Lawsuit Update: Gabehart Calls JGR Competition Team “Dysfunctional,” Ty Gibbs “Not Accountable”
What’s Happening? Former Joe Gibbs Racing Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart has filed a new response slamming JGR as…
When the 2024 schedule came out, many people were curious to see if the Chicago Street Race would stay on the schedule. It is on the schedule, and a subsequent statement from the Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, led people to believe this was going to happen in 2024. However, Leigh Giangreco of Crain’s Chicago Business reports that neither party has signed an agreement for the 2024 race. Will the race happen, and if it does now happen, where will it go?
One thing is for certain, NASCAR and the City of Chicago are discussing the Chicago Street Race. Local opposition to the street race has been a problem for NASCAR, but, it seems NASCAR and the city are working together to put the race together. This is evidenced as well by a statement put out by Mayor Brandon Johnson about the Street Race.
The Chicago Street Race contract does have a clause in it that allows the City or NASCAR to terminate the contract 180 days prior to the event being held. With the Street Race event set to begin on July 6th, 2024, 180 days prior to the event is January 8, 2024. That is the hard cut-off, but, given that it is right after the holidays, it’s possible an agreement could be signed or terminated right before then.
The canceling of the Chicago Street Race may be the release of a burden for many in Chicago, but it does create a logistical problem for NASCAR. If the Street Race does not happen, they need to find another race to take the event’s place. NASCAR can’t just make the schedule 35 races instead of 36 because they have TV contracts to fulfill, and running one less race means one less race of ticket revenue, advertising revenue, and the like. With that in mind, where can NASCAR go instead?
Chicagoland Speedway
This is the most likely option for NASCAR to go to because it is the closest track to Chicago. Not only is the Chicagoland Speedway close, but it is a track owned by NASCAR. It is also a track that can host a race as evidenced by a SuperMotorcross race at the track back in September.
Chicagoland Speedway offers NASCAR some much-needed flexibility since it is able to host a race, and it is also a very popular venue. With the current Next-Gen intermediate track package, many fans ask for Chicagoland Speedway to come back. If the Street Race does not work out, this may be the most likely option for NASCAR.
Road America
The next closest race track to Chicagoland is Road America. Road America also has a free weekend the first weekend of July on its 2024 racing schedule. It also is a popular track amongst the fans.
Fans turned out with estimated crowds of over 100,000 people during the two Cup Series race weekends. The issue with this track is that it is not NASCAR-owned, and the Chicago Street Race is a NASCAR-owned track race date. However, Road America returning would be popular amongst the fans.
Kentucky Speedway
The longshot of all longshots, but, it is appropriate in a state known for horse racing. Kentucky Speedway is another 1.5-mile race track that NASCAR left following the 2020 season. The track was not particularly popular amongst fans, however, when it existed.
With the Next-Gen car, however, maybe Kentucky would improve its racing product. There are a few fans who want to see this race track return, even if it is not as many as Road America or Chicagoland.
The Chicago Street Race still has some things to work out it seems. If it happens, it could be another major success, but if it does not, NASCAR has a few options to look at.
An email sent by former Joe Gibbs Racing Competition Director Chris Gabehart claims that resentment towards him from members of the Gibbs family made him feel that the future of JGR was a “no-win situation.”
Last week, Joe Gibbs Racing filed a lawsuit against former Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart, claiming that the former Daytona 500 Champion had schemed to steal vital information from the team in the lead-up to his departure from JGR for Spire Motorsports.
Not even ten days since JGR filed this lawsuit, the two have continued to trade barbs and accusations back and forth through the court system.
In a filing earlier this week, Gabehart accused the team of misleading him in his duties as competition director in 2025, and specifically calling out JGR’s No. 54 team, driven by Joe Gibbs’ grandson Ty, alleging that the team received “differential treatment.”
Friday, an email sent to JGR CFO Tim Carmichael by Gabehart in November 2025 (released as part of this lawsuit) showed just how uncomfortable he had grown working at JGR during his tenure as Competition Director, with the industry veteran stating that Ty Gibbs and his mother, Heather, held “resentment” towards Gabehart.
The now former Competition Director went on to say in this email that, as the two were the future bosses of JGR, “I’m afraid that leaves me in a no-win situation.”
These exchanges, including the claims made by Gibbs in his filing earlier this week, have swept fans into a whirlwind of sorts, with the two sides even meeting in court today for the lawsuit’s first official hearing.
Of course, Gabehart’s claims about the state of operations at JGR pale in comparison to the accusations made by the Gibbs team in their initial lawsuit.
On Tuesday, the team even added Spire Motorsports, Gabehart’s current employer, as a co-defendant, and requested the court force Gabehart to sit out at least the 18 months since his termination before doing any work in NASCAR similar to his role at JGR.
The team is also asking that any information procured by Spire from Gabehart be returned, though the CEO of TWG Motorsports, which owns Spire, Dan Towriss, told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports Friday that “Spire doesn’t want data from Joe Gibbs Racing. It doesn’t have data from Joe Gibbs Racing. No point in time has it had data from Joe Gibbs Racing.”
Alongside Spire, Gabehart adamantly denied any wrongdoing in a post to social media last week, saying, “I feel compelled to speak out today and forcefully and emphatically deny these frivolous and retaliatory claims.”
What’s Happening? Former Joe Gibbs Racing Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart has filed a new response slamming JGR as…
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A few years ago, I looked at the racetracks preserved on iRacing that no longer exist in real life. After digging deeper, I expected to find one common reason they all shut down. Instead, each one tells a completely different story — from booming cities and land value spikes to ownership changes, broken promises, and even mysteries that still don’t have clear answers.
Some tracks were pushed out by urban development. Some lost the one person fighting to keep them alive. Others faded due to declining support — or were never meant to last forever in the first place. No two closures are the same, and that’s what makes this deep dive so fascinating.
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NASCAR’s documentary series “Full Speed,” which used to live on Netflix, had its first two seasons look back at entire playoff runs. But now, NASCAR is shifting the series to Amazon Prime Video for its third season, and the scope of the series will also shift to new storylines.
Dropping on March 5, the new season is aimed at zooming in on one event: the 2026 Daytona 500. Instead of a multi-episode run, this time it’s a single-episode documentary that goes all in on one race.
The film will follow big names and storylines from the Daytona 500. It will spotlight the winner, Tyler Reddick, and lean into driver storylines around the weekend. That includes Kyle Busch trying to get his groove back, Brad Keselowski clawing his way back after a broken leg, Connor Zilisch being pushed as the next big thing, and Noah Gragson bringing chaos wherever he goes.
Some fans might question the move away from Netflix, especially after Season 1 pulled in 3.4 million views in the first half of 2024. Then in 2025, the docuseries clocked 900,000 views after its early May release and added another 200,000 between July and December.
But with Prime Video stepping in as one of NASCAR’s broadcast partners, moving the series lines up with a bigger play to keep content under one roof.
Amazon has already dipped into NASCAR storytelling with projects like the docuseries Earnhardt about Dale Earnhardt. Moving Full Speed to Prime follows the same playbook. And for fans who still haven’t seen previous installments, the first two seasons are also heading over to Prime Video.
However, Reddit fans are divided in their opinions about the decision. Some fans actually get why NASCAR changed the format and platform, while a chunk of fans think leaving Netflix is risky because Netflix is where casual viewers stumble into shows. Others push back, pointing out that Prime actually has a massive reach in the U.S. and strong marketing muscle.
While one fan commented, “Makes sense. I highly doubt they were gonna make a new season around a points format they don’t use anymore,” another stated, “Idk the semantics and numbers and everything behind it so I’m probably talking out of my ass….buttttttt….at what point does nascar take the less money for the exposure. You need to be on Netflix, people watch Netflix. People don’t watch Amazon video as much. Who’s gonna watch this that isn’t a nascar fan already. You have a higher chance of getting people lost on Netflix than lost on Amazon Prime Video.”
One fan commented on the news, saying, “100%. I have Amazon Prime and Netflix. AP is a train wreck for videos especially now with their ad program with videos. I steer clear because Netflix is still ad free.” Another fan supported NASCAR’s move, saying, “Prime actually has slightly more subscribers in the USA and in my opinion is better at marketing. It’s a lateral move.”
Another backed NASCAR, stating, “Most NASCAR fans will find some way to be on prime in the month of June. I think they are counting on people watching it then if they have not already seen it. Similar to the Earnhardt documentary that dropped in June last year.”
Another fan comment implied something less glamorous yet very real, pointing out that the Netflix seasons didn’t see a surge in viewership. The first season did okay, but later numbers dipped: “Netflix didn’t seem to work that well for the 2 playoff seasons.”
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