Spire says JGR is seeking ‘nearly $150 million’ in lawsuit

In a Tuesday night filing opposing a request to alter the case schedule, Spire Motorsports revealed that Joe Gibbs Racing is seeking nearly $150 million in damages.

Gibbs filed a lawsuit back in February against its former competition director, Chris Gabehart, and Spire Motorsports, alleging stolen trade secrets and breach of contract. The organization has since asked the Western District of North Carolina to adjust the timeline for certain events’ due dates because of recently court-ordered discovery. The original reported damages number was $8 million.

But Spire Motorsports claims that they have been told that the trade secrets alone “are worth more than $47 million.” On that point, Spire Motorsports also claims that Joe Gibbs Racing has withheld documents, including its contract with Toyota Racing Development, which “dramatically undermines JGR’s damages case, which rests on its expert’s opinion” on the value of the trade secrets.

The litigation is ongoing, with the trial date long set for Feb. 1, 2027. Gibbs has not asked to alter the start of the trial.

What the team is asking the court for is to shift the due date of the rebuttal expert reports from Oct. 16 to Oct. 19; close of expert discovery from Oct. 27 to Nov. 19; upcoming motions from Nov. 3 to Nov. 20; upcoming oppositions from Nov. 17 to Dec. 1; and replies from Nov. 24 to Dec. 4.

“The need arises from Judge [David] Keesler’s October 7, 2026 Order compelling Spire to produce core technical documents that will not be produced until at least October 19, 2026,” the request from Joe Gibbs Racing stated. “Additionally, Defendants have improperly withheld forensic reporting materials relied upon by their own forensic experts.”

Judge Keesler ordered all parties to turn over a slew of documents. Those included setups, alliance contracts, technical documents, competition meeting materials, and internal communications related to the case and Gabehart’s employment. 

Gibbs acknowledged that a revised schedule is “compressed – but it is workable. The supplemental expert reports will be limited in scope to the new material in the recently produced documents and related testimony; they will not re-open opinions already disclosed. And expert depositions can be dual-tracked. The parties have previously conducted multiple depositions in a single day.” 

But Gibbs does not want the trial date pushed back because “it would be a distraction for all parties and their key witnesses. More importantly, it would allow the alleged misappropriation and resulting harm to continue into yet another season before JGR’s claims are resolved.”

Spire Motorsports took umbrage with the proposed schedule modification. The organization responded bluntly, saying a fact-driven case has turned into a battle of experts and that Gibbs is about to start another round of reports and discovery comparing setups between Spire Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing.

“Just four days ago – after the close of fact discovery and only after the Court ordered it – JGR finally produced a final list of its allegedly misappropriated trade secrets, on top of over 13,000 other documents it previously withheld,” said Spire. “Against this backdrop, JGR refuses to make its experts available for deposition on the Court’s previously ordered schedule and seeks a modification that would give 1) Spire just five business days to response to JGR’s new expert reports (which will become the primary focus of the case); 2) the parties just five business days to prepare for and depose 12 experts … sprinkled around the country; 3) Spire one day to prepare its summary judgment and Daubert briefs; 4) Spire just six business days over Thanksgiving to respond to JGR’s summary judgment and Daubert motions; and 5) Spire only three days to file replies.”

Spire Motorsports says this is impossible and prejudicial. It wants the court to keep the current schedule or extend the trial date.

In countering Gibbs' claim that going into 2027 would be a distraction, Spire Motorsports said, “This entire litigation has been an immense distraction to the parties and their witnesses.”