Bristol Motor Speedway pays tribute to Jeff Gordon

For more than two decades, Jeff Gordon has entertained NASCAR fans at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). 

To commemorate his contribution at the Last Great Coliseum — Bristol announced on Friday that a section of the backstretch seats will be renamed the Jeff Gordon Terrace. 

The Jeff Gordon Terrace will be a great reminder of everything he’s accomplished and all that he’s done for his fans

BMS track president Jerry Caldwell

“That means the world to me,” Gordon said. “This place is awesome.  I love coming here.  I’ve enjoyed competing here, but this is one of those tracks that it brings the fan out in all of us.  For you to honor me this way means so much to me.  I get to enjoy this honor for years to come.  I’m very proud of that.  I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished here and can’t thank you enough.”

Gordon's resume at Bristol

Gordon, 44, will make his final start on the 0.533-mile track on Saturday. His first start came at Bristol in 1993 and he finished 24th. Two years later, Gordon scored his first of five victories. In 45 starts, the four-time Sprint Cup champ has also posted 17 top fives, 25 top 10s and led 2,713 laps of 21,500 raced. 

“We want to honor Jeff for his contribution to our sport, and we look forward to his continued presence in the industry,” said Bristol track president Jerry Caldwell. “The Jeff Gordon Terrace will be a great reminder of everything he’s accomplished and all that he’s done for his fans.”

Gordon is hoping for a sixth win this weekend at Thunder Valley. While he’s currently 13th in the point standings, a victory would lock him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Gordon has qualified for every Chase with the exception of 2005. 

Playing catchup

Still, Gordon feels the No. 24 team — and Hendrick Motorsports are “behind” compared to the top contenders in the garage. He will start 24th for Saturday night's race.

“You’ve got to work at it one step at a time,” Gordon said. “I think that if we can run to our potential or even what I think we are capable of right now I think that we make the Chase.  What happens when we get in the Chase who knows?  When you get a reset there are some tracks that are very good tracks for us in the Chase.  Does that put us in the championship contender mode?  I don’t know we’ve got a lot of work to do to do that.  

“We are missing some speed and we are working hard to try to find it.  It’s very competitive out there.  Some other organizations have gotten ahead of us.  You don’t just find that overnight.  It is certainly not from a lack of effort, but we are in the position that we are in right now not because we are not performing well enough.  It’s because we are having … the brake line at Watkins Glen, getting caught up in that wreck at Indianapolis, just things that are a little bit out of our control.  If we can just do what I think we are capable of doing we make it in.”