Ex Joe Gibbs Racing competition director Chris Gabehart responded to his former employer’s court filings. NASCAR insider Kelly Crandall shared Gabehart’s thoughts on the Cup Series team’s latest request in the ongoing legal battle.
JGR allegedly accused the former employee of leaking the organization’s sensitive data to the rival team. As per the stock car racing team, Gabehart circulated data, including drivers’ salaries, team payroll, sponsor revenue, and similar details. As a result, the organization has filed the lawsuit and is seeking over $8 million in damages for the data breach.
Thanks for the submission!
On April 2, Joe Gibbs Racing filed for additional discovery, stating that they had recently become aware of deleted texts between Chris Gabehart and Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson. Gabehart countered that he voluntarily and transparently disclosed the deleted messages. The former JGR employee further called this pursuit a “desperate” attempt and stated:
“JGR’s litigation strategy—file motion after motion, accuse first and ask questions later—cannot manufacture evidence of disclosure of confidential JGR information where none exists. JGR is clearly desperate. It has yet to identify a single verified instance in which Mr. Gabehart transmitted, disclosed, or used any JGR Confidential Information.“
Continuing, Chris Gabehart remained adamant that he did not share any sensitive information with any third party. Additionally, Spire Motorsports also claimed that the deleted texts contained no information related to Joe Gibbs Racing, nor do they want any.
As a result, Gabehart agreed to subpoena his phone carrier to recover the deleted texts with one condition. He wants to seek the discovery of the cell phones of Heather Gibbs, Eric Shaeffer, Dave Alpern, and Toni Rogers.
“These materials provide a comprehensive roadmap for JGR’s competitive strategies”: Joe Gibbs Racing veteran candidly shared his take on the alleged data breach by Chris Gabehart
In March 2026, Joe Gibbs Racing revealed that the team had hired a private investigator to follow Chris Gabehart ahead of the lawsuit. Later, the Cup Series team shared the findings as legal documents in the courtroom. The documents featured pictures of Gabehart meeting with Spire Motorsports owners in December 2025.
The meeting between the two parties was held near Spire Motorsports’ facility. Following that, Motorsports shared a report featuring Denny Hamlin’s take on the alleged data breach by his former crew chief. The #11 Toyota Camry XSE driver stated:
“The materials Gabehart took—including car setups, simulation files, post-race analytics, tire management strategies, fuel mileage calculations, and pit crew performance data—represent decades of JGR’s research, development, and innovation specifically designed to optimize speed and win races.”
“These materials provide a comprehensive roadmap for JGR’s competitive strategies and are the exact set of proprietary and confidential information any of JGR’s competitors would want in order to understand JGR’s processes, technological capabilities, and payment structures that have led to JGR’s overwhelming success,” he added.
Denny Hamlin concluded that Chris Gabehart’s actions “would cause major harm” to Joe Gibbs Racing. Meanwhile, Spire Motorsports also denied all the claims of gaining any sensitive information about JGR.
Edited by Karan Yadav
You must be logged in to post a comment Login