Hobscheidt Hustles low side for Maiden SLMR Feature Win
By Anthony Ainslie
Photo Credit: Mike Rufer
5/24/26
The Malvern Bank Super Late Model Racing Series saw a brand-new face in victory lane after Sunday’s East Series invasion of the Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway.
The second round of the East Series in 2026 saw the tour make the trip to the Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway. The wide and high-banked 3/8 mile oval in Dubuque, Iowa played host to the series for the fifth time with a field of 21 cars parking in the back stretch hill for a chance to score a $3,000 payday.
The night began with Jason Hahne being the Keyser Manufacturing Top Qualifier. The Webster City, Iowa native topped group two with a blistering fast 14.894 second lap. The first group was led by Blair Nothdurft with a 14.959 second lap set by the South Dakota driver. Last Year’s East Series Rookie of the Year, Dallon Murty, was the quickest in the third and final qualifying group when he stopped the clock at 14.907 seconds.
Sunday’s three heat races were won by Jesse Glenz, C J Horn and Jacob Hobscheidt. Dallon Murty came back as the top point earner after qualifying and heat race action, which meant he had the chance at the Skyline Materials Lucky 6th Place Starting Spot Challenge. The Chelsea, Iowa driver accepted and started sixth for the Malvern Bank Main Event.
The field returned to the track for the 30-lap feature with Andrew Kosiski bringing the field down to the start from pole position. The initial start was called back, but after the second start was good to go, Charlie McKenna jumped from the outside front row to the lead. McKenna pulled away from the rest of the field while Jason Hahne, Blair Nothdurft, Andrew Kosiski, and Dallon Murty swapped positions while searching the top and bottom lanes for any grip they could use.
As the race progressed, the top line took rubber with many drivers using the momentum to their advantage. Meanwhile, a few drivers attempted to use the bottom lane, Nothdurft and Murty were among the first to take to the low end of the speedway. A couple of drivers who were also using the bottom effectively were Jacob Hobscheidt and Nick Marolf. Hobscheidt and Marolf worked their ways to the front of the pack in a big way in the last ten laps.
Hobscheidt charged his way to the front and challenge McKenna for the lead with seven laps to go, and he would ultimately take command of the top spot as they came down to the start/finish line with only four laps remaining.
The bottom lane paid off big as Jacob Hobscheidt led the final four laps to secure his first career Malvern Bank SLMR Series win making him the fourth different driver in five visits to Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway, the 23rd different Nebraska born winner, and the 53rd different winner all-time with the series.
Nick Marolf officially ties his career-best finish with the SLMR series with a second-place run after utilizing the low lane like Hobscheidt while Jason Hahne took third. Charlie McKenna ended up fourth after leading 26 of 30 laps, and Blair Nothdurft rounded out the top five.
The Memorial Day weekend for the Malvern Bank SLMR East Series finishes up on Monday with the tour’s rescheduled first-ever visit to the Bloomfield Speedway in Bloomfield, Iowa. The following week, the West Series gears up for their second round with a visit to the Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas.
