Spire Motorsports has filed a countersuit against Joe Gibbs Racing while continuing to strongly deny that it has cheated its way to success via information stolen from the Gibbs organization.
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The countersuit explains a previous plotline from the original lawsuit in which Spire Motorsports acknowledged that Joe Gibbs Racing recruited Robert “Chedder” Smith in the spring of 2025 to be the car chief for Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 team. In turn, Spire told Gibbs that Smith had a non-compete prohibiting him from working for Gibbs until Nov. 30, 2025, and that there was an option to extend his contract through 2026.
Gibbs persisted in trying to hire Smith, and Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson later agreed to negotiate a potential release, with the understanding that there would be a “trade” between the organizations. Smith went to Gibbs, and Spire would hire a Gibbs employee of their choosing at a later date. There was also the option for Gibbs to pay $100,000 instead of releasing an employee.
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Dickerson would go on to ask Gibbs in the fall of 2025 if they would release Ryan Towles, another car chief, so they could hire him. “Yet again, JGR refused. To date, JGR has refused to identify any JGR employee it would release from its non-compete agreement for purposes of employment by Spire.” The team says JGR has also failed to make the $100,000 payment.
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Spire Motorsports alleges that Gibbs breached the trade by failing to release an employee or pay the $100,000.
— Racer —