A federal judge ruled Monday that former Joe Gibbs Racing race director Chris Gabehart can continue to work for Spire Motorsports but not in the role he played with his original NASCAR team.
Gabehart is Spire’s chief motorsports officer, a position that covers most of parent company TWG Global’s racing operations. He made his first public appearance as a Spire employee at an IndyCar event in St. Petersburg, Florida over the weekend.
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Gabehart could travel to this weekend’s race at Phoenix Raceway, where both NASCAR and IndyCar race. TWG Motorsports also owns IndyCar’s Andretti Global.
U.S. District Judge Susan C. Rodriguez of the Western District of North Carolina issued the ruling Monday, ordering the parties to hold a hearing on Friday on JGR’s motion for a restraining order to prevent Gabehart from working for Spire to try to find a solution.
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She has scheduled a full hearing on Gabehart’s employment on March 16.
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Another complaint from JGR alleges that Gabehart stole team data and provided it to Spire, but that complaint has not been resolved. JGR claims Gabehart caused more than $8 million in losses by copying the team’s files and settings, and Spire has been named as a defendant.
“I think we got involved because that’s where it landed. I’m happy with the decision and we take trade secrets very seriously.”
Spire has formed an alliance with Hendrick Motorsports, an agreement that gives the team access to Hendrick’s data. Hendrick is the winningest team in NASCAR history. Spire provides Cup cars to Carson Hocevar, Michael McDowell and Daniel Suarez, as well as Truck Series teams. JGR does not have a Truck Series racing team.
Gibbs and his daughter-in-law did not appear in court for the 10-minute hearing on Monday. They did attend last Friday’s hearing.
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“We are pleased with today’s temporary restraining order ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina that enforces the terms of our contract with Chris Gabehart,” JGR said in a statement. “We will continue to pursue the legal process to protect our information and fight for the rights that are right for our fleets, employees and partners.”
Gabehart joined JGR in 2012 as an engineer and was later promoted to Hamlin’s crew chief and then became race director ahead of the 2025 season. Gabehart was Hamlin’s crew chief for six seasons, and the pair won 22 Cup races, including two at the Daytona 500, and qualified for the championship finals three times.
Hamlin finished fifth or better in six seasons under Gabehart, and Hamlin ranked second in both wins and laps led in the Cup Series during that span.
Gabehart admitted to the court that he did use his cell phone to take photos of JGR Excel files and other projects he was involved in developing. But Gabhart insists a forensic audit proved the information was never shared with any other organization.
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He said his 13-year tenure at JGR was beginning to unravel and he came under pressure last season from team owner Ty Gibbs, the team owner’s grandson, even though he had been promoted to race director at the end of 2024.
“I informed JGR that the job was nothing like it was advertised. I was promised a chief operating officer (COO) type role with oversight of all competitive operations and leadership autonomy,” Gabhardt said in court. “Instead, I found myself constantly entangled with Coach Gibbs, senior JGR executives and family members when making day-to-day game decisions — a dysfunctional organizational structure that I could not continue.”
Gabhart said during Saturday’s IndyCar race that the controversy was not about him putting pressure on team chief Ty Gibbs, who he said was not held to the same standards as other drivers. He said he was saddened by the publicity his dispute has brought to NASCAR and the Gibbs family, which employed him for 13 seasons.
“Deep down, I believe Ty is a very good man, and he and his family have been treated very harshly over the past three years,” Gabehart said. “I feel very sad about that.”
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