NASCAR is waking up the morning after the night before, still reeling from the latest high-profile lawsuit to hit the sport.

Hot on the heels of the France dynasty vs Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin et al we have Joe Gibbs Racing suing former crew chief and competition director Chris Gabehart in a stunning development.

The news broke late on Thursday that JGR has filed suit in North Carolina, alleging that Gabehart “embarked on a brazen scheme to steal the team’s most sensitive information and use it for the benefit of a direct competitor in NASCAR - Spire Motorsports".

The suit comes two months after Gabehart, who spent six years as crew chief for the aforementioned Hamlin, left his post at Joe Gibbs Racing as competition director.

JGR says it has filed the lawsuit seeking "extensive damages and enjoin Defendant from violating his contractual obligations and wrongfully using JGR’s confidential information and trade secrets".

JGR also states in the suit that it is entitled to a "judgment against Defendant in an amount to be determined at the trial of this action and presently believed to exceed $8,000,000 for compensatory and other damages, doubled damages, and attorneys’ fees".

It is important to stress that Spire Motorsports has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

LAWSUIT DRAMA: Joe Gibbs Racing sues former Denny Hamlin crew chief

Gabehart salary details in court papers

The court papers filed naturally contain significant detail about the case, and they also contain full details of Gabehart’s contract, salary and bonus structure at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Those details confirm that Gabehart was earning in excess of $1million per annum in his role as competition director at JGR. His three-year deal with potential for a one-year extension gradually increased year on year over the term to a possible $1.15million in 2027-2028.

In terms of bonuses, Gabehart had the potential to earn a further $125,000 if the team finished first in final owner points standings, plus further escalators based on postseason performance. These carried $65,000 for a team reaching the Championship final four, $25,000 for the round of eight and $10,000 for the round of 12.

Gabehart’s contract also contained incentives based on results in each race, either $20,000 or $30,000 depending on the specific race.

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