# Joe Gibbs Racing Presses Contempt Case Against Spire > Joe Gibbs Racing seeks court contempt for Spire Motorsports over alleged trade secret violations. - Title: Joe Gibbs Racing Presses Contempt Case Against Spire - Summary: Joe Gibbs Racing seeks court contempt for Spire Motorsports over alleged trade secret violations. Joe Gibbs Racing claims Spire Motorsports violated court… - Keywords: joe gibbs racing, spire motorsports, chris gabehart, nascar, temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, trade secrets, contempt case, cars, sports, Joe, Gibbs - Source: Autoweek — https://autoweek.com/racing/nascar/a74133545/joe-gibbs-racing-presses-contempt-case-against-spire - Author: Deb Williams - Published: 2026-10-14T15:58:42+00:00 - Read time: 1 min - Topics: joe gibbs racing, spire motorsports, chris gabehart, nascar, temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, trade secrets, contempt case, cars, sports ## JGR sues Spire for contempt Joe Gibbs Racing attorneys asked a federal judge to find Spire Motorsports in contempt for violating a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. > Joe Gibbs Racing attorneys have asked a federal judge to find the team’s former competition director and Spire Motorsports in contempt of court for violating a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction issued earlier this year ## Court orders prohibited duties The temporary restraining order issued in March and preliminary injunction in April prohibited Chris Gabehart from providing same duties to Spire Motorsports as chief motorsports officer. > They prohibited Chris Gabehart from providing the same duties to Spire Motorsports as its chief motorsports officer that he performed for JGR as that organization’s competition director in 2025 ## JGR requests injunction extension JGR asked US District Judge Susan C. Rodriguez to extend the preliminary injunction to Spire Motorsports until February 1, 2027, for trial. > During Tuesday’s hearing in Charlotte, North Carolina, JGR also asked US District Judge Susan C. Rodriguez to extend the preliminary injunction to Spire Motorsports until the lawsuit goes to trial on February 1, 2027 ## Judge criticizes document withholding Judge Susan C. Rodriguez admonished attorneys for withholding documents, stating clean rooms don’t mean documents are hidden from court. > She told them that putting documents into a clean room didn’t mean they were to be withheld from the court; the court was to receive all documents ## JGR claims Spire encouraged violations JGR attorney Tom Melsheimer said Spire encouraged Chris Gabehart to violate court orders by inviting him to Cup Series competition meetings. > Melsheimer argued that Spire "aided and abetted" Gabehart in violating the court’s order by inviting him to Cup Series competition meetings in late May and early June ## Spire sent employee email Spire sent an email instructing employees about contact with Chris Gabehart after the temporary restraining order. > However, Spire did send an email to its employees instructing them about their contact with Gabehart ## Gabehart on administrative leave Gabehart doesn’t have Spire Motorsports laptop, no system access, and was placed on administrative leave in September. > It also was noted during the hearing that Gabehart doesn’t have a Spire Motorsports laptop, he doesn’t have access to Spire’s system, and he was placed on administrative leave in September ## JGR claims trade secret use JGR alleges Gabehart took JGR car setup parameters for 2025 Circuit of the Americas race and modified JGR spreadsheets for Spire. > Took the parameters from the setup of a JGR car for the 2025 Circuit of the Americas race and provided input on the setups of the cars Spire raced at COTA this year ## Spire claims compliance Spire says Gabehart signed document not to divulge JGR information and has been quarantined with no system access. > Spire is doing everything JGR asked. His laptop has been quarantined, he has no access to the Spire system, doesn’t go to competition meetings, and he’s on administrative leave ## Key takeaway Joe Gibbs Racing claims Spire Motorsports violated court orders by using former competition director Chris Gabehart's trade secrets.