Spire Motorsports appears to have had enough of Joe Gibbs Racing portraying the organization as a villain. The legal battle involving Chris Gabehart has taken several twists and turns, with both sides making their cases in court. So far, Spire has seemingly come out on the favorable side, particularly after JGR withdrew one of its allegations earlier this year. However, following JGR’s latest court filing seeking to hold Gabehart and Spire for violating the court’s order, Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson has hit back.

“The court has already twice rejected similar motions filed by Joe Gibbs Racing. JGR once said that this case was about its “crown jewels.” Now, JGR is talking about stray comments at a few meetings and a debrief form,” Dickerson said via a statement released on Spire Motorsports’ X account.

“Spire will not be bullied by Joe Gibbs Racing,” the statement further read.

The “crown jewels” dig was aimed at JGR driver Denny Hamlin and the organization, who previously used that term to describe the information Gabehart had allegedly stolen from the team during his time as competition director. JGR argues that Gabehart had ‘decades’ worth of sensitive data on his personal device, which Joe Gibbs said in court was being shared with Spire.

In July, however, they were forced to withdraw that statement, as they did not have enough evidence to support those claims. They did not give up on the $8 million lawsuit against their former crew chief and Spire, though.

On September 17, JGR filed a motion arguing that Gabehart and Spire were violating restraining orders issued in March 2026. The orders barred Gabehart from acting as a Competition Director or performing core strategic race duties for Spire while the data-theft lawsuit remains pending.

JGR reportedly claimed that Gabehart, under the newly created title of Chief Motorsports Officer, attended between five and 12 internal competition meetings. The team also reportedly had evidence that Gabehart held discussions about the No. 77 car with Spire’s competition director, Matt McCall, and exchanged messages with driver Carson Hocevar regarding setups.

Dickerson lost his nerve, as evidenced by his statement. He bashed them for picking on “stray comments” from their meetings and debriefs, and declared that JGR does not get a say in what Spire does internally.

“JGR does not get to control what other race teams do through court cases. JGR does not own tire pressures, JGR does not own race strategy, JGR does not own the people who work in this industry, and JGR does not own Spire,” Dickerson said in the statement.

Joe Gibbs Racing asked the court to summon Gabehart and Spire officials to explain why they should not be held in contempt. However, Dickerson remains adamant that they have done nothing wrong and appears unfazed by JGR’s latest legal move.

The paperwork was filed on September 17, and the court has yet to rule on it. For now, Spire appears to have gained some momentum in the legal battle, after the judge gave the team a small victory on August 26 by denying JGR’s motion to dismiss Spire Motorsports’ counterclaims. Spire alleges that JGR breached a contract that reportedly required the organization to send an employee to Spire, while also withholding wages owed to Gabehart.

As of now, the trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, February 1, 2027. The case is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, with Judge Susan C. Rodriguez setting aside nine days for the federal jury trial.

Gabehart has not taken many direct shots at JGR, which makes sense given the high stakes of the legal battle. However, he recently made a sarcastic remark while congratulating Spire development driver Tristan McKee on becoming the youngest driver to finish in the top five in a NASCAR national series race.

“Surely my former employer thinks I am at least allowed to say that?” he quipped.

For now, the battle between JGR and Spire is far from over. Dickerson has made it clear that Spire will not back down, while JGR continues to pursue its case in court. With the trial still months away, the truth behind the alleged data theft and Spire’s involvement will have to wait until both sides face off in court.