Joe Gibbs Racing has accused Chris Gabehart of violating a temporary restraining order at Bristol Motor Speedway, alleging he engaged in a scheme to steal proprietary information. The TRO permits Gabehart to work at Spire Motorsports but restricts him from overlapping duties with his previous role at JGR.
Since the order was issued, Gabehart has continued to attend Cup Series races, and JGR appears to have him under surveillance at all times to produce legal filings like the one produced on Monday night.
In response, both Gabehart and his legal team issued responses that asked the court to disregard it.
āIt is an improper attempt to introduce surveillance photos as evidence outside the briefing schedule. Unable to substantiate its claims, JGR has resorted to stalking Mr. Gabehart at racetracks, then rushing to this Court to spin routine behavior into suggested misconduct. The Court should give this filing no weight.ā
As has been the argument all along, Gabehart and his legal team, plus those representing Spire, say that Matt McCall is the competition director at Spire Motorsports so there is no reason for anyone else to perform those duties.
āMr. Gabehartās role as Chief Motorsports Officer is fundamentally different in scope, seniority, and focusāa distinction the record already establishes. Mr. Gabehartās presence on race day is entirely consistent with his role as CMO and commonplace for executive-level employees like him.ā
The legal team also referenced the recent hire last week from LEGACY Motor Club of former JGR COO Michael Gutilla as president.
āThe organizational charts submitted in this litigation confirm that Mr. Guttilla served in the role directly above Mr. Gabehart at JGR, meaning that Mr. Guttilla had at least equal, and likely greater, access to JGRās confidential competitive information than Mr. Gabehart. See ECF 38, Ex. B. JGR evidently did not view its confidential information as sensitive enough to preventāor even protestāMr. Guttillaās mid-season move to a direct competitor, which undermines JGR's claim that Mr. Gabehart poses some unique threat to JGR's competitive interests.ā
The obvious rebuttal, of course, is that both JGR and LEGACY are tier one Toyota Racing North America teams with access to the same data, as to where Spire is a Chevrolet team. Legacy also stated in its hiring press release that the hiring came in collaboration with Gibbs.
The below section is taken directly from the Legacy press release.
Principals at Joe Gibbs Racing worked collaboratively with ownership at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB to facilitate the move, with full support from both organizations.
āWe really appreciate Michaelās guidance and leadership over the past few years,ā said Joe Gibbs, owner and founder of Joe Gibbs Racing. āWe are happy that he will be able to continue to contribute to the Toyota family in his new position.ā
Gabehart responds personally
Gabehart wrote in his own declaration, like he did after similar allegations were made following the race weekend at Darlington Raceway, that his radio did not have a speaker and that he was not performing competition director duties at Bristol.
Instead, his role over the weekend was similar to one by Joe Gibbs himself or even a Jeff Gordon, who is Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman, who wears a headset and sits in on meetings at the track.
āMy use of radio equipment and proximity to Spire personnel at Bristol was entirely routine. Hundreds of individuals at NASCAR Cup Series eventsāincluding owners, executives, sponsor representatives, and administrative personnelācommonly wear radios when Cup cars are on track and stand in similar proximity to their teams. This is true for executives at JGR, including Coach Gibbs and Dave Alpern, among others, who based off my experience regularly use radio equipment at races.
The radios allow team personnel to listen to the team radio traffic to monitor team performance. The driver, crew chief and spotter are the ones communicating over the radio on competition matters. I did not. As the photographs indicate, I only wore earbuds with no microphone and therefore had no way to communicate via the radio, I could just listen to the radio traffic. Accordingly, I did not discuss any competition-related issues on the radio.
As Chief Motorsports Officer, my presence near Spireās race car drivers is a natural and expected part of my executive oversight responsibilities. I was not performing any services in a Competition Director-type role at Bristol.ā
Gabehart also addressed each submitted photograph individually.
āI was looking up at the speedwayās Jumbotron watching television coverage of qualifying.ā
āI was watching two monitors mounted on a cart: one showing the live TV broadcast of practice and the other showing the real-time ranking order of the teams and drivers in the practice session and their corresponding lap times. Again, despite Mr. Brownās speculation under oath, I was not performing any services in a Competition Director-type role at Bristol.ā
What allegations did Joe Gibbs Racing make against Chris Gabehart?
Joe Gibbs Racing accused Chris Gabehart of violating a temporary restraining order and engaging in a scheme to steal proprietary information.
What is the purpose of the temporary restraining order against Chris Gabehart?
The temporary restraining order allows Gabehart to work at Spire Motorsports while prohibiting him from performing any duties that overlap with his previous role at Joe Gibbs Racing.
What are the potential consequences for Chris Gabehart in the lawsuit from Joe Gibbs Racing?
If found in violation, Chris Gabehart could face legal repercussions, including potential damages sought by Joe Gibbs Racing, which amount to $8 million.
When is the trial or settlement discussion scheduled regarding the lawsuit against Chris Gabehart?
The trial or settlement discussion regarding the lawsuit against Chris Gabehart is scheduled for November.
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