Sports Benches presents this week’s Sports News led by the Clash of the Titans short-track race again at Bristol followed by the new Basketball season Down Under and we have more on Jack Doohan.
There’s only seven sports news editions left this year so make sure you keep an eye on Sports Benches for your weekly fix. Also check out our General Hospital content every Saturday if the drama isn’t enough.
NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol: Bass Pro Shops Night Race
It was one wild race including the post-race fist fight that turned out to be extra terrifying but also entertaining at the same time. First of all, Joey Logano’s race day record continues to be second to none.
The way he runs long without having to put while managing fuel is exactly how he worked his way through the field with clean air being the secret passcode.
No one else saw this coming by surprise except Joey himself whose 3 x Cup championship credentials shows how deft he can be with the help of these Team Penske Mustangs.
Then Kyle Larson – now the Chase leader by one point ahead of Denny Hamlin – also had a strong outing in the No.5 Camaro for Hendrick.
A good start got undone by these yellows especially when making bold calls can sometimes that can be challenging to maintain upfront. Love how he beat Carson Hocevar to the punch though right on rime at the checkered flag to finish 2nd even if victory lane was quite out of reach.
Finally, Christopher Bell finished 4th in the No.20 Toyota Camry for Gibbs after his strong start to the Chase campaign that began with the Southern 500 win.
Didn’t hear much from him earlier owing up to no practice and/or qualifying due to rain but his 2nd half run was where he running at his peak. Yes, a win could’ve been great while witnessing Carson Hocevar’s Demolition Derby melee to other front-runners — such as Ryan Blaney and Ty Gibbs.
However, Bell simply pulled off what’s left; if anyone can repeat that kind of consistency, it’s him.
NBL Round 1: Melbourne United v Adelaide 36ers
After last week’s NFL season-opening extravaganza at the MCG, there’s another popular sport in town by the way of our own National Basketball League.
One of the two 1st round Saturday night games took place just down the road at John Cain Arena featuring a mix of bright Aussie homegrown talent and lesser-known US players trying their luck elsewhere.
Regardless it was still such an entertaining game between Melbourne United and Adelaide 36ers with Melbourne pushing themselves hard while Adelaide took advantage of starts and restarts plus time-outs as their strategy to close down shop.
It can only be one winner and that came down to the 36ers for their excellent passage offensive play before taking well-timed calculated risks unlike Melbourne. Their defense though? Came out unscathed.
With Melbourne, they also had their moments who were oh so close. But unfortunately, they sometimes looked rushed or simply unable to find the right sweet spot to spoil Adelaide’s performance.
Final score: Melbourne United 95-97 Adelaide 36ers.
Jack Doohan Post No.2 for 2026
Happy to bring you another Jack Doohan post this time with his TPC test in Jerez after it’s been 16 months we’ve last heard from Jack who just had his laps in another 2025 machinery via the Haas VF-25.
Not only things felt quite good, he also was hard-headed, didn’t crash and was given the appropriate support needed to show he built the best body of performance work required hopefully to win that 2027 seat.
So it was a positive week to hang out only months on from when Jack was first signed up by Haas as a reserve driver, while he raced a couple elsewhere in the European Le Mans Series (LMP2 class).
This shows he still has the basic raw pace for Jack to smash it at the highest level of racing, especially on crucial Sundays if given the ride.
Although he doesn’t have significant financial funding or manufacturer-backed references — big difference from being labelled as a pay driver.
If you always don’t like him, fine; just don’t spit out here to make yourselves feel better.
And if anyone out there who can really have a serious look at Jack — whether it be Aston Martin, Audi or even someone like Twiggy aka Andrew Forrest — that would be much appreciated.
Because at the end of the day, I hope this test marks the Jack Doohan we truly know from his junior formula days.
