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In a significant escalation of legal proceedings, Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has accused its former competition director, Chris Gabehart, of deliberately deleting text messages that could be crucial evidence in the ongoing lawsuit concerning alleged trade secret misappropriation. The accusation was detailed in a legal filing submitted to the Western District of North Carolina on Wednesday night, casting further doubt on Gabehart’s compliance with an expedited discovery order.
According to JGR’s filing, Gabehart has admitted to deleting an unspecified number of text messages exchanged with Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson prior to the lawsuit being filed. JGR contends that these deletions occurred in the days immediately following Gabehart’s alleged misappropriation of JGR’s proprietary information, thereby depriving the racing organization of vital evidence. The racing powerhouse argues that this action warrants an "adverse inference," suggesting that the deleted communications would have further implicated both Gabehart and Spire Motorsports in the alleged scheme.
The core of JGR’s legal battle revolves around the assertion that Gabehart, upon leaving the organization, “immediately operationalized” trade secrets for the benefit of Spire Motorsports, where he now serves as Chief Motorsports Officer. JGR claims Gabehart created a detailed "Focus Plan" that referenced categories of misappropriated materials and replicated JGR’s proprietary analytics tools for Spire’s use. Furthermore, JGR alleges that Gabehart actively participated in Spire’s NASCAR race-day operations while still bound by a restrictive covenant.
"Equally troubling, Gabehart has now admitted the deletion of an unknown number of responsive text messages with Spire’s co-owner, Jeff Dickerson—communications deleted in the days immediately following his misappropriation—depriving JGR of critical evidence and warranting an adverse inference that the deleted messages would have further implicated both Defendants in the joint misappropriation of JGR’s trade secrets," reads a portion of the JGR filing. The organization believes these actions justify broad injunctive relief and court-ordered monitoring to protect against ongoing irreparable harm.
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Joe Gibbs Racing is seeking a court mandate requiring Spire and Gabehart to provide precise details of his current role. This is intended to verify compliance with a temporary restraining order (TRO) that permits Gabehart’s employment at Spire but prohibits him from engaging in activities that overlap with his former duties as JGR’s competition director. JGR maintains that Gabehart’s departure did not meet the conditions required to trigger a one-week non-compete clause.
Gabehart, in his defense, has argued that JGR breached their contract by ceasing his payments. JGR counters that payments were halted upon the belief that Gabehart posed a risk of sharing protected trade secrets with Spire.
The legal dispute is set to be debated before Judge Susan C. Rodriguez. Joe Gibbs Racing is seeking over $8 million in damages from both Gabehart and Spire, alongside a preliminary injunction to halt their collaboration immediately. The organization has also formally requested an expedited schedule for discovery and a trial, aiming for a resolution before the conclusion of the 2026 Cup Series season.
Deleted Texts Fuel Credibility Concerns
For the past month, Joe Gibbs Racing has consistently challenged Gabehart’s assertions that proprietary data was not transferred to Spire. The admission of deleted text messages has amplified these concerns. JGR’s filing specifically states: "In response to JGR’s expedited discovery requests, Gabehart admitted that he deleted ‘text messages with Mr. Dickerson, the Spire co-owner, prior to November 15, 2025,’ rendering them ‘not available at this time.’ The timing of this deletion is telling. Gabehart deleted these communications the week after misappropriating JGR’s trade secrets on November 7, 2025—and he accessed his ‘Spire’ Google Drive folder on that very same day, November 15."
The filing further elaborates on the sequence of events: "This sequence of events—misappropriation, followed days later by manual and selective deletion of communications with the co-owner of the very company to which the stolen information would have such value—justifies JGR’s request for an injunction to protect against threatened misappropriation, a claim recognized under both federal and North Carolina trade secret law."
Gabehart conceded that "at least one of those texts would be responsive" to the subject matter, attributing the deletion to the absence of a "threat of litigation at the time." However, JGR procured surviving text messages between Gabehart and Dickerson from November 18 that discuss the potential of a lawsuit, suggesting that litigation was foreseeable.
"Here, the surviving texts show that, by at least November 18, 2025—contemporaneous with the November 15 deletion—both Gabehart and Dickerson were discussing a potential lawsuit, rendering litigation reasonably foreseeable by both defendants," JGR’s filing contends. "As such, he either anticipated his actions would eventually be discovered and deleted the messages to eliminate evidence central to the dispute—the essence of spoliation, or he believed he could avoid being caught and deleted them as part of a scheme to reduce the likelihood of exposure. In either scenario, he cannot now invoke the resulting evidentiary void as a shield."
JGR argues that Gabehart provided no innocent explanation for the deletions, particularly when coupled with his alleged act of photographing trade secrets from a JGR computer to his personal phone on November 7. The team also points to a 2024 incident involving engineer Jeff Curtis, who was accused of taking trade secrets to Richard Childress Racing, as a reason for Gabehart to anticipate a strong response from JGR to trade theft.
The limited scope of the expedited discovery order, which currently applies only to Gabehart and not Spire executives, further complicates JGR’s efforts. "Gabehart’s destruction of evidence has significantly impaired JGR’s ability to determine whether and the extent to which JGR’s confidential information was transmitted to Spire in advance of the hearing on JGR’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction," the filing states. "Because expedited discovery was limited to Gabehart alone, JGR has had no ability to obtain corresponding documents from Spire to fill the gaps that Gabehart’s spoliation has created." JGR’s forensic examiner reportedly could not exclude the possibility that JGR information was shared through various deleted channels.
JGR believes the deleted texts were destroyed for a specific legal purpose, leading to the conclusion that "Gabehart’s deliberate destruction of evidence both factually and legally warrants an adverse inference that the deleted communications were damaging to both him and Spire."
Allegations of Misconduct and Competitive Disadvantage
Joe Gibbs Racing asserts that Gabehart began developing a strategy plan for Spire within 15 days of his departure from JGR and receiving an offer from Spire. This "Focus Plan," currently under seal, allegedly functions as a roadmap for leveraging JGR’s confidential information, explicitly referencing specific categories of documents Gabehart misappropriated, including setup procedures, crew chief audits, driver debriefs, and performance analytics.
According to a redacted declaration by JGR competition director Wally Brown, this plan "reflects highly sensitive trade secrets" developed by JGR over years of experience and data collection. By January 2026, JGR accuses Gabehart of implementing this data, creating a Spire spreadsheet that closely replicates JGR’s proprietary race-performance analytics tool. This spreadsheet, JGR claims, shows Spire using JGR terminology and approaches by the season-opening Daytona 500.
"The resemblance is not coincidental; it reflects the direct migration of JGR’s trade-secret framework to Spire—conferring an immediate competitive advantage to Spire that is grounded in stolen information," JGR’s filing states, drawing an analogy: "Put simply, JGR ‘finds itself in the position of a coach, one of whose players has left, playbook in hand, to join the opposing team before the big game.’"
JGR further alleges that Gabehart was communicating with Spire co-owner Don Towriss as early as October, a claim Gabehart denies. The team also accuses Gabehart of running "compensation projections" for Spire in a file labeled "My Cut."
While Spire has stated Gabehart’s official start date was February 17, JGR points to discovered emails between Gabehart and Spire president Bill Anthony discussing organizational flow charts by early February 2026. Spire has submitted documentation indicating Gabehart signed a non-disclosure agreement preventing the sharing of JGR data. Dickerson has reportedly stated that Spire does not need JGR data due to an alliance with Hendrick Motorsports.
JGR, however, accused Spire on Wednesday of presenting a public facade. Evidence suggests that on February 11, 2026, as JGR prepared to seek emergency relief, Gabehart and Dickerson exchanged text messages strategizing over the potential lawsuit. Dickerson allegedly described the request for emergency relief as signaling that "it’s on," and Gabehart reportedly remarked that the only remaining issue with the employment agreement was how to frame language referencing JGR "given all of this." JGR interprets this as an admission that the February 16, 2026, Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement was a reactive measure rather than a genuine safeguard.
Indemnity and Surveillance Allegations
In a separate declaration, Spire president Bill Anthony stated that the team is not covering Gabehart’s legal fees and that such an agreement was never made. Text messages from February 22 show Dickerson expressing excitement about Gabehart’s response to the lawsuit and stating Spire was "in the boat," with Gabehart reciprocating that the support meant "the world" to him. The full context of these communications remains under seal due to redactions.
Joe Gibbs Racing previously suggested Gabehart was receiving financial legal aid from Spire, citing his Google searches for "indemnity" in November.
Intense Scrutiny at Darlington Raceway
Chris Gabehart’s presence in the Spire Motorsports Truck Series and Cup Series garage areas at Darlington Raceway over a recent weekend has drawn considerable attention. Motorsport.com observed Gabehart in the stands before the Cup Series race, and JGR Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Eric Schaffer noted his use of a "customized two-way radio," a device used for team communications, distinct from public scanner radios.
Schaffer’s declaration states: "Mr. Gabehart is wearing a customized two-way radio which is the device teams use to communicate among crew chiefs, spotters, drivers, and possibly race engineers during races, including private channels that cannot be picked up by race fans or other teams. This is a different device from a typical public ‘scanner’ radio where race fans can listen in on some spotters and crew chiefs talk with each other and with the drivers."
Schaffer also reported receiving "numerous reports from individuals that were in the garage area at Darlington that Mr. Gabehart was in garage area at the conclusion of the race speaking with Spire Motorsports employees about the race behind their race haulers."
JGR argues that Gabehart’s choice to observe the race from the grandstands, rather than a team suite, and his use of specialized communication devices, supports the inference that he was attempting to avoid notice. The organization contends that his repeated attendance at and participation in Spire’s race-day activities, especially in ways that could facilitate real-time strategy discussions, underscores the imminent threat of trade secret misappropriation. "Gabehart’s choice to watch the race from the grandstands, rather than from the team suite or alongside Spire personnel—as would be expected given his role—further supports the inference that he was attempting to avoid notice," the filing states. "His repeated attendance at and participation in race-day activities for Spire, including in areas and communication means that would allow him to discuss race strategy in real time, underscores the imminent threat of misappropriation of JGR’s trade secrets given race day is exactly the context in which JGR’s competition strategies may be employed."
JGR concludes that Gabehart can convey information verbally or in person through virtually unrecordable and undetectable means. Given his alleged credibility issues and past efforts to use JGR information for Spire, JGR believes a reporting requirement is necessary, stating, "Gabehart cannot be simply trusted to comply."
However, it is noted that Gabehart was observed engaging in public conversations in the garage area at Darlington.
Next Steps in the Legal Battle
The two parties are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday to argue the preliminary injunction motion. Joe Gibbs Racing seeks to prevent Gabehart from working for Spire or, at a minimum, compel him to report his every duty to the court to ensure no overlap with his former responsibilities.
JGR is pushing for an expedited trial process, requesting Rule 26 discovery conferences and disclosures by April 2 and a trial as soon as possible. The stated rationale is that "An expedited trial date will eliminate unnecessary delays in discovery and promote an efficient resolution of the instant dispute."
The relevant filings include Joe Gibbs Racing’s complete Thursday filing, Eric Schaffer’s declaration, and a declaration concerning Gabehart’s deleted texts.
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