Here’s What Happened in the JGR vs. Chris Gabehart/Spire Lawsuit This Week (Sept. 4-11)

A battle that has largely played out off the track finally spilled onto the track this week, whether accidentally or not.

In the midst of Joe Gibbs Racing’s lawsuit against its former competition director Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports, an incident occurred in the opening race of The Chase involving drivers from both organizations.

After a rough pit stop leading into the final stage, points leader Denny Hamlin attempted to slide up in front of Spire’s Michael McDowell. Hamlin initially cleared McDowell, but bobbled a bit off turn 4, transferring the momentum. McDowell got into the back of Hamlin, sending the No. 11 driver into the wall and hampering the rest of his night.

While the accident wasn’t intentional, it was a precursor to an interesting week of banter. In the same race, Spire’s young phenom, yet the controversial Carson Hocevar spun Brad Keselowski, appearing to show no remorse for the contact.

That led Hamlin to address — or rather, avoid — Hocevar’s actions on his podcast Actions Detrimental, diverting his attention to Spire, instead.

“There’s no adults in the room, clearly, in that building,” Hamlin said. “No adults, that’s my opinion. Because how can you honestly think that’s (Hocevar’s actions) what’s best for your company if you’re a serious organization.”

That'll get under your skin. pic.twitter.com/c3s43Ljujo

— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) September 8, 2026

Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson responded on Jeff Gluck’s podcast, saying he took Hamlin’s comments “as a warning” before stating, “We’re serious enough to sue.”

"I took it as a warning."

Spire Motorsports' Jeff Dickerson responds to Denny Hamlin. pic.twitter.com/eQgG9Qe6fg

— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) September 10, 2026

Those tensions continue to boil over as JGR maintains that Gabehart misappropriated its trade secrets and confidential information, violated his employment agreement with JGR, and allegedly transmitted the misappropriated information to Spire. The organization is seeking $8 million in damages and that Gabehart be prohibited from working in a similar role to his former position for an 18-month period.

Take a look below at the primary court matters this week, as well as a recap of what has happened thus far.

• Last week, JGR proposed a change to the case schedule, as it seems an order from the court to compel further discovery from both Spire and Gabehart.

• Gabehart responded on Thursday (Sept. 10), maintaining that JGR holds no credible evidence that he transmitted its trade secrets to Spire after months of discovery. He also stood on the assertion that he possesses no JGR setup information or trade secrets on his personal device after a forensic review was performed.

• The former engineer and crew chief also averred that JGR’s motion was “premature” and unworkable due to ongoing disputes in the case.

• JGR defended its motion, stating that both Spire and Gabehart actually conceded that an adjustment was appropriate, and that it provided ample time for discovery to be completed with respect to the motion schedule and trial date on Feb. 1, 2027. It also responded to Gabehart’s claims that it cannot establish good cause because it requested the schedule change, saying that this was irrelevant and permitted by court standards.

• In response to Gabehart’s arguments about the forensic examination, JGR maintained that its discovery found that he did transmit trade secrets to Spire and that multiple files were found on his personal computer containing JGR trade secrets and confidential information when the court ordered a preliminary injunction against him. Furthermore, other devices and Gabehart’s OneDrive and Google Drive accounts allegedly contained these files as well, negating the fact of whether his personal computer possessed any or not.