Joe Gibbs Racing Adds Spire Motorsports to Lawsuit, Motions for Gabehart to Cease Work
What’s Happening? Joe Gibbs Racing has added to its lawsuit filed against former Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart, filing…
NASCAR and MLB fans now know the date, name, and look of the monumental game that Major League Baseball will play at Bristol Motor Speedway. MLB and BMS made the news official today at Thunder Valley.
MLB scheduled the Speedway Classic ’25 for Aug. 2 at 7 p.m. ET, with public ticket availability expected in December. NASCAR drivers and personalities Chase Elliott, Jaimie Little, Ross Chastain, and Kevin Harvick were in attendance at the track today, alongside MLB alumni and MLB Network personalities.
Bob Pockrass was also on the ground reporting. The notable Fox Sports presence is no coincidence. FOX MLB will cover and broadcast the event as they do with almost all major MLB events.
This relationship opens the door for FOX personalities like Mike Joy or former FOX analyst and Bristol legend Darrell Waltrip to play some part in the broadcast, though nothing official has been announced.
Tennesse Governor Bill Lee also attended and spoke to MLB Network about how the event came together.
An event of this nature is no stranger to the MLB and BMS, who have produced nontraditional spectacles in the past and recent years.
Bristol Motor Speedway has a long history of nonracing events at the track. Shortly after opening in 1961, the 0.533-mile oval would host one of these events, a 1961 preseason NFL game.
Long after the Eagles and former Redskins slung around the pigskin at the track to minuscule attendance, Bristol would give it one more try in 2016. The Battle at Bristol holds the record for the highest-attended College Football game, with a crowd of 156,990 to watch the Virginia Tech Hokies and Tennesse Volunteers.
Bristol has also hosted “traditional” races at BMS, including the Food City Dirt Race from 2021 to 2023, which brought NASCAR Cup Series Cars back to the dirt for the first time this century.
MLB has made a recent streak of going out of their comfort zone.
MLB has hosted games at neutral sites in recent years as part of its MLB World Tour, mainly in other countries that are both baseball-heavy and new to the sport.
These have included:
There have been games in countries other than those on the MLB World Tour, such as Puerto Rico and A.
MLB has also had neutral site games in the U.S.:
Now, MLB and BMS team up to build a ballpark inside a race track.
Many fans of both MLB and NASCAR debated what the stadium would look like.
Some thought tucking home plate into turns one and two or three and four could create a modern-day Polo Grounds, the former home to the then New York Giants, known for its over 450 ft centerfield and under 300 ft corner outfields.
However, the two parties have adopted a more practical approach. With a stadium set in the infield, tarping off the unused far-away grandstands in turns three and four.
While it has proper dimensions, a realistic 400-foot center field, and even a tarped-off batter’s eye, a requirement of MLB stadiums, the odds of those in the grandstands getting a ball are slim.
But for those lucky enough to attend, going home with a memory of a historic night at the track may be enough.
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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Chandler Smith will return to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series this weekend and next weekend, driving the No. 5 Ford for Hettinger Racing.
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A North Carolina judge says that Chris Gabehart can continue in his new role at Spire Motorsports. However, the former Joe Gibbs Racing Competition Director cannot perform the same services he supplied to JGR.
This ruling stemmed from a hearing last Friday, in which Joe Gibbs Racing made its case as to why Gabehart should not be allowed to continue in his new position at Spire.
In a court filing last Wednesday, JGR asked the court to prevent Gabehart from providing Spire with “services for Spire similar to those he provided to JGR” for at least 18 months after his termination in February. They also asked that Gabehart return any “Confidential Information and Trade Secrets.”
What’s Happening? Joe Gibbs Racing has added to its lawsuit filed against former Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart, filing…
Monday morning, a North Carolina Judge ruled that Gabehart can remain in his position as Spire’s Chief Motorsports Officer, though he is not allowed to perform similar duties that he did for JGR. The former Daytona 500 Champion must also return all information in his possession that belongs to JGR.
Spire claims that Gabehart’s new position is not similar to that of his previous position at JGR, as Matt McCall is the team’s current Competition Director.
Despite their pleasure with this ruling, in a statement following these orders, JGR clarified that their legal proceedings are far from over.
“We are pleased with today’s ruling by the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina for a temporary restraining order enforcing the terms of our contract with Chris Gabehart. We will continue the legal process to protect our information and fight for what is right for our race team, our employees, and our partners.” — Joe Gibbs Racing
JGR filed this lawsuit against Gabehart on February 19, claiming their former long-time “employee embarked on a brazen scheme to steal JGR’s most sensitive information and use it for the benefit of a direct competitor in NASCAR.”
Gabehart, in his filing, while throwing barbs at the current structure of JGR, and Joe Gibbs’s grandson Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 team in particular, has denied these allegations.
Spire, whom JGR added as a co-defendant in their filing last Wednesday, also denies these allegations.
In a filing Sunday evening, Spire showed that in February, Gabehart signed a Confidentiality Agreement and Non-Disclosure Agreement that said he would not “disclose JGR Confidential Information to Company or use JR Confidential Information for the Company’s benefit or in connection with any services performed for or on behalf of the Company.”
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The NASCAR Truck Series takes the week off this week while the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series continue their Westward march to Phoenix Raceway. So, whether you are going to be at the track or home, what does the forecast look like for the race weekend in Avondale, Arizona?
Before the OAP Series Race (2:00 AM – 5:00 PM)
During the OAP Series Race (5:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
After the OAP Series Race (8:00 PM – 11:00 PM)
Before the Cup Series Race (10:00 AM – 1:00 PM)
During the Cup Series Race (1:00 PM – 4:00 PM)
After the Cup Series Race (4:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
Note: This article will be updated with a more accurate and detailed forecast as the race weekend nears.