As Joe Gibbs Racing moves to amend and refile its lawsuit against Spire Motorsports and Chris Gabehart, Spire has chosen to take a swing in the court of public opinion. The team posted a message on its official X account, converting a legal filing into a jab at JGR.
Spire shared an update to its declarations, but while doing what most parties avoid in the middle of a legal fight, it cracked a joke at JGR’s expense. The post included an image of a formal declaration from co-owner Jeff Dickerson.
However, buried within the legal language was a response to one of the criticisms from race fans, and a prior legal filing from JGR, the well-known fact that prior to this past weekend, Spire had only one win in the Cup Series.
The declaration noted that the claim no longer holds water, pointing out that the tally now stands at two after Carson Hocevar’s win at Talladega, a clear jab at JGR amid what has been a contentious lawsuit between the two teams.
In the meantime, Joe Gibbs Racing informed the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on Monday of its intent to file a Second Amended Complaint. The step followed the defendants’ request to review the new filing before deciding whether to consent.
The case goes back to a lawsuit filed on February 19 against Chris Gabehart, seeking $8 million in damages.
JGR alleged that Gabehart devised a plan to take proprietary data and pass it to his new employer, Spire Motorsports. While JGR has stated that Gabehart took the data, it has not shown that the information was shared with Spire or any other team.
The complaint was later expanded to include Spire as a defendant, alleging breach of contract and violations of a non-compete agreement.
Another point of contention centers on Gabehart’s role at Spire. JGR has claimed that he has been watching races more closely than allowed, raising questions about compliance with court orders. Spire has denied those claims, maintaining that Gabehart is not acting outside the bounds set by the court.
The court has set a target date of December 7 to begin the trial, ahead of the 2027 season. JGR would like the trial to take place shortly after the conclusion of the 2026 season, while Spire would like the trial pushed into early 2027.
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