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In a dramatic escalation of its legal battle, Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has revealed that it employed a private investigator to follow former competition director Chris Gabehart after the conclusion of the NASCAR Cup Series season, prior to filing a lawsuit alleging the misappropriation of trade secrets. The revelations, detailed in legal documents submitted in support of an expedited fact discovery request, paint a picture of intense scrutiny surrounding Gabehart’s departure and his subsequent move to Spire Motorsports.
The documents, filed to bolster JGR’s argument for swift access to information regarding any proprietary competition data allegedly acquired by Spire Motorsports, also include declarations from key figures within the racing world. These include JGR’s team competition director Wally Brown, driver Denny Hamlin, Toyota’s Andy Graves, and rival team owner Bob Jenkins. Their testimonies aim to underscore the critical importance of determining, without delay, whether Spire Motorsports gained access to sensitive JGR information upon hiring Gabehart.
One of the most striking pieces of evidence presented is the declaration from Ryan Simpson, a North Carolina-licensed private investigator from Barefoot Private Investigations, who was retained by JGR. Simpson’s sworn statement details a timeline of observations and photographic evidence of interactions between Gabehart and Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson in December 2025.
According to Simpson’s filing, on December 2, 2025, he observed Gabehart driving his vehicle to the Spire Motorsports facility. At 11:54 AM, Dickerson entered Gabehart’s vehicle. Later, at 12:02 PM, Gabehart drove to a nearby restaurant, where both men entered at 12:22 PM. They remained at the restaurant together until 1:47 PM. Simpson provided still photographs from video footage capturing Dickerson entering Gabehart’s vehicle and the two men sitting together at the restaurant. Following their meeting, they departed the restaurant and returned to the Spire facility, with Dickerson exiting Gabehart’s vehicle at 2:00 PM.
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Adding another layer to the unfolding legal narrative is a declaration from Joe Gibbs Racing president Dave Alpern. Alpern’s statement details a conversation he had with Gabehart in early December 2025, during which they discussed a separation agreement. In this exchange, Gabehart reportedly denied having discussed employment with Spire Motorsports. Alpern also sought clarification on why Gabehart’s spouse had flown to the Phoenix race in November on the Spire Motorsports private plane.
Alpern’s declaration recounts a text message exchange on December 3, 2025, where Gabehart initiated a conversation, stating, "Good evening, Dave. Would it do us any good to have a discussion about what needs to happen from here? Surely no one really wants to do the other any harm? I know I don’t." Alpern responded positively to discussing a resolution that would "do what’s right."
The following day, on December 4, 2025, Alpern spoke with Gabehart by phone. During this conversation, Alpern advised Gabehart to be honest about his future employment plans if he did not wish to harm JGR. He specifically inquired about employment with Spire Motorsports. Gabehart, according to Alpern, acknowledged having recently had lunch with Jeff Dickerson and confirmed his spouse’s use of Dickerson’s airplane for the Phoenix trip. However, Gabehart maintained that his relationship with Dickerson was purely friendly and that no employment discussions had taken place. He concluded the call by asserting that his fourteen years with JGR should hold some weight and asked Alpern to trust him. Alpern stated that he and Gabehart have not communicated since this December 4th conversation.
To emphasize the potential gravity of the information Gabehart may have possessed and potentially transferred, JGR enlisted the insights of Denny Hamlin and Bob Jenkins. Hamlin, who worked closely with Gabehart from 2019 to 2024 as driver and crew chief, and subsequently in 2025 when Gabehart was promoted to competition director, described the data as the "crown jewels" of JGR’s operation.
Hamlin’s declaration states, "The materials Gabehart took—including car setups, simulation files, post-race analytics, tire management strategies, fuel mileage calculations, and pit crew performance data—represent decades of JGR’s research, development, and innovation specifically designed to optimize speed and win races. These materials provide a comprehensive roadmap for JGR’s competitive strategies and are the exact set of proprietary and confidential information any of JGR’s competitors would want in order to understand JGR’s processes, technological capabilities, and payment structures that have led to JGR’s overwhelming success."
Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports, further corroborated the significance of such proprietary data in the current NASCAR landscape. He highlighted the increased importance of competitive information following the introduction of the Next Gen car in 2022, which standardized the chassis and components across the field. Jenkins explained that in this environment, even minor modifications to car setups or components can be crucial for gaining a competitive edge.
"Because this information is so crucial to each team’s race performance and overall strategy, it is paramount that employees abide by their confidentiality obligations and refrain from taking any teams’ confidential information with them if they choose to leave employment with one team for another," Jenkins stated. "It is crossing over the line of fair competition in the industry to take confidential and strategic information from one NASCAR race team to a competitor NASCAR race team."
The legal filings also include declarations from JGR sponsors SAIA and Zep, detailing alleged overtures from Spire Motorsports to entice them to switch team affiliations. Bill Lealos of SAIA reported receiving a LinkedIn direct message from a Spire Motorsports representative named Cameron Sieradzan, who expressed interest in discussing the racing industry and requested a meeting. Lealos declined these invitations.
Similarly, Greg Heyer of Zep received a text message from Stephen D’Hondt, Chief Operating Officer of Spire Motorsports, inviting him to a Spire-hosted event in Phoenix during a race weekend. Heyer noted that prior to this invitation, his last communication with D’Hondt was in January 2026, informing him that Zep would be sponsoring JGR for the 2026 NASCAR Cup season. The implication of these sponsor-related declarations is that Spire Motorsports may have been seeking to leverage proprietary information, potentially including sponsorship value data, to target JGR’s commercial partners. This is presented as further evidence of potential harm to JGR.
It is important to note that Gabehart and his legal representatives have maintained that no proprietary information was shared with Spire Motorsports. Spire Motorsports and Jeff Dickerson have also issued statements denying the receipt of any trade secrets from Joe Gibbs Racing and asserting no desire to acquire such information.
The legal proceedings are ongoing, with JGR seeking to expedite the discovery process to ascertain the extent of any alleged information transfer. The declarations from 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 are also part of the extensive filings, further building the case for JGR’s request for immediate access to relevant evidence.
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