NASCAR race teams in NC trade accusations in lawsuit over theft + trade secrets
A Charlotte-area NASCAR team is suing one of its former leaders for allegedly stealing trade secrets to help a competitor, which it also sued, and is seeking over $8 million in damages in the case.
Joe Gibbs Racing of Huntersville sued former JGR competition director Christopher Gabehart and Mooresville-based Spire Motorsports in late February in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Gabehart works for Spire now.
JGR is seeking an expedited trial to stop what it said was ongoing harm to its business.
The team also alleged that the use of its trade secrets is impacting NASCAR results. JGR claimed that Spire was a “back marker” team (a team that typically ends up behind top racers), but has improved its speed and qualifying results since Gabehart joined.
One example JGR cited is Spire racer Carson Hocevar winning at Talladega one week before the lawsuit was filed. JGR provided transcripts of NASCAR TV analysts speculating that Spire’s newfound speed could be attributed in part to hiring “a good one” like Gabehart, court records show.
In court documents, Gabehart and Spire denied the accusations. Gabehart said he had no intention to give Spire a leg up with JGR information. And Spire officials told Gabehart not to use material from his old boss to help Spire’s team, Spire said in court documents.
How the Joe Gibbs Racing federal lawsuit began
In early November, Gabehart, asked for total control over JGR’s racing operations and decisions, according to JGR court documents. Owner Joe Gibbs denied his request, and Gabehart resigned.
“I notified JGR that the job was not, at all, as advertised,” Gabehart said in a court declaration. “I was promised a (Chief Operating Officer) type role overseeing all competitive operations with autonomy to lead. Instead, I found myself constantly intertwined with Coach Gibbs, senior JGR executives and family members when making even routine competition decisions — a dysfunctional organizational structure that I could not continue in.”
Before he left, JGR claimed Gabehart spent 15 minutes on Nov. 7 taking at least 20 pictures of computer screens on his cellphone.
“All of the information contained within the files was relevant to my job at JGR,” Gabehart stated in the declaration. “I understood my confidentiality obligations to JGR and had no intent to violate those obligations with respect to JGR’s confidential or trade secret information. I did not plan to use any such information in future employment and have not done so.”
JGR alleged in its lawsuit that Gabehart linked his personal Google Drive to his work laptop to copy team data. This included payroll data for engineers, drivers and pit crews; technical setups and simulation results used to make cars faster; sponsorship revenue; and financial secrets.
More details about the NASCAR team lawsuit
A few days later in November, Gabehart left JGR and returned his company laptop.
Although Gabehart stopped coming to work, JGR stated that his employment contract wasn’t over yet because the two sides were still working out a separation agreement. On Feb. 9, 2026, the team formally ended the contract “for cause.”
This replaced a friendly exit with a termination, with JGR claiming Gabehart took and used confidential information and trade secrets. JGR also accused him of fraud, misconduct, gross negligence and dishonesty.
A few days later in February, JGR learned Gabehart planned to become Spire’s chief motorsports officer, overseeing the team’s racing strategy and operations.
JGR said Gabehart told them in December that Spire’s offer was for a role that would not involve work similar to what he did at JGR. But JGR argued the new job would involve the same kind of work, according to the lawsuit.
A third-party forensic team found a folder on the Google Drive titled “Spire,” including a subfolder called “past setups,” and more than 20 racecar setup files. The JGR files were deleted from Gabehart’s Google Drive and personal cell phone after he handed them over, according to court records.
Gabehart explained that he used the “Spire” folder to evaluate his job offer because he believed he and JGR were already moving toward a mutual split, according to court records.
JGR also claimed that Gabehart violated his contract by trying to recruit a JGR employee to join him at Spire, according to the lawsuit.
JGR asked the court to stop Gabehart from sharing information with competitors, require the return of proprietary data and order the defendants to pay legal fees and punitive damages. JGR also asked the court to enforce an 18-month non-compete contract.
What’s next for this NASCAR legal battle?
On April 23, U.S. District Judge Susan Rodriguez issued a preliminary injunction to keep restrictions in place that stop Gabehart from using JGR information as the lawsuit continues.
But the judge denied JGR’s request for an injunction against Spire because there was no clear evidence Spire asked for stolen information or that Gabehart shared it with the team.
Spire took steps to remove Gabehart’s computer access at Spire as of March 18 in light of the litigation, according to court records.
Gabehart’s actions likely qualified as misappropriation of trade secrets, according to Rodriguez, who ordered Gabehart to stop using JGR confidential information or trade secrets and to return materials in his possession.
He was also ordered not to provide services for Spire that he performed for JGR in his final year, including that of competition director and crew chief duties. Gabehart can stay at Spire and do work he did not do at JGR during his final year. He is not banned from NASCAR events.
JGR asked the court to limit what Gabehart could do at his new job since it overlapped with his prior role and could lead to confidential information being used.
JGR also requested that the court order Spire to stop contacting JGR’s sponsors, claiming that its private data was being used to attract them.
Both sides recently filed a joint motion requesting more time to extend the defendants’ deadline to respond to the complaint, which had been scheduled for April 27. This comes after JGR notified Gabehart and Spire it planned to file a second amended complaint.
JGR claimed Gabehart is working around the court’s restrictions. This includes moving from sitting in the grandstands to standing inside Spire’s pit-road workstation near workers while monitoring live race data.
The racing team is also concerned Gabehart is providing real-time technical advice through radio or in-person communication, which is difficult for forensic examiners to track.
JGR is seeking a December trial during the NASCAR offseason so it does not interrupt next year’s races.
Spire and JGR did not respond to requests for comments from The Charlotte Observer.
An ‘unnecessary lawsuit’
Gabehart’s attorney, Cary Davis of Charlotte-based Robinson Bradshaw, told the Observer that Gabehart regrets JGR has pursued an “unnecessary lawsuit.”
“Before he went to work for Spire as its Chief Motorsports Officer, JGR conducted a forensic examination of Mr. Gabehart’s devices and cloud storage locations and retrieved the materials at issue in this case,” Davis stated. “Mr. Gabehart has neither used JGR’s confidential information since he left the team nor shared JGR’s confidential information with Spire or anyone else.”
Attorneys for Spire said JGR has not identified any evidence that its competitive position declined since the alleged misconduct occurred or offered evidence that Spire used JGR’s competitive information to improve its performance.
“Indeed, JGR’s performance during the 2026 NASCAR season has, to date, exceeded even its performance last season,” attorneys for Spire said.
More on Spire Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing
JGR was founded in 1992 by NFL Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. The NASCAR team is one of the top multi-car teams. Its history includes drivers such as Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Dale Jarrett.
Spire Motorsports started in 2018. It is co-owned by Jeff Dickerson, a NASCAR industry executive, and Dan Towriss, CEO of TWG Motorsports. Drivers who have competed for Spire include William Byron, Justin Haley and Corey LaJoie.
