Gabehart Claims Dysfunction at JGR in Legal Defense

Former Joe Gibbs Racing competition director Chris Gabehart says the federal lawsuit filed by JGR isn’t about protecting trade secrets but about punishing a former employee who dared to leave and, therefore, the court should not grant the NASCAR team a temporary restraining order that would prevent him from pursuing his profession.

“Granting injunctive relief and preventing me from working in NASCAR, where I have dedicated my entire career, would deprive me of my livelihood and ability to work in my chosen profession,” Gabehart stated in a document filed in US District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Granting the injunctive relief requested by JGR would effectively bar me from pursuing my livelihood in the only industry in which I have developed expertise over the course of my professional career.

“The harm in granting injunctive relief as requested by JGR extends beyond my immediate loss of income, which is substantial. My professional reputation and career trajectory will suffer significant damage if I am prohibited from working in this field. Opportunities in professional motorsports are fleeting, and the position I have accepted at Spire likely will not be available in the future.”

JGR has asked the federal court to enforce an 18-month non-compete clause against Gabehart.

In Gabehart’s declaration that was filed Wednesday afternoon, the Mooresville, North Carolina, resident maintained:

• There had been no misappropriation of trade secrets or confidential information.
• No irreparable harm will occur absent injunctive relief.
• The forensic evidence conclusively establishes that Gabehart hasn’t transmitted, distributed, used, or otherwise shared any JGR confidential information.
• That JGR breached the terms of the employment agreement by withholding payment to Gabehart; therefore, voiding all the rights to enforce any non-compete obligation.

In the document, Gabehart stated that he notified JGR his job was not what he had been promised which was overseeing all competitive operations “with autonomy to lead.”

“Instead, I found myself constantly intertwined with Coach Gibbs, senior JGR executives, and family members when making even routine competition decisions—a dysfunctional organizational structure that I could not continue in,” Gabehart stated.

Gabehart stated he expressed concerns about the management of JGR’s No. 54 car. That car is driven in NASCAR’s Cup Series by Joe Gibbs’ grandson, Ty Gibbs.

“It was my view that the No. 54 car should be managed and held accountable in the same manner as the organization’s other cars,” Gabehart stated. “Instead, the No. 54 car was managed directly by Coach Gibbs and everyone in the organization knew it.

“I also identified specific examples of the No. 54 team’s differential treatment that undermined my position as Competition Director. For example, key personnel decisions were made without my counsel or input despite my role as Competition Director; and critically the No. 54 driver was not held to the same meeting attendance standards as others on the team.”

In the document, Gabehart outlined the series of events surrounding his departure from JGR.

• November 6, 2025, Gabehart met with Coach Gibbs, and they agreed they needed to begin working out their separation terms.
• November 7, 2025, Gabehart used his phone to take photos of a JGR excel file with multiple tabs, and other notes and files that he created or had a significant role in their development. He said all of the information in the files was relevant to his JGR job and he understood his confidentiality obligations to the team and he had no intent to violate those obligations.
• November 10, 2025, JGR placed Gabehart on “garden leave” while the two worked through the separation agreement. Gabehart said JGR told him that if anyone in the organization asked him where he was that he was to say he was “on vacation.” This same day he was presented with a proposed separation agreement.
• November 13, 2025, Gabehart said he received an “unsolicited job offer from Spire Motorsports.” He said it was then that he created a folder named “Spire” on his Google Drive to evaluate the job offer and consider his options since he and JGR were working towards a mutual separation agreement. He maintains he didn’t use any JGR information while working on the folder.
• December 15, 2025, negotiations toward a mutually agreeable separation agreement stopped and Gabehart received a demand letter from JGR’s attorney.
• December 17, 2025, Gabehart’s attorney responded to JGR’s demand letter and agreed to return and delete any JGR information he possessed. He said he made it clear that no JGR confidential information had been transferred or disseminated.
• January 12, 2026, Gabehart took his cell phone to JGR’s forensic examiner’s office and left it there for the forensic examiner to image it. He said he also provided other relevant information to the forensic examiner so other devices and cloud-based storage locations could be accessed.
• January 21, 2026, Gabehart said the forensic examiner confirmed he didn’t locate any text messages or email attachments with the files that JGR had previously identified as being of interest.
• February 6, 2026, Gabehart said he consented to all flagged items on his personal devices being deleted at the forensic examiner’s office.

A hearing on JGR’s request for a restraining order against Gabehart is scheduled for Friday afternoon at the federal courthouse in Charlotte.