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Joe Gibbs Racing files lawsuit alleging Chris Gabehart used 'brazen scheme' to steal info

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Feb 19, 2026 6:34 PM ET

Joe Gibbs Racing has sued former competition director Chris Gabehart after Gabehart allegedly "embarked on a brazen scheme" to steal information from the team and give it to Spire Motorsports.

Gabehart left Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2025 season, with team owner Joe Gibbs telling SiriusXM that Gabehart and JGR decided to go their separate ways after a conversation held at the conclusion of the 2025 campaign.

What lawsuit means

Per Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass, JGR alleges that Gabehart was asked to leave the organization after asking for authority over all racing decisions within the team. That request was denied.

Joe Gibbs Racing said in court documents that Gabehart took photos of sensitive setup information and saved them to personal accounts. Court documents also revealed that Gabehart allegedly synced personal accounts with a JGR laptop and saved the aforementioned sensitive information a folder entitled "Spire."

JGR sued Chris Gabehart alleging:
-he asked for authority over all racing decisions, was denied and asked to leave
-JGR did forensic analysis of Gabehart devices and alleges he synced personal Google Drive with JGR laptop and had photos of JGR setup info in folder called “Spire” pic.twitter.com/BvlBuP3JwL
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 19, 2026

After Gabehart's departure from JGR became public, it was heavily rumored that he would take a job with Spire. Spire never officially hired Gabehart.

Joe Gibbs Racing is seeking compensation "believed to exceed $8 million" according to Pockrass.

The lawsuit comes over two months after NASCAR and two Cup Series teams, Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing, reached a settlement in a landmark anti-trust case.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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