Heather Gibbs, the daughter-in-law of Joe Gibbs, explained to the jury the pressure she felt in signing the 2025-31 charter agreement.

But first, the co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, described how she became a co-owner after her husband, Coy, died in Phoenix after their son, Ty, won the 2022 Xfinity Series title.

"We got to celebrate the most special night and he didn’t wake up the next day. … It was obviously awful," Gibbs said.

It was the first time Gibbs had spoken publicly about that weekend. She said she was grieving but had to try to remain strong as a mother of four.

"You are looking at your children and they don’t have a father anymore," she said.

Gibbs soon took a leadership role in the organization, which Joe Gibbs set up to be run by his sons J.D. and Coy. J.D. Gibbs died in 2019 of a neurological disease.

Much of Gibbs’ testimony said she felt forced to sign the charter deal presented to them last year on Sept. 6 late in the afternoon with a midnight deadline.

"We said we have to sign this," Gibbs said. "We can’t lose this. We have too many employees. … I did not think it’s a fair deal for the teams."

JGR has hundreds of employees. They have four Cup cars and won five Cup titles. Gibbs quipped: "Should have been six," a reference to Denny Hamlin losing the 2025 title in the final laps.

She testified she wants to continue to compete for championships and that permanent charters — a main issue why 23XI and FRM are suing — are vital.

But she couldn’t afford to lose her charters, which provide guaranteed revenue and starting spots, so she signed the deal.

"Everything’s going so fast," she said. "That’s the legacy of Coy. That’s the legacy of J.D. … If we don’t take the payout they are offering, we can’t keep going."

She used a term that the teams have used plenty of times in the trial:

"It’s like you have a gun to your head" she said. "If you don’t sign it … everything is gone."

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