There are two things one can always count on with Denny Hamlin: he’s going to be a contender in every race, and he won’t shy away from speaking his mind, no matter what. Following Sunday’s race at Talladega, Hamlin proved the latter when he reacted to Spire Motorsports’ cheeky social media post.

On Sunday, Carson Hocevar won at Talladega, his first Cup win and his team, Spire Motorsports’ second Cup win since Justin Haley at Daytona in 2019. After the race, Spire’s X handle posted an interesting picture with the signature of team owner Jeff Dickerson.

In the picture, a mock declaration form stated that Spire wants the record to reflect that they now have two wins. This, as NASCAR insider Jordan Bianchi pointed out, was ‘a cheeky jab at Joe Gibbs Racing’ because the team had stated multiple times in the court filings that Spire had won just one Cup race.

And it was this post from Spire that incited a classic Denny Hamlin reaction as he simply wrote, “Idiots”, in response to it.

It’s worth mentioning that since February this year, JGR has been involved in a lawsuit against its former employee, Chris Gabehart, and his current employers, Spire Motorsports, for damages of $8 million. Gabehart, who was also Denny Hamlin’s former crew chief, allegedly stole proprietary data and shared it with Spire while he was still working under JGR.

Although Gabehart has denied any wrongdoing of that nature, and Spire has insisted time and time again that they made no such demands, JGR has proved in court how Gabehart ‘misappropriated’ the data in subject by storing it on his personal devices. But what hasn’t been proved yet is whether Gabehart shared it with Spire Motorsports or not.

Fast forward to the present, after the race at Talladega, JGR announced an intent to amend and refile their lawsuit against Gabehart and Spire following Hocevar’s win.

In fact, JGR had also recently suggested that Spire’s newfound pace and positive string of results seem a bit suspicious to them.

“NASCAR commentators have openly noted that Spire—a team long regarded as a perennial back marker—now appears transformed. Suddenly, ‘everything’s looking up for them,’ with multiple cars qualifying inside the top 10,” they claimed. “Spire’s implausible single-season competitive leap coincides directly with Gabehart’s arrival and influence on the Cup Series.”

To JGR’s point, the driver who has worked closely with Gabehart, Carson Hocevar, has experienced better results so far this season compared to last year. By this point in 2025, Hocevar had one top 5 and one top 10 finish to his name. This year, he has two top 5s, one top 10, and a win – proof of his growth.

But JGR believes it is the byproduct of Gabehart’s arrival at Spire and that ‘unfair competitive harm’ is already in effect.

Whether or not that is the case is only something the court of law will decide in the coming months. But if Gabehart has indeed leaked proprietary data to Spire, then it could be a serious problem for JGR.

Hamlin warned against the implications of a data leak in NASCAR

Speaking on his podcast in February earlier this year, Denny Hamlin commented on the implications of a team having its data leaked to its rival.

“Do you know how much faster we could possibly be if we had all of Hendrick’s information, theirs and ours? You just can’t let that happen. Which is why the teams are so very protective of their information. It’s what separates us is what our employees come up with during those weeks,” he claimed.

Hamlin added that JGR has spent ‘tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars’ over the past few decades to form its competitive advantage. The #11 driver emphasized that his team has the right and deserves to protect that data and that advantage.