The Joe Gibbs Racing team accuses Chris Gabhart of secretly accessing and deleting confidential files after he left

Joe Gibbs Racing has stepped up its accusations against former competition director Chris Gabhart in an ongoing federal case tied to his move to Spire Motorsports. In a new court filing filed ahead of Monday’s (March 16) hearing, JGR argued that Gabhart mishandled company files and showed a clear intent to conceal his actions while negotiating with a competing organization.

The $8 million dispute stems from Gabhart’s departure after more than a decade with Joe Gibbs Racing. He joined Spire Motorsports in a leadership role, prompting JGR to file a lawsuit in the Western District of North Carolina. The team alleges misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, and improper handling of confidential data during the transfer.

In its most recent filing, JGR said Chris Gabhart’s activity with the company’s files had no reasonable explanation.

“There is no innocent explanation for secretly accessing, reviewing, and selectively deleting your employer’s confidential files after your employment has ended while you are negotiating with a direct competitor. Gabhart’s belief that he was acting secretly is itself strong evidence of wrongful intent.”

The team also noted actions on Chris Gabhart’s phone and laptop that it believed showed deliberate attempts to avoid detection. According to the latest filings, Spire’s chief motorsport executive photographed sensitive information from his work computer instead of taking screenshots.

Joe Gibbs Racing argues that Gibbart did this specifically to stay away from digital traces during internal surveillance or forensic analysis. The organization said this pattern reflects what it calls a “technical error” related to cloud syncing, which later revealed continued access to company files.

“This is the same modus operandi he used when photographing his computer screen rather than taking screenshots — a method he used specifically because he believed he would avoid detection. The inescapable inference is that Gabhart engaged in this behavior only because he thought no one would find out,” the filings state.

The latest filing adds that Chris Gabhart’s alleged actions continued even after he returned his company computer. According to a forensic review conducted by JGR, the cloud sync allowed investigators to detect activity involving internal documents after he was gone.

The team believes that these details justify the rapid discovery of the case. Joe Gibbs Racing wants the court to quickly allow access to devices and communications involving Gabehart and Spire’s driving to determine whether private NASCAR competition data could be used elsewhere.

Speier and Gabhart opposed this request, although they indicated that they would seek their own discovery if the court granted this request.

Joe Gibbs Racing disputes claims of a personnel trade agreement with Spire Motorsports for Chris Gabehart

Another part of the latest filing addresses allegations made by Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson regarding a supposed personnel understanding between the teams.

Dickerson previously suggested that Spire allowed veteran car boss Cheddar Smith to leave his contract early to join JGR, with the expectation that Spire would later be able to hire a Joe Gibbs Racing employee in return. Tony Rogers, JGR’s chief people officer, strongly disagreed with this characterization.

In her announcement, Rogers said she was only aware of discussions involving a potential exchange of observers between the organizations, a move that ultimately never happened.

“I was certainly never aware of any type of open-ended agreement with Spire that would allow Spire to hire someone who was subject to contractual obligations with JGR. As JGR’s chief human resources officer, I was aware of any such agreement that might come to fruition.”

Rogers also said that had such an arrangement existed with Chris Gabhart, it would have required a formal written release similar to the agreement that allowed Smith to change teams.

“Had any such deal been contemplated or offered, there would have been a formal written release similar to that executed between Cheddar and Spire. There was no such release with respect to Chris Gabhart.”

A key court hearing is scheduled for March 16, when federal Judge Susan C. Rodriguez will review competing requests from Joe Gibbs Racing and Spire Motorsports.