Judge orders Joe Gibbs Racing, Spire to produce '25 and '26 setups

October 8, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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Following a lengthy hearing last Thursday, the magistrate judge overseeing discovery disputes in the Joe Gibbs Racing v. Spire Motorsports and Chris Gabehart suit and countersuit issued rulings on several unresolved matters.

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Prior to issuing those rulings, Judge David C. Keesler credited both groups of attorneys for how they have litigated on behalf of their clients:

“Respectfully, the Court wishes the Parties could resolve more of these discovery disputes on their own without Court intervention. The Parties in this case litigate like they race – all out to win. That approach has certainly applied to discovery in this case, and while admirable to an extent, has likely contributed to delays and additional expenses. With that said, the Court does appreciate the efforts of counsel in advocating for their clients, and occasionally, resolving an issue by compromise.”

The judge has ordered the following:

Joe Gibbs Racing must produce the full agreement between itself and Toyota and any binding contracts between itself and Toyota.

Gabehart wanted these documents to ascertain what information is Gibbs’ proprietary data and what is Toyota’s. This is a matter of damages because Gibbs could not claim damages from Gabehart regarding data that is Toyota’s and not the team’s.

The judge ordered both Spire and Joe Gibbs Racing to provide to each other their final race set-ups for last season and this season, thus far.

This is to allow Joe Gibbs Racing to potentially determine if Spire has replicated the JGR setups from last season into their cars for this season.

The judge has also ordered Spire to provide all competition meeting notes, materials and debriefs from Cup races Gabehart has attended this season. Joe Gibbs Racing wants this to ascertain if Gabehart acted in any capacity similar to the competition director duties he performed last year at JGR, in violation of a court ordered restraining order, but also to learn if Gabehart shared any information taken from his previous employer.

Where would these most sensitive items be viewed? Both parties discussed the usage of a ‘clean room,’ which is on a secure computer in a secured room, where the information can only be viewed on a screen, and not copied or printed.

The judge wants both parties to work together to make this happen.

“Based on counsel’s presentations and other information before the Court, the undersigned respectfully encourages the Parties to confer in a good faith attempt to resolve any differences in their positions on proper use of the clean room. The undersigned will decline to compel any action at this time; if necessary, the Parties may file an appropriate motion seeking clarification.”

There is also the matter of five documents that Joe Gibbs Racing is attempting to withhold from discovery on the basis of attorney-client privilege. The judge wants both parties to try harder to solve that so he doesn’t have to.

“Apparently, there are only five (5) documents at issue and none have attorney communication; however, four (4) of the documents allegedly do involve legal advice from counsel. JGR contends it has produced redacted versions of two (2) of the documents. This final dispute certainly seems resolvable by capable counsel on both sides. Plaintiff is respectfully encouraged to produce redacted versions of all five (5) documents and for counsel to confer in a final attempt to reach agreement on this issue. If absolutely necessary, Defendant Spire may file a concise motion addressing the five (5) (or fewer) documents at issue.”

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Judge orders Joe Gibbs Racing, Spire to produce &#39;25 and &#39;26 setups

Judge orders Joe Gibbs Racing, Spire to produce '25 and '26 setups