Denny Hamlin Takes Another Brutal Shot at Spire Motorsports’ 2026 Success

What’s Happening?

Denny Hamlin plays a special role in the ongoing lawsuit between Spire Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing.

After all, Chris Gabehart, the original defendant in the suit filed by JGR in February, is at the center of the controversy, with the team claiming that the former Crew Chief and Competition Director misappropriated proprietary information like car setups as part of his defection to Spire.

Gabehart and Hamlin were once a dynamic duo in the Cup Series garage, working together from 2019 to 2024. The two took 22 trips to victory lane together, two of which included back-to-back wins in the Daytona 500.

JGR has continued to claim that Gabehart has given their information to Spire and is acting in a role with duties similar to his during his 2025 stint as JGR’s Competition Director. But they aren’t the only ones, as Hamlin has made a few sneaky remarks about the team this season.

As of press time, Spire is having a banner year, including two drivers, Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez, sitting comfortably inside the Chase cutline.

While some view this as work well paid off by Spire, others have called this success out as a result of Gabehart and his knowledge.

For example, just a few weeks ago, when the Cup Series raced at Chicagoland for the first time in the Next Gen Era, Spire had a relatively quiet day, something subpar for their 2026 season.

During that following week’s episode of Actions Detrimental, Hamlin fired a viral shot at Spire, joking that there are no past setup sheets for Next Gen cars at the 1.5-mile oval.

This weekend, Carson Hocevar became the highest-standing Chevrolet in Cup Series points. This was a major shock, as Hendrick Motorsports, the team that runs the alliance that contains Spire Motorsports and is often viewed as the team’s “big brother,” is continuing to struggle.

In accordance with his past comments, Hamlin took this news as another chance to laugh off Spire’s sudden success in 2026 during this week’s podcast episode.

When asked, “Which Chevy team is highest in owners’ points?” (the answer being Spire), Hamlin cheekily responded:

“Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s our satellite team.” — Denny Hamlin

The sly remarks didn’t stop there, as Hamlin played coy with his accusations, pointing out the success Spire has had this season while still not saying the team’s name.

“It’s interesting. Everywhere that I had good runs last year, it seems like their cars got a lot of speed. But I digress.” — Denny Hamlin

Gabehart’s Split

When Gabehart left the team last fall, in the midst of 23XI Racing’s antitrust case against NASCAR, fans had little knowledge that someone so tied to Hamlin would soon find themself in court in just a few months.

Of course, since the lawsuit, fans have wondered if Hamlin would steer away given his close relationship with Gabehart, something that has not been the case thus far.

While Gabehart and Spire have denied using JGR’s setups, the Toyota team has not held anything back in their pursuit of Gabehart, claiming violations of a contractual non-compete clause with his role as Chief Motorsports Officer at Spire.

Of course, Spire refutes these claims as well.

The trial in the case for the three parties is scheduled to kick off on Monday, February 1, 2027, with the proceedings expected to last over a week.

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