標籤: Gibbs

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin has repeatedly stated that he intends to retire from full-time Cup Series racing at the end of the 2027 season. Although there is still some doubt about his execution, it appears Joe Gibbs Racing has a succession plan in place.

Fox Sports’ Bob Pockross wrote that O’Reilly Series driver Brent Cruz is “focused on driver development” so that he can replace Hamlin in the No. 11 car whenever that happens.

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Hamlin, who is coming off a million-dollar win in the NASCAR All-Star Race, remains easily one of the best drivers in the sport. In 2026, he leads the Cup Series in laps led (624), and his average finishing position (9.92) is even better than last season, when he won six races.

It’s not like it’s a Michael McDowell or Kyle Busch situation, where wins have become less frequent. Hamlin is a championship contender who has a legitimate chance to win every week at every oval track on the Cup Series circuit.

RELATED: NASCAR Cup Series all-time win list, including Denny Hamlin

That’s why there is considerable doubt as to whether Hamlin will actually leave when his contract expires. Whether it’s in 2027 or any year after that, JGR has a tentative plan.

Cruz, who just turned 18 in March, has been one of the best drivers in the O’Reilly Series this season. He finished in the top 10 in seven of his 10 races and finished in the top five in four races.

Widely regarded as one of the top prospects in NASCAR, with some even seeing him as a better talent than Connor Zylisch, a Cup Series ride is inevitable. Crews looks ready to step behind the wheel of the No. 11 whenever Hamlin decides to step away.

Matt Johnson is the senior NFL and college football editor for Sportsknot. His work including the weekly NFL and college… More about Matt Johnson

The lawsuit between Joe Gibbs Racing, Chris Gebhardt and Spire Motorsports has turned into a NASCAR civil war, and fans are choosing sides. At this point, it seems like half of NASCAR fans are arguing about it online every day.

It all started when JGR accused their former competition director, Gabehart, of taking confidential competition data and trade secrets before leaving for Spire Motorsports. He also refused to share sensitive information with the team. The case already involves claims of deleted messages, forensic examination of devices, cease-and-desist orders and public firings from both sides.

And when Carson Hocevar led Speer to a shocking Talladega win, the debate reached a whole other level.

Joe Gibbs Racing threw a curveball by amending its lawsuit to imply that Spire’s sudden jump was due to Gabehart stealing confidential data and trade secrets from the organization. And to rub it in, JGR took aim at Spire’s social media posts celebrating his win and said in court papers that the team was basically ridiculing the allegations.

Around the same time, Denny Hamlin publicly criticized Spire owner Jeff Dickerson online, accusing the team of “hiring someone who stole information worth millions.” Those comments, along with JGR’s repeated claims that Spire’s rise was linked to inaccurate data, prompted fans to take sides almost immediately.

Now, NASCAR fans are divided. Some fans think that JGR is completely justified and is protecting its “secret sauce”. Others feel the team is going after a weak team that has finally started winning.

A lot of fans didn’t like the timing

One thing that immediately rubbed people the wrong way was the fact that JGR was placing more emphasis on the lawsuit right after Spire’s win at Talladega.

For many fans, the timing seemed emotional. Chaos happens almost every year at Talladega, so a lot of people didn’t like the idea that a superspeedway win suddenly proved that Spire had some massive technical advantage.

On Reddit, one fan said that JGR had “definitely crazy ex-feelings”. Another called the whole thing “absolutely sour grapes.”

Fans also pointed out that several Gibbs cars crashed or made mistakes during the race, which led some to find the allegations even weaker.

Is Spier winning because of Gabhart or because he’s just good?

Everyone keeps coming back to this argument.

A lot of fans think that Gabehart bested Spier simply because he is one of the smartest competitors in the garage.

People kept repeating versions of the same point online: You can’t expect someone to “wipe their brains out” when they leave a race team.

Others questioned how useful six-month-old setup data is even in the next-gen era, where teams are constantly changing things from week to week.

Some fans also think that Joe Gibbs Racing is more interested in making an example of Gebhardt than proving actual damage.

However many fans think that if the files were actually taken then JGR has every right to keep their information safe. One Reddit user wrote, “If there is proof that Gabhart stole IP from them, JGR is 100% justified.”

Another fan compared it to corporate espionage and said that his company would “destroy” any competitor if it was caught carrying internal data.

Spire suddenly became a fan favorite

For a surprising number of fans, Spire has become the underdog in all this.

Jeff Dickerson’s public comments incensed people, especially when he claimed that “the process is the punishment” and insisted that Spier “took no shortcuts.”

Even court cases have become online entertainment.

Now the legal dispute between Joe Gibbs Racing and former employee Chris Gabehart has taken another important turn when a judge has officially scheduled the case for trial in January 2027.

According to reports from the latest hearing, both sides insisted on very different timelines before the court reached a compromise decision.

As RACER.com writer Kelly Crandall reported on social media, “Judge Susan Rodriguez has ordered that the Chris Gabehardt/Spire Motorsports vs. Joe Gibbs Racing trial move to January 2027. Both sides argued for their proposed dates in a telephonic hearing yesterday (Gibbs wanted November and Spire/Gabehart wanted May 2027).”

The January 2027 date effectively split the difference.

My love for motorsports began as a child watching races with my family in Tunisia. Fast forward to today… more about Farah Ben Gamra

The legal dispute between Joe Gibbs Racing and Spire Motorsports is heating up, and Spire co-owner Jeff Dickerson is really hitting back at how his team has been framed in this whole thing.

The lawsuit stems from Spire’s decision to hire longtime NASCAR competition director Chris Gebhardt after his separation from Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of 2025. JGR claims Gebhardt improperly obtained confidential team information and that his new job violates a non-compete agreement tied to his previous role. The team has asked the court to stop him from continuing to work for Spire.

Dickerson denied those allegations and said in court filings that the claims against his organization misrepresent what actually happened.

“JGR’s repeated attacks on Spire’s integrity have not been taken well,” Dickerson wrote in a filing obtained by Motorsports. matt weaver. “Spire and JGR are peers in this industry. Both teams deserve respect. Both teams are on the same level and have the same charters that allow them to compete.”

According to Dickerson, Spire’s goal is simply to advance within the sport and become more competitive. He believes that the purpose of legal action is to slow down that effort rather than resolve a legitimate issue.

Dickerson wrote, “This lawsuit is an attempt to suppress Spire as it attempts to build a team that can, one day, achieve a win count comparable to that of JGR.” “Instead of allowing that competition to play out on the track, and instead of considering what brought JGR to the forefront in the first place, JGR has chosen to attack, insult, and belittle Spire.”

Controversy resurfaces as personnel move between teams

Part of the disagreement between the teams stems from earlier staffing moves. In 2025, Joe Gibbs Racing hired longtime car chief Robert Smith away from Spire to work on the №54 car driven by Ty Gibbs.

Dickerson said that Spire allowed Smith to leave his contract so he could take the job at JGR, but the teams had an informal understanding that a similar move could eventually go the other way.

“Importantly, Robert Smith, as a car chief, was part of the competition leadership branch at Spire, and JGR understood that Spier’s next effort under the trade understanding would come from the competition branch, if not the leadership, from JGR. This did not prevent JGR from entering into the trade understanding.”

Spire later explored the possibility of hiring personnel from Joe Gibbs Racing following internal changes in the organization, but Dickerson said those efforts were not successful.

Eventually the situation reverted to Gabehardt. Dickerson said he met with him months before the appointment became official. During that conversation, he said it was clear that Gabehart was struggling with the idea of ​​leaving the team he had worked with for most of his career.

“I could tell that Mr. Gebhardt did not enjoy the prospect of leaving his longtime employer,” Dickerson said in the filing. “I knew that Mr. Gabehardt had devoted much of his decade-plus career to serving JGR. As he spoke I could tell he was saddened by the thought of the possibility of leaving. I knew then that the workplace environment at JGR must have been toxic and volatile.”

Dickerson also said that Gebhardt had made it clear that if he left Joe Gibbs Racing he had no interest in taking the same job elsewhere.

“Mr. Gebehart stated that any future role he may have will not be a lateral move,” Dickerson wrote. “Instead, he said that if he left JGR, he would be looking for a completely different role that would present a new challenge for him. He certainly had no interest in what he was doing for JGR at the time.”

The case is still ongoing and may determine whether Gabehart is allowed to remain in his position with Spire Motorsports. If recent NASCAR history has taught us anything, it’s how ugly things can get during a legal battle.

This feud between Joe Gibbs Racing and Spire looks like it’s headed down that same dark path. This may seem like a simple dispute over a non-compete clause, but it’s a reminder that behind the scenes, things can be much dirtier than what we see on the racing track.

My love for motorsports began as a child watching races with my family in Tunisia. Fast forward to today… more about Farah Ben Gamra