A woman from Davidson County has been awarded $850,002 by a jury in North Carolina for an alienation of affection lawsuit lobbied against former NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver Jennifer Jo Cobb, according to court records.
Following the conclusion of a three-day trial, the jury determined that Cobb was successful in causing alienation within the marriage of Tracey M. Hughes and her husband, Clayton Hughes, who served as a long-time spotter for Cobb in the NASCAR Truck Series.
Hughes was entitled to recover the following from Cobb: $50,000 for alienation of affection, $800,000 for criminal conversation (when a third party has sexual intercourse with the spouse of another person during their marriage), and $2 in punitive damages.
According to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute, alienation of affection is a law “that allows a spouse to sue an individual that causes their other spouse to end their marriage”. The lawsuit must show “that the accused individual took steps that a reasonable person would expect and did result in the ending of the affectionate marriage between the couple.”
Jennifer Jo Cobb spoke to a reporter from the Winston-Salem Journal on Monday, saying, “This isn’t over. The judgment has not been entered.” Cobb, per WSJ, believes that the jury made a mistake in their ruling, but did not comment further.
CLICK HERE to read a report from the Winston-Salem Journal
A native of Kansas City, Kansas, Cobb made a total of 234 starts in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series between the years of 2008 and 2024. Her most-recent start came at her home racetrack of Kansas Speedway in September 2024.
According to case records, Cobb was accused of making phone calls to Clayton Hughes of a sexual nature, sending text messages and having sexual liaisons with him in North Carolina, and other states, while traveling for races. Tracey and Clayton Hughes were separated in January 2021, but before that, Cobb seduced Hughes, alienating him from his then-wife, per the lawsuit.
In 2022, Cobb’s then-husband, Carlos Eduardo Trocon Ortiz (Eddie Troconis), was arrested on a second-degree assault charge, stemming from an incident with Hughes at Talladega Superspeedway where he was accused of “sucker punching” Hughes in the back of the neck, requiring extensive physical rehab and several surgeries, per TobyChristie.com. Troconis now serves as a crew chief in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Cobb can appeal her case to the North Carolina Court of Appeals and indicated to WSJ that she may do so.
