While not entirely justifying the claims made against it, Joe Gibbs Racing has moved to satisfy one of the counterclaims brought against it by Spire Motorsports by issuing a payment in exchange for the services of car chief Cheddar Smith.
Spire countersued JGR on June 25 in part over a disagreement regarding how Smith ended up on the No. 54 car with driver Ty Gibbs in the first place.
In its claims, Spire said that it agreed to release Smith from his contract in April of 2025 in exchange for an equal level JGR employee or the payment of $100,000. In response to JGR filing a lawsuit against Spire and Chris Gabehart, Spire sued on allegations that it never facilitated its part of the agreement.
Since then, JGR has sued Gabehart, who left for Spire, on claims that he misappropriated trade secrets upon his departure and took them to his new employer — which both defendants deny.
— Motorsport.com —