Till November 10, 2025, Defendant served as one in every of JGR’s most senior leaders with respect to all aggressive facets of the enterprise. After his calls for for added authority had been rebuffed by JGR’s proprietor, Defendant instantly launched into a brazen scheme to steal JGR’s most delicate info and use it for the good thing about a direct competitor in NASCAR—Spire Motorsports. On this motion, JGR seeks to recuperate its intensive damages and enjoin Defendant from violating his contractual obligations and wrongfully utilizing JGR’s confidential info and commerce secrets and techniques.
The above textual content is from the introduction of a lawsuit filed by Joe Gibbs Racing in opposition to now-former competitors director Chris Gabehart on Thursday within the Western District of North Carolina.
Upon info and perception, Defendant used JGR’s Confidential Info and Commerce Secrets and techniques he stole from JGR regarding the compensation JGR paid its workers in soliciting and recruiting JGR workers to depart the Firm’s make use of and start working for Spire.
The lawsuit is filed underneath the ‘Defend Commerce Secrets and techniques Act’ creates a non-public proper of motion for “[a]n proprietor of a commerce secret that’s misappropriated . . . if the commerce secret is expounded to a services or products utilized in, or supposed to be used in, interstate or overseas commerce.”
The lawsuit states that Gabehart has created damages in extra of $8,000,000 however it’s for the jury to determine compensation if it goes to courtroom.
Over the course of 30 pages, the lawsuit particulars a timeline during which Gabehart acquired a possibility from Spire Motorsports to develop into Chief Motorsports Officer whereas additionally collaborating in an alleged scheme to make use of proprietary info from JGR in that function.
That features what JGR said was Gabehart syncing his private Google Drive along with his crew laptop computer. This laptop computer had a folder named ‘Spire,’ photographs of proprietary crew info like salaries, set-ups, efficiency analyses for drivers, crew chief and pit crews.
The lawsuit claims that Gaebhart accessed these information even whereas negotiating a departure settlement and on a day he met with Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson. It was at this level on December 15, that JGR states that it ceased negotiation over a separation bundle and issued a stop and desist.
The crew additionally pursued a forensic overview of Gabehart’s electronics that ultimately fashioned the idea for this lawsuit.
Gabehart made $1,000,000 base wage final season in his first 12 months since taking the competitors director function following over a decade with the crew as an engineer after which crew chief. There was additionally efficiency bonus caked into that settlement.
That is in response to his contract, which was additionally included as an exhibit to the lawsuit, as JGR states that Gabehart was in violation of their employment settlement. That violation contains Part 5, detailed in italics beneath.
In the course of the Time period and for as long as such Confidential Info is just not usually recognized (apart from on account of Worker’s breach), Worker shall not disclose Confidential Info to any third social gathering or use any Confidential Info for any objective apart from as essential to carry out pursuant to this Settlement except and till such Confidential Info turns into usually recognized, besides on account of unauthorized disclosure.
With that out of the best way, Joe Gibbs Racing said Gabehart expressed a dissatisfaction along with his function ‘over the course of the 2025 season’ and successfully wished a promotion.
He wished full accountability and management over all departments supporting JGR’s competitors efforts as an alternative of working with different departments supporting JGR’s competitors efforts as a peer. … Ultimately, Defendant’s dissatisfaction reached a boiling level, and he requested a gathering with JGR proprietor, Joe Gibbs to voice his calls for. Coach Gibbs agreed to fulfill Defendant on November 6, 2025. Throughout that assembly, Defendant requested extra job authority that will give Defendant carte blanche authority over all racing choices.
Coach Gibbs declined to supply these duties to Gabehart on November 6 and requested if he wished to remain as competitors director or depart. The lawsuit states that Gabehart advised Gibbs he ‘most popular’ to go away JGR. That is when JGR started to organize the separation bundle and phrases for his employment elsewhere.
That first proposal got here on November 10, and once more, all italicized textual content is from the authorized submitting.
Below these phrases, Defendant would have been permitted to work for one more NASCAR crew, supplied that he agreed to not solicit key workers and contractors and that he cooperated in returning JGR tools and data.
In the course of the course of negotiations, Defendant’s counsel made repeated edits to the draft settlement, which appeared calculated to permit him to instantly solicit JGR workers to go away JGR.
That is additionally when JGR grew to become conscious that Gabehart had been personally assembly with Dickerson. This made JGR ‘suspicious.’ Gabehart agreed on December 17 to return any crew info however objected to a forensic overview.
Defendant represented that the ‘Spire’ folder on his Google Drive ‘was used to retailer his personal notes and private information.’ This was unfaithful. Defendant additionally represented that he ‘has not retained paperwork regarding JGR’s delicate monetary information.’ This was additionally unfaithful, because the photographs taken by Defendant on November 7, 2025, contained a big quantity of delicate monetary info.
Gabehart and Gibbs continued to barter over this matter. Gabehart mentioned, in response to the JGR authorized submitting, that Spire’s supply ‘was to not present related providers to these he supplied to JGR.’ The 2 events ultimately agreed to a forensic protocol during which a third-party knowledgeable would ‘establish JGR info on these units; and (c) securely delete confirmed JGR info.’
Gabehart supplied his units to that examiner of January 12 and the examiner supplied the information to JGR’s counsel to January 27. The information had been deleted from Gabehart’s units on February 4.
On February 11, JGR discovered for the primary time that Gabehart’s function at Spire could be accountable for all of its racing technique and operations.
This was new info to JGR, as Defendant beforehand represented to JGR on December 17, 2025, that the job supply he acquired from Spire was for a task during which he wouldn’t present Spire with providers just like the providers he supplied JGR.
JGR then concluded that Gabehart refused to the preliminary forensic examination as a result of ‘that will reveal Defendant had disclosed JGR’s Confidential Info and Commerce Secrets and techniques to 3rd events, together with Spire.
The lawsuit constructs a timeline during which Gabehart met with Gibbs on November 6 and concluded that he most popular to go away JGR. After which, at 2:45 p.m. the subsequent day, Gabehart accessed his firm laptop computer whereas it was related to JGR’s community and accessed ‘JGR’s most delicate Confidential Info and Commerce Secrets and techniques and, utilizing his private mobile phone, took at the least twenty photographs of his laptop computer display screen (the “November 7 Pictures”).’
The submitting states the photographs had been saved to Gabehart’s private telephone and private Google Pictures account. What did these photographs embody?
Complete post-race audit and analyses of crew and driver efficiency for all the 2025 NASCAR season;
Full crew payroll particulars together with job titles, contract size, annual compensation, incentive compensation, and compensation plans for prior years;
An worker compensation calculator used to mission and plan pay for key JGR positions; Driver pay for the 2025 and 2026 NASCAR seasons;
Revenues from sponsors, companions, and different enterprise preparations for the 2024, 2025, and 2026 NASCAR seasons;
JGR’s pit crew analytics for the 2024 NASCAR season; and
Detailed analytics of racecar tires used to evaluate impression on race outcomes.
There have been additionally all method of different proprietary crew info synched to Gaebart’s private accounts and that he as soon as opened these paperwork on a day during which he met with Dickerson.
Defendant accessed and interacted with the Spire Folder on November 12, 13, 15, 23, 25, 26, 27, and December 2 of 2025—the identical day he met with Jeff Dickerson.
The case has been assigned to Choose Matthew E. Orso, who additionally at the moment is overseeing the Kyle Busch v Pacific life lawsuit. The subsequent authorized step would name for Gabehart to file a response with the courtroom.
The Joe Gibbs Racing grievance will be learn in its entirety beneath.
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