed yet another motion for a preliminary injunction against Spire. The court has already twice rejected similar motions filed by Joe Gibbs Racing. JGR once said that this case was about 'its crown jewels.'

“Now, JGR is talking about stray comments at a few meetings and a debrief form. JGR does not get to control what other race teams do through court cases. JGR does not own tire pressures, JGR does not own race strategy, JGR does not own the people who work in this industry, and JGR does not own Spire. Spire looks forward to responding to JGR's motion in court.

“To be clear, months of discovery have shown that Spire Motorsports has done nothing wrong. I remain so proud of what Spire Motorsports has accomplished. Our Drivers, Competition Director, Crew Chiefs, Car Chiefs, Technicians, Engineers, and other specialists work harder than anyone to make this team successful. Spire's underdog story continues to inspire race fans across the country.

“Spire will not be bullied by Joe Gibbs Racing."

Spire is currently in the midst of its best Cup Series season to date, having placed both Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez in the Chase after the pair each won a race.

The federal jury trial for the lawsuit between JGR and Spire is slated to begin on Feb. 1, 2027.