Joe Gibbs Racing to pay Spire Motorsports $100k+ settlement

One of the two lawsuits between the NASCAR teams has been settled

There were two lawsuits between Joe Gibbs Racing and Spire Motorsports. One of them is now solved with a recent settlement agreement.

Carson Hocevar calls himself a Joe Gibbs Racing driver (Video)

Car chief Robert “Cheddar” Smith’s moved to the No. 54 Toyota team in 2025. He was under contract with Spire Motorsports at the time.

Spire opened a lawsuit claiming that Smith had signed a non-compete which prevented him from signing with JGR. That non-compete would have expired later that same year on November 30th, 2025 though the team says they had the option to extend it through 2026.

With the hiring, Spire says that JGR agreed to release an employee of their own and Spire intended to hire them. However, Spire claims that release never happened.

JGR disputes that agreement’s existence.

On November 6th, JGR paid $108,087.67 to Spire to settle the lawsuit. That includes the $100,000 settlement agreement plus $8,087.67 in interest.

One down and one to go. The lawsuit above is just the preliminary feature.

Spire owner warns of mobility issues between teams amid lawsuit

The lawsuit involving Chris Gabehart is still ongoing

JGR sued Gabehart and Spire in February. Gavehart was the former competition director at JGR and the crew chief of Ty Gibbs. He left the team and took a role with Spire Motorsports.

JGR claims that Gabehart took confidential information to Spire. However, both Spire and Gabehart deny those claims.

The settlement agreement above has no impact on the Gabehart lawsuit. The trial is scheduled to begin February 1, 2027 and it’s expected to last 9 days in court.

Gabehart says management of Ty Gibbs resulted in JGR departure

Denny Hamlin on Spire Motorsports, “There’s no adults in the room, clearly. In that building, no adults.”