Joe Gibbs Racing Escalates Legal Battle, Demanding Access to Deleted Communications in Trade Secret Dispute

CHARLOTTE, NC – Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has formally requested the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina to compel Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports to immediately produce all documents related to deleted text messages exchanged between them. The NASCAR powerhouse is also seeking court authorization for third-party subpoenas to retrieve these deleted communications directly from cellular service providers. The move signifies an aggressive escalation in JGR’s ongoing legal battle, where they accuse their former competition director, Chris Gabehart, of misappropriating trade secrets and subsequently providing them to Spire Motorsports.

In a strongly worded filing, JGR emphasized the critical nature of the information sought, stating, "The nature and significance of the irreparable harm JGR is experiencing cannot be overstated. Gabehart has repeatedly admitted to taking JGR’s trade secrets, and has admitted to deleting communications responsive to the narrow scope of discovery the Court permitted to determine if he used or disclosed those trade secrets. Once a trade secret is lost it is lost forever, and ‘the potential for the loss of trade secrets . . . demonstrates irreparable harm.’"

The lawsuit, Joe Gibbs Racing v. Spire Motorsports and Chris Gabehart, centers on allegations that Gabehart, who transitioned to Chief Motorsports Officer at Spire, used proprietary JGR information during the current NASCAR Cup Series season. JGR is seeking over eight million dollars in damages and is pressing the court, presided over by Judge Susan C. Rodriguez, to expedite proceedings to ascertain the full extent of potential financial losses.

Evidence presented by JGR indicates that Gabehart continued to access confidential JGR files even after a November 6 conversation with team owner Joe Gibbs, which reportedly led to an agreement for Gabehart’s departure. The day following this conversation, Gabehart allegedly photographed at least 20 documents containing confidential team information. Furthermore, JGR claims Gabehart accessed a folder labeled "Spire" on his personal Google Drive, which was synchronized with his JGR-issued computer on November 12, 14, and 15. Gabehart, through his legal counsel, has since apologized for these actions, describing them as "stupid" and expressing embarrassment and regret.

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Conversely, Gabehart contends that JGR initiated the breach of contract by withholding bonuses and agreed-upon financial settlements during his separation period. JGR counters that it would be illogical to continue compensating an individual accused of theft, alleging that Gabehart was in discussions with Spire leadership as early as October.

Spire Motorsports has maintained its position, asserting that it never solicited trade secrets from Gabehart and has no interest in such information, particularly given its technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports. Spire has provided documentation, including contracts and declarations, indicating that Gabehart signed non-disclosure agreements upon his formal integration with the team.

Despite these assertions, the court previously ordered expedited discovery, albeit with a limited scope, specifically concerning communications between Gabehart and Spire co-owners Jeff Dickerson and Dan Towriss. During this initial discovery phase, Gabehart disclosed that he had deleted text messages with Dickerson prior to November 15, believing the matter would not escalate to litigation. Dickerson, in turn, stated that he habitually uses an auto-delete function for his text messages, including those with Gabehart, and this feature was only deactivated on February 26.

The limited text messages produced thus far reportedly show Dickerson sending Gabehart a draft of a lawsuit response that had not yet been officially filed. JGR interprets this as an indication that Spire leadership may have anticipated legal action even before the auto-delete feature was disabled.

Joe Gibbs Racing also claims to have contacted Dickerson on December 3, issuing a warning regarding tortious interference and providing a 90-day window to rectify Gabehart’s concerns. Gabehart argues that this communication was rendered moot by JGR’s alleged failure to make payments. JGR maintains that payments ceased when Gabehart stopped providing services to them and potentially began offering them to Spire. JGR cites evidence, such as Gabehart allegedly developing Spire’s strategic plans on official Spire letterhead by November 25, as further support for their claims of pre-emptive engagement.

Currently, JGR is requesting the court to authorize additional expedited discovery beyond the initial scope. The team asserts an urgent need to determine if its proprietary information is being utilized by other teams this season. Judge Rodriguez has previously expressed reservations about authorizing broad "fishing expeditions" in the absence of concrete proof that JGR’s trade secrets are indeed being used by Spire.

To address these concerns, JGR is seeking the following court orders:

Third-party subpoena to Jeff Dickerson: This would demand the production of all communications with Gabehart regarding employment or potential employment with Spire; all documents referencing Gabehart’s employment or potential employment with Spire; all documents or communications referencing or relating to JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets; and all documents and data related to the activation and deactivation of auto-delete features.
Requests for production of documents on Spire Motorsports: This would require Spire to produce Dickerson’s communications with Gabehart concerning employment or potential employment; all communications and documents referencing Gabehart’s employment or potential employment with Spire; all communications with Gabehart referencing or relating to JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets; all documents pertaining to document retention policies and the activation and deactivation of auto-delete features; and all data indicating when auto-delete features were activated on Dickerson’s devices.
Third-party subpoenas to Gabehart’s and Dickerson’s telephone providers: These would request production of records detailing text messages and phone calls between Gabehart and Dickerson for the period of October 1, 2025, through March 13, 2026.
Third-party subpoenas to Joe Custer, Justin Marks, Todd Meredith, Rick Ware, and Tommy Baldwin: These would seek communications with Dickerson that reference or relate to JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets.
Court-ordered forensic review of Dickerson’s devices: This would involve a forensic examination of Dickerson’s cell phones, tablets, and computers to determine if text messages responsive to JGR’s requests are recoverable and to ascertain when auto-delete functions were activated on these devices.

This marks the second instance where JGR has petitioned the court for subpoenas targeting Custer, Marks, Meredith, Ware, and Baldwin. Previously, the judge had questioned the necessity of these requests, deeming them potentially excessive. JGR’s justification this time is that these individuals, affiliated with Chevrolet, are the most probable contacts Dickerson would have had concerning any trade secrets acquired from JGR.

JGR argues in its filing, "Through bad acts, negligence, or a combination of both, communications relevant to this dispute have been deleted. JGR should be permitted to serve these narrow and limited subpoenas to only a few recipients to ensure other relevant communications are not deleted by individuals not involved in this litigation, which is now the most efficient way to ensure highly relevant communications are preserved."

The core of JGR’s current motion revolves around the deleted text messages. The team posits, "So then, why would messages be proactively deleted? Gabehart has not provided any justification or account of his decision to delete text messages with Dickerson on November 15, 2025 and Dickerson’s purported automatic deletion practice, at a minimum, calls into question his retention of relevant material at a time when he should have taken measures to secure it. Thus, the complete unavailability of messages between two critical actors in this dispute prior to November 15, 2025 begs the immediate question of ‘why?’ The most plausible inference is that the texts were deleted to conceal misconduct. Given Gabehart’s admitted theft of JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets three days earlier, and the fact that he was communicating with the person for whose benefit Gabehart stole the information, the most plausible inference is that the misconduct was related to this stolen information."

The complete legal filing detailing JGR’s request is available for review.