JGR, Spire still bickering as trial date looms

Joe Gibbs Racing and Spire Motorsports continue to move closer to the trial date in their ongoing dispute over stolen trade secrets and are now arguing over which documents to make available.

In a Wednesday response to a filing from Joe Gibbs Racing about wanting specific documents, Spire Motorsports has shed light on what some of those documents are: Gibbs wants a spreadsheet created by Chris Gabehart that tracks race outcomes; Gibbs processes for sealing airbox and related ductwork; the Gibbs processes for vacuum testing underbodies; certain transaxle lubrication specifications/procedures; and race car setups for the 2025 season.

Gabehart, Gibbs' former competition director until this season, is at the center of the fight between the two sides. Joe Gibbs Racing filed its lawsuit in February, alleging that Gabehart was involved in a “brazen scheme” to steal proprietary information for his new employer and breach his contract. It has already been shown that Gabehart took photos of his Gibbs-issued laptop and saved files to his personal drive.

However, Gibbs later added Spire Motorsports to the lawsuit, alleging it is using the stolen information to improve its organization. Spire Motorsports has repeatedly countered that no proof exists, and none has been presented to Judge Susan Rodriguez to date, that Spire Motorsports has had or used such information.

The discovery process is ongoing, which has led to arguments over which documents to produce, with each side viewing relevance differently.

Additionally, Gibbs has told the court that other issues remain unsettled as of this week regarding material Gabehart should turn over. Those include competition meetings he attended and technical documents.

Lastly, two hearings are on the docket. The first will be on October 1, and Hendrick Motorsports has filed notice that it will have attorneys in attendance to “protect its interest.” Hendrick Motorsports will likely argue that there is proprietary information that should not be turned over or made public, as it is Spire Motorsports' alliance partner