NASCAR has once again found itself amidst a lawsuit, this time taking legal action to protect its intellectual property. This marks the latest development in the sanctioning body’s crackdown on alleged trademark violations that began back in May.

Back in May, NASCAR sued hundreds of defendants in China for allegedly selling pirated and counterfeit products. The complaint was filed in the Southern District of New York. However, the sanctioning body has now doubled down on this lawsuit. 

On Monday, Sydney Haulenbeek of Courthouse News Service broke the news via her X account, where she shared the court documents filed by NASCAR. 

"This trademark infringement action is part of NASCAR's continuing efforts to safeguard its goodwill and trademarks against persistent online infringement by foreign-based counterfeiters and infringers,"  Per the introduction of the documents shared by Haulenbeek. 

Per the document obtained by Haulenbeek, NASCAR states that the defendants have violated the Lanham Act, which is the primary federal statute that protects trademarks.  The sanctioning body also alleged that the defendants blur NASCAR’s trademarks on their products to avoid takedown efforts.

Furthermore, NASCAR described the alleged operation as "a calculated scheme to shield their illicit profits from legal enforcement and recovery". The sporting company has appealed to the court to issue an order to deactivate the defendants’ accounts and stop their advertising for the products.

With the expanded lawsuit, NASCAR appears determined to curb the sale of counterfeit products. 

JGR adds on its lawsuit against Gabehart/Spire Motorsports

The lawsuit first came to light in mid-February 2026 when the Joe Gibbs Racing team owner accused Gabehart of  stealing "JGR's most sensitive information and using it for the benefit of a direct competitor in NASCAR." Not just that, the lawsuit also claimed that the now Chief Motorsports Officer at Spire Motorsports breached the contract. 

Following this, Federal Judge Suzan C. Rodriguez also prohibited Gabehart from participating in competition-related activities. However, in the new filings, JGR has now claimed that Chris Gabehart is performing the role of a competition director under the new title. In the filings shared by NASCAR reporter Matt Weaver, the excerpt from the filing read,

"A Spire employee has informed a JGR employee that Gabehart is in charge of and/or significantly participating in Spire’s competition strategy and decisions. Employees were instructed not to discuss the fact Gabehart is leading and/or participating in Spire’s competition and strategy decision-making process outside of Spire."

If found true, Gabehart and Spire Motorsports will be violating the non-compete agreement set in place by both parties.  However, Spire Motorsports has presented a counterargument, which states that Gabehart just holds a senior executive role that is similar to what Joe Gibbs and Dave Alpern do. 

They further argued that being around the competition department does not necessarily mean that Gabehart is actively involved in the decision-making process. 

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi