Joe Gibbs Racing Asks Court to Let Jury Infer Spire-Bound Texts Were Deleted to Hide Evidence

Joe Gibbs Racing is asking the Western District of North Carolina to let the jury in its February trial consider an adverse inference over seven text messages Chris Gabehart deleted on November 15, arguing the messages with Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson could have been damaging to the defendants. Yahoo reported the request on October 30.

Why JGR Wants an Adverse Inference on the Texts

JGR's filing argues that Gabehart, who has admitted to misappropriating proprietary information, should have expected litigation when he deleted the thread. The team points to Gabehart's November 6 claim of a one-week non-compete and a $100,000 separation payout, and to his admission that he "should not have" photographed proprietary information on November 7.

"A litigant who builds his counterclaims on the contractual rights he supposedly asserted on November 6 cannot pretend that, on November 15, he had no reason to anticipate a dispute over those very rights," JGR's legal team wrote in the filing.

JGR also cites its earlier suit against former engineer Jeff Curtis, who left for Richard Childress Racing with competition notes. Gabehart said in a previous filing that he deleted the texts out of "panic" because they contained the framework of a job offer from Spire, where he is now Chief Motorsports Officer. Dickerson's messages were set to auto-delete after 30 days at the time.

Spire's legal team has argued that an adverse inference would push the jury toward a conclusion that the race team is guilty. JGR says the deletion and Gabehart's explanations are admissible at trial regardless.

Spire Motorsports' Scale Behind the Dispute

Spire Motorsports is a privately held NASCAR organization based in Mooresville, North Carolina, founded in 2019, according to akta.pro company records. The same records list three Cup Series cars, two Truck Series trucks and one High Limit Racing sprint car, with approximately 175 employees and a revenue estimate of $50 million to $100 million.

The records also note that Spire hired former Joe Gibbs Racing competition director Chris Gabehart as Chief Motorsports Officer in 2026, prompting the federal trade secrets lawsuit, and that a judge ruled Gabehart may continue at Spire in a non-competition role.

Earlier Rulings in the JGR-Spire Case

On August 26, Judge Susan C. Rodriguez issued mixed rulings on motions from JGR to dismiss countersuits from Spire and Gabehart after a two-hour hearing at the Charles R. Jonas Federal Building, Yahoo reported. On October 14, the judge heard arguments on whether Gabehart violated court restrictions after leaving JGR for Spire, questioned the evidence and did not rule, according to Yahoo.

On October 21, Yahoo reported that JGR is seeking $150 million in damages in the suit, with Spire's brief noting JGR's damages expert estimates $47.4 million in trade-secret losses and punitive damages bringing the total to $150 million.

What Happens Before the February Trial

Judge Rodriguez will hold a hearing on the adverse inference request and rule on it and other pre-trial matters before February 1.