The North Carolina woman who won a lawsuit in which a jury ordered NASCAR driver Jennifer Jo Cobb to pay her $850,002 over an alleged affair with her husband has now spoken out.
Last week, a jury awarded Tracey Hughes the money under the state’s “homewrecker law” after she claimed Cobb had an affair with her husband and ended their 17-year marriage.
North Carolina is one of very few states that allow this type of lawsuit
Hughes filed the lawsuit under two state statutes: criminal conversation and alienation of affection. Only a few states still permit such claims, including North Carolina.
“Alienation of affection is any wrongful act that a third party does to diminish the feelings of affection of one spouse for another, and it actually doesn’t require sex,” Tracey Hughes’ attorney, John Vermitsky, told WFMY News. Criminal conversation is the legal term for adultery.
Hughes was awarded $50,000 for alienation of affections and $800,000 for criminal conversation by the jury. The jurors also held Cobb liable for punitive damages on both charges, but awarded only $1 for each.
Tracey Hughes speaks to the media about the lawsuit
“I felt like my whole world had just blown up,” Tracey Hughes told WFMY News. “The lawsuit gave me power. It empowered me, it gave me focus. It gave me a job to do and stand up for myself.”
Hughes is the ex-wife of NASCAR spotter Clayton Hughes, who has spotted for drivers like Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Truex Jr., and Michael McDowell, as well as Jennifer Jo Cobb.
According to the lawsuit, Jennifer Jo Cobb allegedly sent sexually provocative emails and phone calls to her spotter, Clayton Hughes, and had sex with him in North Carolina and other states “while traveling for racing competitions.”
Cobb “willfully, intentionally, and deliberately seduced, enticed, and alienated the affections” of her husband, Hughes’ lawsuit claimed. The lawsuit also alleged that this continued for several months before the couple’s separation in January 2021. Hughes claimed that prior to Cobb’s involvement, her marriage had been happy.
Hughes said the lawsuit has been challenging as it has been played out in public, and that the monetary award is not what matters most to her.
“Your most private parts of your life are out there. I thought it would stop at the courtroom, but it’s gone a little bit more into the press,” she said. “It’s more important, I think, to be vindicated. The money figure was, I think, just a statement maybe by the jury.”
Jennifer Jo Cobb is still fighting the jury’s ruling
Jennifer Jo Cobb declined to comment on the case’s merits or the evidence. In a statement to WFMY News, she said that no official judgment has been entered, the court has not yet made a decision on post-trial motions, and she has not received any payment orders. She also vowed on social media to continue fighting the judgment.
In her initial response to the lawsuit, Cobb refuted the accusations. In April 2024, she petitioned the court to dismiss the action, arguing that the state law allowing Hughes’ claims is unconstitutional. A judge denied her request.
Between 2004 and 2024, Jennifer Jo Cobb participated in 265 races in NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. On February 18, 2011, she finished sixth in the season-opening NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway, her only top-10 finish.