Joe Gibbs Racing is now seeking nearly $150 million in damages in a federal lawsuit that Spire Motorsports contends has morphed from a fact-driven case into a battle of experts.
In a new document filed in US District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina, Spire claims JGR is “poised to launch a new round of expert reports and discovery over whether the 99 race car setups Spire has used for its three Chevrolets in 2026 somehow reflect misappropriated ‘setup philosophies’ from hundreds of JGR’s 2025 Toyota setups.”
Spire contends JGR has no evidence that its former competition director Chris Gabehart possessed those setups when he began working for Spire in 2026.
JGR initially filed the federal lawsuit against Gabehart in February and then added Spire Motorsports in May due that organization’s success in the season’s first 11 races.
“Just four days ago—after the close of fact discovery and only after the Court ordered it—JGR finally produced a final list of its allegedly misappropriated trade secrets, on top of over 13,000 other documents it previously withheld,” stated the document, which was filed Tuesday.
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Spire claims JGR has sought its trade secrets, including race car setups, “despite no evidence the setups were transmitted to Spire, while refusing to produce its own setups, which Spire, of course, needs to defend against JGR’s meritless allegations of setup misappropriation.”
“JGR’s experts now intend to scour Spire’s setups for the 2025 and 2026 Cup Series seasons—none of which match any JGR setup—and opine that they reflect as-yet-unexplained JGR ‘setup philosophies,’” Spire contends. “Every race, JGR creates unique setups for each of its four cars and the three cars it builds for 23XI, and Spire creates unique setups for each of its three cars. With 71 races completed in the 2025 and 2026 seasons, the parties and their experts will be analyzing more than 600 setups—each containing hundreds of distinct parameters.”
Spire also claims JGR withheld essential documents, including contracts with Toyota Racing Development, then “dumped over 13,000 documents on Spire” in response to the court’s October 7 order. Spire says it has already provided its contracts with Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports to JGR.
Spire maintains JGR has insufficient evidence to show that Spire misappropriated anything that belonged to JGR, including its “crown jewels.” It also states in the document that JGR’s damages expert has stated that JGR’s damages are $47.4 million, not the nearly $150 million it is seeking.
“The Court should not permit this trial by ambush,” the document states.
In the document, Spire voices its opposition to JGR’s second motion to alter the case schedule and for protection. It claims JGR refuses to make its experts available for deposition on the court’s previously ordered schedule and seeks modifications that would give:
Spire five business days to respond to JGR’s new expert reports, which it contends will be the case’s primary focus.The parties five business days to prepare for and depose 12 experts—nine retained, four non-retained—located around the country.
Spire one day to prepare its summary judgment and file its legal argument in opposition to expert witnesses.
Spire six business days during Thanksgiving to respond to JGR’s summary judgment and motions opposing specific expert witnesses.
Spire three days to file replies.
Spire maintains the deadlines, which were “already extremely compressed at JGR’s insistence” are now “impossible and prejudicial.”
The trial is scheduled to begin February 1, 2027.
A North Carolina native, Deb Williams is an award-winning motorsports journalist who is in her fourth decade covering auto racing. In addition to covering the sport for United Press International, she has written motorsports articles for several newspapers, magazines and websites including espnW.com, USA Today, and The Charlotte Observer. Her awards include the American Motorsports Media Award of Excellence, two-time National Motorsports Press Association writer of the year, and two-time recipient of the Russ Catlin award. She also has won an award in the North Carolina Press Association’s sports feature category. During her career, Deb has been managing editor of GT Motorsports magazine and was with Winston Cup Scene and NASCAR Winston Cup Scene for 18 years, serving as the publication’s editor for 10 years. In 2024 she was inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame.