Cadillac F1 chief named in explosive lawsuit

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Cadillac F1 chief named in explosive lawsuit

Dan Towriss has a wide motorsport portfolio including projects in F1 and NASCAR

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 4 March 2026 23:30

Dan Towriss, chief of the all-new Cadillac F1 team, has been named in an explosive lawsuit as courtroom drama across the pond rumbles on ahead of the opening round of the F1 2026 championship.

Towriss is the CEO of TWG Motorsports, the company that owns Cadillac F1, which was previously known as Andretti Cadillac Formula 1 Team.

In October 2024, Towriss was handed full control of Andretti Global by Michael Andretti after he had joined the Andretti ownership group in May of the previous year.

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But ahead of Towriss' first campaign in the pinnacle of motorsport with the new Cadillac F1 project, the American businessman has been named in a lawsuit filed by the Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR team against former competition director Chris Gabehart, claiming Gabehart took sensitive information with the intention of giving it to rivals Spire Motorsports.

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How is Towriss involved in Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR lawsuit?

As CEO of TWG Motorsports—a subsidiary of TWG Global which oversees Spire and Cadillac F1—Towriss also serves as co-owner of the NASCAR team Spire Motorsports.

JGR is claiming that Gabehart took confidential information and trade secrets with him before joining Spire Motorsports, a team move which has now been confirmed, with the squad having now also been added to the lawsuit as a defendant.

Gabehart's former team has alleged he stole sensitive information such as race car setups and simulation results, with the intention of using it to the benefit of Spire.

However, the former competition director denied the claims, calling the lawsuit 'spiteful' and 'baseless'.

Court documents from the lawsuit showed details of a forensic audit that had found folders titled "Spire" and "Past Setups", and whilst Gabehart owned up to taking the photos on his phone and creating the "Spire" folder, he argued it was only with the intention of helping him to decide whether to join the team or not.

Now, thanks to a declaration of crew chief Todd Berrier, who has been a JGR employee since 2014, a new deposition has claimed that Gabehart met Spire chief Towriss to discuss a job offer on October 21, 2025.

But Towriss has hit back at the accusations involving Gabehart and Spire Motorsports, saying in a statement shared by FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass: "I feel very good about how Spire has conducted things.

"Spire doesn’t want data from Joe Gibbs Racing. It doesn’t have data from Joe Gibbs Racing. No point in time has it had data from Joe Gibbs Racing."

A federal judge ruled on Monday that Gabehart can continue to work for Spire Motorsports after JGR requested a restraining order, although he is not permitted to take up the same role he carried out with his old NASCAR team.