The legal fight between Joe Gibbs Racing, Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports delivered another significant development Thursday, this time centered on how long Gabehart may have retained access to information belonging to his former team.
During a federal court hearing Thursday, Joe Gibbs Racing alleged that Gabehart continued to have access through June to some JGR information on a different device that had not been scrubbed, according to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass.
There is an important distinction in that allegation: JGR is alleging the information remained accessible. Based on what was disclosed Thursday, that does not establish that Gabehart used, shared or transmitted that information to Spire Motorsports.
And there are still questions about exactly what JGR discovered.
Pockrass reported after the hearing that it was not specified what device was involved, noting that someone could have multiple or previous devices that continue to sync. It also was not specified when the information was last accessed.
Those details could become significant as one of NASCAR’s most contentious legal fights continues.
Denny Hamlin Questions Latest Chris Gabehart Development
The revelation quickly caught the attention of Denny Hamlin, who spent six seasons paired with Gabehart at Joe Gibbs Racing before Gabehart moved into the organization’s competition director role for 2025.
Hamlin responded directly to Pockrass on X after Thursday’s hearing.
“Bob, I thought he gave all of the information he had on his devices back last winter. Is that not the case?”
Pockrass responded that all of the information surrounding the issue did not come out Thursday.
“We didn’t get all the info today but it wasn’t specified what device it was (people could have multiple/previous devices that would continue to sync) and when info was last accessed.”
That uncertainty is important.
The existence of JGR information on another device through June would not, on its own, answer when Gabehart last accessed it or whether he did anything with it. Those are separate questions, and Thursday’s hearing did not provide definitive answers to them.
Earlier in the litigation, Gabehart acknowledged taking photographs of JGR information before leaving the organization. He has maintained that he did not transmit, distribute or share JGR confidential information with Spire. Spire has similarly maintained that it has not found evidence that Gabehart transmitted JGR’s purported trade secrets or confidential information to its employees.
That distinction remains central to the case.
Court Decisions Are Expected Monday
Thursday’s proceedings also dealt with discovery issues that could provide more clarity about the information at the center of the lawsuit.
According to Pockrass, one of the motions concerns metadata that could help establish when Gabehart accessed JGR information that remained in his possession.
Another centers on obtaining a final list of the trade secrets JGR alleges are involved in the case.
Spire is also seeking the full technical agreement between JGR and Toyota as it attempts to determine whether some information JGR identifies as trade secrets could instead belong to Toyota, as well as whether money paid to Toyota for technical information should factor into JGR’s claimed damages.
That issue fits into a broader discovery dispute that has already emerged in the case. Spire previously argued that documentation involving JGR’s relationships with Toyota-affiliated organizations was relevant to determining the scope of the alleged trade secrets and claimed damages.
The court finished hearing Thursday’s matters without immediately ruling on them.
Decisions are expected Monday.
For now, Thursday’s proceedings add another potentially important layer to the case without resolving the central question.
JGR says Gabehart still had access to some of its information months after his departure.
What Thursday did not establish is when that information was last accessed, whether Gabehart used it or whether any of it ever reached Spire.
Those distinctions could become crucial as the case moves forward.
JGR Claims Chris Gabehart Had Team Information Months After Exit