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In a significant escalation of the legal battle between Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and its former competition director Chris Gabehart, new court filings have revealed that JGR hired a private investigator to surveil Gabehart and Spire Motorsports personnel following the conclusion of the most recent NASCAR Cup Series season. The move underscores JGR’s contention that Gabehart, now with Spire Motorsports, may have unlawfully retained and disseminated proprietary competition data.
The legal documents, submitted in support of JGR’s request for expedited fact discovery, detail the efforts undertaken to gather evidence of potential conspiracy and trade secret theft. The investigator, Ryan Simpson of Barefoot Private Investigations, a North Carolina licensed professional, was engaged to monitor the movements of Gabehart and Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson.
Simpson’s declaration, filed into the court record, outlines a specific timeline of observed interactions. On December 2, 2025, Simpson reported witnessing Gabehart drive to the Spire Motorsports facility. Shortly thereafter, at 12:02 PM, Dickerson was observed entering Gabehart’s vehicle. The investigator provided photographic evidence, captured from video footage, to corroborate this encounter.
Following this meeting, Gabehart reportedly drove with Dickerson to a nearby restaurant, arriving at 12:22 PM. The two individuals remained at the establishment for over an hour, until 1:47 PM, during which time Simpson documented their presence together with further photographic evidence. The pair then departed the restaurant and returned to the Spire Motorsports facility by 2:00 PM, at which point Dickerson was seen exiting Gabehart’s vehicle.
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In addition to the private investigator’s findings, JGR has submitted declarations from key figures within the organization and the broader NASCAR community to bolster its argument for the urgent need to ascertain whether Spire Motorsports acquired proprietary competition data upon hiring Gabehart. These declarations come from Wally Brown, JGR’s team competition director; driver Denny Hamlin; Andy Graves, an executive at Toyota Racing Development (TRD); and Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports.
Central to JGR’s claim is the assertion that Gabehart, in his former role, had access to highly sensitive and valuable proprietary information. The declarations aim to illustrate the significant competitive advantage such data could confer upon a rival team.
Further supporting JGR’s position is a declaration from Dave Alpern, President of Joe Gibbs Racing. Alpern details a conversation with Gabehart on December 4, 2025, where Gabehart reportedly downplayed any significant discussions regarding employment with Spire Motorsports, despite acknowledging a recent lunch with Jeff Dickerson. Alpern also raised concerns about Jennifer Gabehart, Chris Gabehart’s spouse, having traveled to the Phoenix race in November 2025 on the Spire Motorsports private plane. Gabehart, according to Alpern, described his relationship with Dickerson as purely friendship and denied discussing employment opportunities.
Denny Hamlin, who partnered with Gabehart for five seasons as crew chief for the No. 11 JGR Toyota Camry before Gabehart’s promotion to competition director in 2025, emphasized the critical nature of the information Gabehart allegedly retained. Hamlin stated in his declaration that the materials described as being on Gabehart’s personal devices, including car setups, simulation files, post-race analytics, tire management strategies, fuel mileage calculations, and pit crew performance data, represent "the crown jewels of our racing operation." He further elaborated that this data constitutes "decades of JGR’s research, development, and innovation specifically designed to optimize speed and win races," providing a "comprehensive roadmap for JGR’s competitive strategies."
Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports, provided an external perspective on the importance of proprietary data in the current NASCAR landscape. He highlighted the intensified competition following the introduction of the Next Gen car in 2022, which standardized the chassis and many components across the field. Jenkins explained that in this environment, even minor modifications to car setups or components become crucial, making confidential and strategic information invaluable to a team’s performance. He stressed the paramount importance of employees adhering to confidentiality agreements and refraining from taking such data when moving between teams, labeling it as a breach of fair competition.
Beyond the alleged misappropriation of technical data, JGR has also presented declarations from sponsors SAIA and Zep, suggesting that Spire Motorsports may have engaged in overtures to secure their business, potentially leveraging information obtained from Gabehart.
Bill Lealos of SAIA recounted receiving a direct message on LinkedIn from a Spire Motorsports partnerships representative in the week of February 23, 2026, requesting a meeting to discuss the racing industry. Lealos declined the invitation.
Greg Heyer of Zep detailed a text message received on February 27, 2026, from Stephen D’Hondt, Chief Operating Officer of Spire Motorsports. D’Hondt invited Heyer to a Spire Motorsports event in Phoenix during a NASCAR race weekend. Heyer noted that prior to this invitation, his last communication with D’Hondt was a text message on January 19, 2026, confirming Zep’s sponsorship of JGR for the 2026 NASCAR Cup season. The implication from JGR is that these approaches by Spire occurred after it was conceivable that Gabehart could have shared JGR’s sponsorship value data, thus presenting a potential harm from a legal standpoint.
It is important to note that Chris Gabehart and his legal representatives have consistently maintained that no proprietary information was shared with Spire Motorsports. Similarly, Spire Motorsports and Jeff Dickerson have stated that they have not received any trade secrets from JGR and have no desire to do so.
The ongoing legal proceedings involve numerous filings, including declarations from JGR’s forensics examiner Clark Walton, Joe Gibbs himself, Toyota Executive Competition Director Andy Graves, JGR competition director Wally Brown, and JGR Chief Commercial Officer Eric Schaffer, all contributing to the comprehensive evidentiary picture JGR is seeking to establish. The core of the dispute revolves around the alleged unauthorized acquisition and potential use of confidential intellectual property, a matter with significant implications for competitive integrity within the highly scrutinized world of professional motorsports.
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