Chris Gabehart has now fired back at the lawsuit filed by Joe Gibbs Racing. Until recently, the story stopped at his December exit, when the former No. 11 crew chief, who had moved into a senior competition role, walked away from the team. No clear cause surfaced then, apart from whispers that he might land at Spire Motorsports.
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A day ago, the curtain lifted when news came out that JGR filed suit, claiming Gabehart walked off with team secrets and aimed to use them to benefit a rival team, Spire Motorsports. After the allegations were made, Gabehart did not stay silent. He took to X and laid out his side of the story.
He wrote, “Yesterday afternoon, Joe Gibbs Racing filed a lawsuit claiming – falsely – that I shared JGR confidential information with Spire Motorsports and/or other unnamed third parties. I feel compelled to speak out today and forcefully and emphatically deny these frivolous and retaliatory claims. I look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate to the Court that I have not shared JGR’s confidential information with anyone.”
“In fact, I have already demonstrated that to JGR. A third-party forensic expert retained by JGR recently examined my laptop, cell phone, and personal Google Drive and found no evidence to support the baseless allegations in JGR’s lawsuit. We even offered JGR the opportunity to do a similar review of Spire’s systems. JGR refused that offer and filed this spiteful lawsuit instead,” he continued.
He also told fans to “stay tuned,” saying he and his camp will say more once their legal response hits the docket.
— Chris Gabehart (@CG1751) February 20, 2026
In its filing, JGR says an internal investigation uncovered theft of the team’s proprietary material, carried out to cross the aisle to Spire. It also claims that before leaving at the end of 2025, Gabehart synced his Google Drive with his work laptop and ran searches tied to Spire during October and November.
On December 17, Gabehart told JGR he had received an offer from Spire on November 13 but said the role would not mirror his duties at JGR. Then, on February 11, 2026, JGR says it learned he planned to take a Chief Motorsports Officer role at Spire, steering race plans and operations, a move that overlapped with his post at JGR.
Screenshots cited in the filing allegedly show driver pay for 2025 and 2026, sponsor income, partner deals across seasons, pit crew analytics from 2024, and tire data tied to race results. The complaint argues Gabehart “knew or should have known” the line he was crossing, given his time in the sport.
Investigators also flagged a Google Drive folder labeled “Spire” with a subfolder called “Past Setups,” along with more than a dozen photos of a JGR laptop screen taken on November 7, 2025. When he handed over devices on January 12, 2026, JGR says it found 20 setup files in that folder along with the November photos. The team claims it accepted limits on the review under the belief that Gabehart would stay on the sidelines for a cooling-off stretch.
After the probe, JGR says it slammed the brakes on talks and sent a demand letter on December 15, ordering Gabehart to stop using or sharing team secrets and to cooperate in a forensic review. Gabehart agreed to return JGR material but pushed back on a full sweep.
He said the “Spire” folder held notes and records, a claim JGR disputes. He also denied holding financial data, which the team says the photos contradict. Now the case heads down the legal road, and once filings stack up, the truth should come out in open court.
