Despite four victories at Bristol Motor Speedway, Jeff Gordon’s trophy case was missing the one prize he coveted from ‘The Last Great Colosseum’: the victor’s sword. The track started giving out its iconic sword after the 2014 season. For Gordon, it was major bad luck, as he was unable to win the race again after 1998. Gordon retired from the sport in 2015, but he could never add a Bristol sword even though he won the track four times in a row from 1995 to 1998. That is, until this weekend.

Gordon came to Bristol Motor Speedway this year expecting his team to earn yet another victory after earning their first win of the 2026 season. And he was in no manner prepared for what awaited him. No wonder why he was left absolutely baffled when he was gifted the iconic sword.

“First of all, thank you so much Jerry and everybody. Bristol Motor Speedway, this has always been one of my favorite tracks to be a part of as a driver. Just even walking here, every time I walk in here, I am in awe and have such great memories.”

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Gordon then talked about how he kept missing that trophy and always wished to have it in his personal collection.

“Listen, the trophy alone is special, to now have my own sword. I actually have one from a special weekend last year, so we wanted to remember it. But it wasn’t my own, so this is going to be in a very special place in my office, or my son might take this one.

“But, yeah, just Bristol is such a—I am looking forward to the race tonight and seeing what challenges the drivers and teams are going to be facing; that’s what I love—coming here to just, you know, how 500 laps are going to go around this place. It’s tough for anybody; even when you are on a hot streak, you just never know what to expect here.”

It is true for sure. Hendrick Motorsports did not know either that its ailing driver would suddenly return to his seat this Sunday for the Bristol Motor Speedway.

Jeff Gordon applauds Bowman for taking the hard path

“We got the call of, ‘Hey, I think I’m ready for Bristol,’” Gordon reveals when talking about Alex Bowman‘s return. Bowman was out of the team for multiple weeks in succession owing to his vertigo diagnosis from COTA. Since then, Bowman kept a low profile and focused more and more on recovery.

After his return, he was indebted to the team and recognized both Rick Hendrick and his team’s unwavering support publicly. Nevertheless, it seems like Hendrick Motorsports never really doubted his return. After all, they welcomed him with open arms even though they had a replacement ready for this weekend.

“Getting [him] back is a big boost. The team’s excited, and let’s see how it goes. He’s a competitor, and he wanted to put himself out there this weekend, and I think knowing it could be a really tough challenge.”

Bowman’s readiness to make no delays and bring himself back into the competition is a brave decision. His recovery took time, but Bowman was not ready to let it keep him away from racing, especially when his seat and his entire NASCAR career were on the line.