Joe Gibbs Racing urges judge to hold ex-competition director in contempt

Spire Motorsport’s improvement in the NASCAR Cup Series this season can be credited to Chris Gabehart sharing trade secrets with the team, Joe Gibbs Racing argued in court.CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CN) — A federal judge should consider holding Spire Motorsports and its chief motorsports officer Christopher Gabehart in contempt, NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing argued in Charlotte court Tuesday.Gibbs Racing sued its former competition director Gabehart in February, later tacking on Spire as a defendant. The team accuses Gabehart of stealing racing secrets and using confidential business information to solicit at least one other employee to go work for Spire, and seeks $8 million in damages.In court Tuesday, Gibbs Racing asked U.S. District Judge Susan Rodriguez to expand an injunction and prohibit Spire from having or using any of Gibbs Racing’s proprietary data. The injunction currently prevents Gabehart from using Gibbs Racing’s confidential data and doing similar work for Spire.On behalf of Gibbs Racing, attorney Thomas Melsheimer of King Spalding claimed Gabehart attended at least 12 NASCAR Cup Series competition meetings at Spire and created a road map of improvements that uses some of the same elements for success that he used at Gibbs Racing, in addition to a spreadsheet partially copied over from his previous job.But Gabehart’s attorney, Cary Davis, framed his client’s conversations with Spire employees as simply about “racing 101” stuff. Gabehart isn’t going to races or Cup Series competition meetings, doesn’t have his Spire laptop and is currently on administrative leave, Davis insisted.Gibbs Racing pointed to a spreadsheet Gabehart made on his Spire computer that mimics one he created and used at Gibbs Racing, which his former employer says includes its trade secrets. Gabehart used the spreadsheet to analyze three Spire Cup Series races prior to the court issuing a preliminary injunction.Davis defended Gabehart’s spreadsheet as a “note-taking device” that includes public race data and comments, not trade secrets or proprietary formulas.“You can still have trade secrets up here,” Rodriguez said, tapping her head, ”and still misappropriate them."“This is not him working for Spire at Spire’s behest to perform some type of analysis,” Joshua Davey, counsel for Spire, assured the court. The team has not otherwise used the spreadsheet and Gabehart hasn’t accessed it in months, he noted.“Spire doesn’t need Mr. Gabehart for anything Cup-related,” Davey added.Spire has had “unprecedented” improvement this season, Melsheimer argued, adding that Gabehart shared details with Spire staff that pertained to tire pressure, car engines and aerodynamics.“They don’t dispute that he disclosed it. Their defense is they didn’t implement it,” Melsheimer said. “We know he’s not doing it by email. He’s doing it orally. This fella is well aware of the risks of a paper trail.”But Davey shot back that Gabehart was only at a handful of Cup Series meetings out of hundreds. Spire has won two Cup Series races this year — one because half of the field wrecked, and the second because the race was called dozens of laps early because of rain. The team has also hired more staff with experience, had fewer mechanical failures and spent more on the Cup Series this season, leading to improvement, Davey said.“To listen to them, Spire couldn’t raise its way out of a paper bag until Chris Gabehart showed up, and that’s just not true,” he said.Gibbs Racing accuses Gabehart of telling Spire’s crew chief about his former employer’s setup parameters in the team’s renewed request for a preliminary injunction. Gabehart also added his personal OneDrive account to his Spire laptop, which allowed him to access Gibbs Racing trade secrets through June, the team says.Gabehart’s attendance at Cup Series competition meetings, technical recommendations and advising on car setups violates the court’s preliminary injunction, Gibbs Racing says. Spire told the court multiple times that Gabehart was not doing any Cup-related work, but he attended Cup meetings for several months after the court issued a temporary restraining order.In opposition to Gibbs Racing’s motion seeking to initiate contempt proceedings, Gabehart claims the evidence is merely a “few stray general comments” and attendance at a handful of meetings. Spire says there is no evidence Gabehart shared the files he took from Gibbs Racing, claiming the rival team is trying to “crush Gabehart and put him out of a job.”Both Gabehart and Spire have filed countersuits against Gibbs Racing. Gabehart accuses Gibbs Racing of executing a “calculated campaign” to punish him, refusing to pay owed bonuses and stopping paying his wages months before firing him.Gabehart has admitted to taking photos of business data, but said he had no plan to use the information at Spire and instead was documenting the 13 years he spent working at the company.Rodriguez, a Donald Trump appointee, said she hoped to issue an order on the motions shortly.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads