Jennifer Jo Cobb has found herself on the wrong side of a Davidson County jury verdict that awarded $850,002 to a local woman. The claims against the former NASCAR driver were those of having an affair with the husband of the Davidson County resident, leading up to destroying the plaintiff’s marriage.
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According to WFMY News 2, on September 24, after a three-day trial at the Davidson County Courthouse in Lexington, the jurors reached a verdict in favor of Tracey Hughes on every question raised in the lawsuit against Cobb.
The claims raised by Hughes were those of criminal conversation and alienation of affections. Both grounds, which Cobb had initially opposed by calling the state laws that allow for Hughes claims to be unconstitutional.
Back in April 2024, Cobb had called for the case to be dismissed on those grounds, but North Carolina is one of the few states in which those two types of lawsuits, often termed ‘heart balm claims,’ are still allowed. Under North Carolina law, a criminal conversation claim requires proof of an intimate relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff’s spouse during the marriage.
To prove alienation of affection, the requirement is showing wrongful and malicious conduct from the defendant leading up to love and affection being destroyed in a marriage. State law bars claims based on conduct that happened even after the separation, while the lawsuit needs to be filed within a three-year period of the defendant’s last act.
Hughes was awarded $800,000 for criminal conversation and $50,000 for alienation of affections. Jurors also awarded $1 in punitive damages on each claim, bringing the total to $850,002.
The lawsuit was initially filed in Davidson County Superior Court in January 2024, three years after Hughes separated from her husband, Cobb’s longtime spotter, in 2021. Hughes was married for 18 years, from 2003 until the separation in January 2021.
Hughes accused the Kansas-born driver of “willfully, intentionally, and deliberately seduced, enticed, and alienated the affections” of her husband for “several” months leading up to the couple’s separation in January 2021. Her complaint included phone calls, text messages, and meetings in North Carolina and other states “while traveling for racing competitions.”
Hughes also claimed that she “suffered the loss of support, injury to [her] feelings and reputation, and had her marital relationship destroyed” by the alleged affair.
Cobb denied the allegations, and in April 2024 she asked the court to dismiss the case. The former driver also asked that her challenge to the lawsuit be sent to a three-judge panel in Wake County, where facial challenges to state law are typically heard. Both requests were denied by Superior Court Judge Eric Morgan in December 2024.
After the two sides reached an impasse at the court-ordered mediation in January 2025, the case was set for trial. After being rescheduled multiple times, the trial began on September 21, and the jury reached its verdict against Cobb on September 24
The verdict is not yet a final judgment. Both sides can file post-trial motions, and Cobb has indicated she may appeal.
Cobb’s time in NASCAR is mainly remembered for driving her own Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing trucks from 2011. Cobb is separated from Eddie Troconis, her former crew chief, whom she married in 2015.
Troconis was arrested in 2022 for assaulting Cobb’s spotter Clayton Hughes, who was reported to be dating Cobb at the time.
For now, it’s yet to be seen how this plays out. More updates are expected on this case, which Cobb is likely to appeal in the near future.