Joe Gibbs Racing has made a six-figure payment to Spire Motorsports as the two NASCAR organizations continue their legal battle.
According to a recent court filing, JGR paid Spire $108,087.67 on Nov. 6, addressing a financial dispute over the departure of car chief Cheddar Smith, who joined Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 Cup Series team in 2025.
The payment represents a significant development in the ongoing litigation, although it does not bring the broader case to an end.
FOX Sports reporter Bob Pockrass first highlighted the filing, which shows JGR paid the amount Spire had sought in connection with Smith’s departure.
The dispute centers on an alleged agreement between the organizations that would have required JGR to provide Spire with a comparable employee or pay $100,000 in exchange for releasing Smith from his contract.
JGR maintains that it never entered into the alleged agreement. Nevertheless, the organization says it made the payment to eliminate that portion of the dispute.
Joe Gibbs Racing Details $108,087 Payment to Spire Motorsports
Spire filed counterclaims against JGR on June 25, alleging that the organizations reached an agreement in April 2025 concerning Smith’s release.
According to Spire, JGR was obligated to provide an employee of equivalent standing or pay $100,000. Spire alleged that neither condition had been satisfied.
In its latest filing, JGR confirmed that it paid the original $100,000 plus $8,087.67 in interest.
The interest was calculated at an annual simple interest rate of 8% over 369 days, from Nov. 2, 2025, through Nov. 6, 2026.
Despite making the payment, JGR continues to dispute the existence of the alleged agreement.
“Even though JGR disputes that the parties ever formed a trade agreement for the release of a JGR employee or payment to Spire of $100,000, JGR issues that payment to avoid any further dispute over the issue,” the organization stated in its filing, according to Motorsport.com’s Matt Weaver.
JGR argues that because Spire has now received the financial relief it requested, the related counterclaims should be dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
That dismissal has been requested, not granted. The payment also should not be interpreted as an admission that Spire’s allegations were correct.
NASCAR Legal Battle Remains Unresolved
The payment addresses only one piece of a larger legal dispute involving JGR, Spire Motorsports and former JGR competition director Chris Gabehart.
JGR previously sued Gabehart and Spire, alleging that Gabehart improperly took confidential information and trade secrets when he departed for Spire.
Both defendants deny the allegations.
Gabehart has maintained that any JGR materials he retained were deleted or returned and that no proprietary JGR information was taken to or used at Spire.
Those claims remain contested, with a trial scheduled to begin Feb. 1.
The distinction matters because the latest payment could easily be mistaken for a settlement of the entire lawsuit.
It isn’t.
JGR is seeking to remove the Smith-related counterclaims from the litigation, but the separate allegations concerning confidential information and trade secrets remain unresolved.
For now, the $108,087.67 payment marks a concrete development in a legal fight that has extended well beyond the racetrack.
Whether the court agrees that the payment eliminates Spire’s related counterclaims remains to be determined.
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Joe Gibbs Racing Pays Spire Motorsports $108,000 Amid NASCAR Legal Battle