Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has filed a petition in the Western District of North Carolina to hold both Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports in civil contempt. The lawsuit is based on the alleged violation of a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction imposed last March.
Specifically, JGR demands that the defendants appear before the court to justify why they should not be held in contempt. This action is framed within a lawsuit and counter-lawsuit that extend among the three parties due to Gabehart’s departure from JGR at the end of the last season, where he was accused of breach of contract and taking confidential information to Spire.
Controversy ongoing
Since the start of the litigation, the court has prohibited Gabehart from providing services to Spire that resemble his previous functions as competition director during the 2025 season. This includes elements such as developing and executing race strategies, controlling analytics to improve performance, and participating in competition meetings and post-race reviews.
JGR claims that Gabehart has crossed these boundaries on several occasions this season, and that Spire has allowed him to do so by granting him the title of ‘Chief Motorsports Officer’ and responsibilities for ‘all things related to racing’, a fact that JGR considers misleading.
Evidence of improper behavior
In its motion, JGR argues that Spire did not impose effective restrictions on Gabehart until months after the litigation began. The document includes a significant amount of evidence, including emails, depositions, and text messages detailing the moments when Gabehart acted as competition director despite the court’s orders.
For example, on March 21, 2026, during the validity of the temporary order, Gabehart discussed technical details of Spire’s vehicles with Matt McCall, the competition director of his series. Less than a week later, Spire driver Carson Hocevar communicated to him the technical difficulties of his car via message, and Gabehart responded with a ‘stop’. This exchange shows that Gabehart was aware that the conversation violated the court order.
The silence on communications
Another aspect that may incriminate Gabehart is his decision to delete his text message history with Jeff Dickerson, co-owner of Spire, just two days after receiving the job offer. JGR seeks to recover these messages to investigate whether Gabehart discussed confidential information that the court has confirmed was ‘misappropriated’.
It seems that, so far, the deleted texts have not been recoverable. In its motion, JGR argues that these actions indicate an intent to deprive them of their evidence. Their forensic examiner has attempted to recover these messages without success, and Gabehart has stated that he deleted this information out of panic.
What does JGR seek with this motion?
JGR asks the court to recognize that Gabehart acted with the intent to deprive them of the information and that they be allowed to infer that these deleted messages contained unfavorable information for Gabehart, including the possibility that he actively sought a position at Spire before his formal separation from JGR.
As this legal case progresses, the outcome could have a significant impact on the dynamics between JGR, Gabehart, and Spire Motorsports, keeping motorsport fans’ attention on how this controversy will unfold.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
