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Charlotte, NC – Chris Gabehart, former competition director for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), has formally responded to accusations from his former employer that he violated a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued in the ongoing lawsuit between the two parties. The allegations, detailed in a filing submitted to the Western District of North Carolina on Monday night, centered on photographs taken of Gabehart at Bristol Motor Speedway over the preceding weekend.
The core of the legal dispute, which seeks $8 million in damages from Gabehart, stems from JGR’s claims of a "brazen scheme" by Gabehart to acquire and potentially disseminate proprietary information. This alleged scheme is said to have occurred in violation of a non-compete clause as Gabehart transitioned to his new role as Chief Motorsports Officer at Spire Motorsports. The TRO, initially granted by Judge Susan Rodriguez, permits Gabehart to work at Spire but restricts him from performing duties that directly overlap with his former responsibilities as JGR’s competition director. This measure is intended to allow Gabehart to earn a living while the parties pursue either a settlement or a trial scheduled for November.
JGR’s legal team has reportedly maintained surveillance on Gabehart at Cup Series events, leading to the recent submission of photographic evidence to the court. In response to these accusations, Gabehart and his legal counsel have filed a motion urging the court to dismiss the filing, characterizing it as an "improper attempt to introduce surveillance photos as evidence outside the briefing schedule." Gabehart’s team contends that JGR’s actions constitute "stalking Mr. Gabehart at racetracks, then rushing to this Court to spin routine behavior into suggested misconduct."
A central argument from Gabehart and representatives of Spire Motorsports is that the role of competition director at Spire is currently held by Matt McCall, thus eliminating any direct overlap with Gabehart’s new position as Chief Motorsports Officer. They assert that Gabehart’s responsibilities as CMO are "fundamentally different in scope, seniority, and focus," a distinction they claim is already established within the legal record. Gabehart’s presence at races, they argue, is "entirely consistent with his role as CMO and commonplace for executive-level employees like him."
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Further bolstering their defense, Gabehart’s legal team pointed to JGR’s recent collaboration with LEGACY Motor Club in hiring Michael Guttilla, the former COO of JGR, as LEGACY’s president. They highlight that Guttilla held a position of at least equal, and likely greater, access to JGR’s confidential information than Gabehart did. The legal filing notes that JGR "evidently did not view its confidential information as sensitive enough to prevent—or even protest—Mr. Guttilla’s mid-season move to a direct competitor, which undermines JGR’s claim that Mr. Gabehart poses some unique threat to JGR’s competitive interests."
This comparison draws a distinction between JGR and LEGACY, both of which are tier-one Toyota Racing North America teams, and Spire Motorsports, which competes as a Chevrolet team. The collaborative nature of Guttilla’s move is emphasized, with a statement from LEGACY’s hiring press release indicating that "Principals at Joe Gibbs Racing worked collaboratively with ownership at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB to facilitate the move, with full support from both organizations." Joe Gibbs himself was quoted in the release, stating, "We really appreciate Michael’s guidance and leadership over the past few years. We are happy that he will be able to continue to contribute to the Toyota family in his new position." This suggests a level of cooperation and information sharing between JGR and its affiliated Toyota teams that, according to Gabehart’s defense, contrasts with JGR’s current stance regarding his move to a competitor in a different manufacturer’s camp.
In his personal declaration, Gabehart directly addressed the specific allegations and photographic evidence presented by JGR. Echoing points made in response to similar accusations following the race weekend at Darlington Raceway, Gabehart stated that his radio equipment at Bristol did not include a speaker, and therefore, he was not actively participating in competition-related discussions. He likened his presence and use of a headset to that of team owners and executives, including JGR owner Joe Gibbs and Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon, who frequently attend races and engage in observation and strategic discussions.
Gabehart elaborated on his use of radio equipment, explaining that "hundreds of individuals at NASCAR Cup Series events—including owners, executives, sponsor representatives, and administrative personnel—commonly wear radios when Cup cars are on track and stand in similar proximity to their teams." He specifically mentioned that executives at JGR, such as Coach Gibbs and Dave Alpern, have, in his experience, "regularly use radio equipment at races." He clarified that the purpose of these radios is to "listen to the team radio traffic to monitor team performance," emphasizing that the driver, crew chief, and spotter are the primary communicators on competition matters. Gabehart maintained that he "only wore earbuds with no microphone and therefore had no way to communicate via the radio, I could just listen to the radio traffic. Accordingly, I did not discuss any competition-related issues on the radio."
He further asserted that his presence near Spire Motorsports’ race cars was a natural part of his executive oversight responsibilities as Chief Motorsports Officer and that he was "not performing any services in a Competition Director-type role at Bristol."
Gabehart then proceeded to individually address the photographs submitted by JGR. Regarding two specific images, he described them as illustrating "the silliness of JGR’s spies taking pictures so my replacement, Mr. (Wally) Brown, can speak out under oath about what JGR’s lawyers want the Court to believe I was doing." In reference to one photograph, he stated, "I was looking up at the speedway’s Jumbotron watching television coverage of qualifying."
Another photograph, depicting Gabehart observing monitors on a cart, was explained as him "watching two monitors mounted on a cart: one showing the live TV broadcast of practice and the other showing the real-time ranking order of the teams and drivers in the practice session and their corresponding lap times." He reiterated his stance, stating, "Again, despite Mr. Brown’s speculation under oath, I was not performing any services in a Competition Director-type role at Bristol."
The ongoing legal proceedings between Joe Gibbs Racing and Chris Gabehart, along with the related actions involving Spire Motorsports, continue to be closely watched within the NASCAR community. The court’s decision on these matters will likely have implications for non-compete clauses and the protection of proprietary information within professional motorsports. The next steps in the litigation are anticipated to clarify the boundaries of Gabehart’s new role and the extent to which JGR’s claims of proprietary information misuse are substantiated.
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