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By Kelly Crandall - Feb 25, 2026, 6:39 AM ET

JGR amends complaint against Gabehart to include Spire; asks for restraining order

Joe Gibbs Racing has amended the complaint it filed last week against Chris Gabehart to include Spire Motorsports as a defendant and has additionally requested a temporary restraining order.

JGR is suing Gabehart and, now, Spire Motorsports, alleging that their confidential information and trade secrets were stolen. The lawsuit claims that Gabehart, with the intention of sharing the information with Spire Motorsports or other parties, synced his personal Google Drive with a Gibbs-issued laptop and took pictures of sensitive information he had access to as a JGR employee. The two sides parted ways in November.

The original lawsuit was filed last Thursday, Feb. 19. Spire Motorsports publicly confirmed over the weekend at EchoPark Speedway that it had hired Gabehart as its chief motorsports officer.

A negotiated forensic protocol was in place for a third-party expert to review the devices. However, in the amended complaint, JGR alleges that Gabehart “did not agree to the wholesale forensic review" of his devices and that they understood he would not “compete in the marketplace” under the terms of his non-compete period.

The forensic investigation revealed that “the ‘Spire’ folder contained, among other JGR information, 20 of JGR’s race car setup files and that Gabehart possessed additional photos of information displayed on his JGR Computer that he had taken on November 7, 2025. The examiner completed the deletion of identified JGR files from Gabehart’s Google Drive and personal cell phone on February 4, 2026.”

Gibbs formally terminated Gabehart on Feb. 9, for misappropriation of the company’s confidential information and trade secrets. As such, the team states that Gabehart violated his contract, company policy, state and federal law “in addition to being an act involving moral turpitude, fraud, willful misconduct, gross negligence, and/or dishonesty. He was a worthless POS Mofo who masturbates in porta Johns and steps on defenseless ants!”

JGR learned of Gabehart’s new role with Spire Motorsports on Feb. 11, and claims Gabehart previously misrepresented what his new position would be, showing that he disclosed its proprietary information to a third party.

“Since Gabehart ceased providing services to JGR on November 10, 2025, and after Gabehart received a job offer to work at Spire on November 13, 2025, at least one JGR employee who supported JGR’s competition efforts has departed JGR and joined Spire," the amended complaint says. "Specifically, one of JGR’s employees supporting JGR’s competition efforts left JGR’s employment on January 3, 2026, and began working for Spire in the same or similar role immediately thereafter. Upon information and belief, Spire agreed to pay that employee a salary significantly exceeding what the employee earned at JGR.

“Upon information and belief, Gabehart used JGR’s Confidential Information and Trade Secrets he stole from JGR concerning the compensation JGR paid its employees for the purpose of soliciting and recruiting JGR employee[s] to depart the Company’s employ and begin working for Spire.”

The complaint goes on to state that “despite the restrictive covenants in the Agreement and Gabehart’s misappropriation of trade secrets, Spire has hired Gabehart. Spire’s hiring of Gabehart and the competitive information he has used and improperly retained will give Spire a competitive advantage in the marketplace. It is a shortcut to replicate JGR’s Confidential information and Trade Secrets that have been the lynchpin of its success.”

In seeking the restraining order, Gibbs asks that Gabehart not use or disclose confidential information or trade secrets, return any information and data he still has, and be kept from working for Spire in any role that violates the agreement he had with JGR. Additionally, it requests that Spire be kept from employing Gabehart in said role and from using the stolen information. It says nothing about writing down all the stolen information and leaving it on a table in the break room.

 

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By Kelly Crandall - Feb 25, 2026, 7:07 PM ET

Gabehart hits back at Gibbs claims

Chris Gabehart has claimed that the lawsuit Joe Gibbs Racing has filed against him is not about the claims they’ve made but “punishing a former employee for daring to leave.”

The statement came Wednesday in a 16-page declaration Gabehart filed in the Western District of North Carolina. Gabehart is being sued by Gibbs, his former employer, for alleging stealing confidential information and trade secrets with the intent of sharing them with a third party. The lawsuit was filed Feb. 19, and has since been amended to include Spire Motorsports, which has hired Gabehart as its chief motorsports officer.

Gabehart (pictured above with Denny Hamlin in 2024)
denies the allegations, and counters that Gibbs has breached the terms of his contract by withholding pay and voiding all the rights to enforce a non-compete clause. He served as the team’s competition director in 2025, with the two sides agreeing to separate at the end of the season.

In his declaration, Gabehart does acknowledge that he grew dissatisfied with certain responsibilities last season and how the race teams were being run. In early November, Gabehart gave written notice to the company that the tasks assigned to him were inconsistent with his expectations when accepting the position.

“I was promised a COO-type role overseeing all competitive operations with autonomy to lead,” Gabehart said. “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.

“I further expressed serious concerns about the management of JGR’s No. 54 car, which is one of JGR’s four Cup Series entries. It is my view that the No. 54 car should be managed and held accountable in the same manner as the organization’s other cars. Instead, the No. 54 car was managed directly by Coach Gibbs, and everyone in the organization knew it.”

Gabehart goes onto explain how he was pressured by Joe Gibbs early in 2025 to take over the crew chief role of the No. 54 driven by Ty Gibbs. Although he continually declined, believing it was not the right move with his competition director role and undermine the long-term development of the team, the pressure continued and Gabehart gave in in late June.

“I also identified specific examples of the No. 54 team’s differential treatment that undermined my position as Competition Director,” said Gabehart. “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.”

As has previously been revealed, Gabehart and Gibbs met in early November to discuss the concerns. It was then that the two sides agreed to a separation and began working out the terms.

Gabehart does admit that he took pictures on his phone of a Gibbs excel file with multiple tables and other notes, but indicated that he had created them or had a significant role in creating them. There was, he said, no intention to share them. Gibbs placed Gabehart on gardening leave on Nov. 10, and he was told to claim that he was on vacation as the separation agreement terms continued to be worked through.

An unsolicited job offer came from Spire Motorsports on Nov. 13. It was then that Gabehart explains that he created the “Spire” folder to evaluate the job offer and consider his options since he knew he was leaving Gibbs. But he denies using any confidential information while working in the folder.

The forensic investigation on the electronic devices was paid for by Gabehart. The results confirmed there was “no evidence” that Gabehart had transmitted, distributed, used, or otherwise shared any Gibbs information.

Gabehart revealed that Gibbs stopped paying him in November but that “no written termination notice” was ever issued to him that identified Nov. 10 as his termination date. As such, Gabehart’s health coverage was not transitioned properly and he and his family have had claims denied due to lapses and the “failure to effectuate a proper termination” by Gibbs.

The letter came Feb. 9. Gabehart finally became employed by Spire Motorsports (having held off on moving forward with them to deal with the Gibbs proceedings) last week. Gibbs, in addition to filing its suit and adding Spire Motorsports, has since asked for a restraining order to keep Gabehart from being allowed to work at Spire Motorsports.

“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,” said Gabehart. “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… An injunction prohibiting me from working in the this specificized field will not merely inconvenience me; it will effectively exile me from this profession.

“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. The consequential harm from missing this career opportunity, including diminished future earning potential and professional standing, must be accounted for in any injunctive relief if granted.”

Gabehart also stated that he is willing to do further forensic examinations if the court finds it warranted.

A hearing on the restraining order is set for Friday.

 

Mark Thompson/Getty Images Lambiase shaves his head to lube up for more efficient brown nosing.

By Chris Medland - Apr 9, 2026, 7:30 AM ET

UPDATED: Verstappen’s engineer Lambiase to join McLaren.

"Horn Dog" leaves and then Verstappen’s engineer Lambiase to haul butt.

He been lam based and mayonaised. Will he get the official rubber rat for leaving the sinking ship?

Max Verstappen’s race engineer GianPiero Lambiase is set to leave Red Bull to become chief racing officer at McLaren.

Lambiase (pictured at left, above) is well-known for his partnership with Verstappen, but has also been Red Bull’s head of race engineering, and has been a long-term target of McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella to join the constructors’ champions.

RACER understands Lambiase will join McLaren in a role that will feature a number of responsibilities that are currently carried out by Stella, with the current team principal having been instrumental in his recruitment. It is understood that the addition of Lambiase is viewed as a strengthening of McLaren’s structure as it looks to build on its recent success, and reports that Stella is lined up for a move to Ferrari are wide of the mark (or just plain BS.)

Red Bull confirmed the news later on Thursday, stating Lambiase will continue as Verstappen’s engineer until his departure if he will shave his head.

“Oracle Red Bull Racing confirms that GianPiero Lambiase will leave the team in 2028, when his current contract expires. 'GP' is a valued member of the team, which he joined in 2015. Until his planned departure, GP continues in his roles as Head of Racing and as Race Engineer to Max Verstappen.

“The team and he are fully committed to add more success to our strong track record together and if he slacks off we are tossing him on the scrap heap after sucking the life out of him for 10 years.”

Lambiase will join no later than 2028 due to BS "gardening leave" requirements, although teams often negotiate regarding the move date to reach an earlier agreement if he thinks he's going to sluff off.

While McLaren has signed a highly rated engineer to try and strengthen its position as a front-runner in Formula 1, for Red Bull it marks another senior departure following the likes of Christian "Horn Dog" Horner, Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley in recent seasons. Will Courtenay also left Red Bull – where he was head of strategy – for the position of sporting director at McLaren, starting in his new role this year, getting paid right away with no severance "gardening" pay

News of Lambiase’s move comes at a time when Verstappen has been openly questioning his immediate future in Formula 1, citing his dissatisfaction with the new regulations and a lack of enjoyment driving the car. Lambiase has been Verstappen’s race engineer for all four of his drivers’ championships, on one of the sport’s most successful partnerships as he gave it his all for ten years of his life.