Sobbing Strikes Big at Shelby County
Jesse Sobbing returned to victory lane in grand fashion in a high-stakes showdown on Wednesday at Shelby County Speedway.
The high-banked one-third-mile oval in Harlan, Iowa played host to the second dual race for the Malvern Bank Super Late Model Racing Series. A stout field of 37 cars packed the pits of Shelby County for a chance at the biggest top prize of the year, a whopping $10,000 to win. The race was to help kick off the 16th running of the Silver Dollar Nationals, the first time the event has ever been held in Harlan.
Jason Hahne added his third Keyser Manufacturing Top Qualifier award of the season with his lap of 13.826 seconds in group 1. The second lap saw West Series Points Leader Tad Pospisil at the top of the order with a 14.213 second lap time.th Reigning East Series Champion Dylan Thornton topped group 3 as he stopped the clock at 14.208 seconds. The fourth and final group was headed by Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Regular Brandon Sheppard. The New Berlin, Illinois driver set a lap of 14.384 seconds in his first-ever SLMR appearance.
The night’s four big heat races were won by Jesse Sobbing, Cole Searing, Charlie McKenna, and Bill Leighton Jr. McKenna would later return as the top point earner through qualifying and heat race action thus giving him the first chance at a $1,500 bonus for the Skyline Materials Lucky 6th Place Starter Challenge. The Ames, Iowa driver turned down the bonus, so Brandon Sheppard would have the honor of starting sixth in the Malvern Bank Main Event.
Derrick Stewart and JC Wyman took victories in the two Predator Custom Trailers B Features on the night while both Allan Hopp and Corey Zeitner also transferred to the feature.
After provisionals were decided, 26 cars took to the speedway for the 40-lap Malvern Bank Main Event. Tad Pospisil brought the field to racing speed from pole position while Jesse Sobbing sat on the outside of the front row. Pospisil struck first and took the early race leaving Sobbing to hold off an early charge from Dylan Thornton for the second position.
Pospisil would lead going into the first caution of the race for a 2-car incident involving Mike Collins and Darrel DeFrance on lap six. When racing resumed, Pospisil kept the top spot for three more laps before Sobbing used the top lane to get around for the race lead.
As the race stayed green, Pospisil would eventually faded back to third after a battle with Thornton for second. Meanwhile, Jake Neal, Brandon Sheppard, Clay Stuckey, and Jason Hahne traded position throughout the green-flag run for fourth through seventh positions.
The next caution did not come until the 7-to-go mark when Allan Hopp slowed to a stop after mechanical issues. This set up a restart that led to the biggest incident of the night. Contact between Chad Simpson, Bill Leighton Jr. and Jacob Hobscheidt led to Leighton barrel-rolling down the back stretch ending with his car upside-down. The La Vista, Nebraska native was able to get out of his damaged race car but would be done for the event. He would end up 19th in the final order while Hobscheidt finished 20th. Simpson would escape any major damage and went on to record a tenth-place finish.
When racing got back under way, Jesse Sobbing and Dylan Thornton were left to decide the big paycheck. The West and East Series Champions from one season ago went side-by-side on the restart, but ultimately, Sobbing would pull away and go on to score the big payday. It was Sobbing’s second win of the 2026 season and his third SLMR Series win at Shelby County Speedway. The victory was Sobbing’s 13th career series triumph which sees him tied with 2-Time East Series Champion Justin Kay for 5th on the all-time SLMR win list.
Dylan Thornton would have to settle for second while Tad Pospisil scored a third-place run. Blair Nothdurft won the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger Award by finishing fourth after starting clear back in the 21st starting position after having taking a series provisional just to make the show. The top five was rounded out by Jake Neal.
With the Silver Dollar Nationals Prelude and the richest race of the year now in the history books, the Malvern Bank SLMR Series gears up for a tripleheader weekend in Iowa with a West, Dual and East Series race in that order. On Thursday, July 23rd, the West tour heads to the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City. Then, the third dual race of the year features the Dale DeFrance Memorial at the Marshalltown Speedway in Marshalltown on Friday the 24th. Finally, on Saturday the 25th, the East Series will finish out the weekend with the 2nd annual King of the Bullring at the Winneshiek Raceway in Decorah.
Credit: Anthony Ainslie
Photo Credit: Mike Rufer
