In the parking lot beside drivers filling up their Silverados for $2.65 a gallon, outside the store where travelers made a restroom break and bought their Polar Pop drinks, next to the large Publix bustling with shoppers on a Wednesday morning, rested the holy grail of college football at an Auburn Circle K beneath a Dr. Pepper branded tent.

Surrounded by two large cases of Dr. Pepper bottles at a gas station just off the corner of East University Drive and North College Street — surrounded by the smell of ethanol and exhaust, and a handful of iPhone-wielding onlookers — was the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy.

While fueling his car, one driver approached the trophy and said he was an LSU grad — reminding the Circle K crew outside the store that he’d seen the 26.5-inch tall, 24k gold, bronze, and stainless steel cylinder before.

The trophy has been won by the team on the other side of the state three times. Those Alabama Crimson Tide players and coaches have been allowed to touch and lift the trophy. Not the case in Auburn on Wednesday as a sign rested alongside the trophy telling fans not to touch it. But they could take photos.

Auburn hasn’t won this trophy before. So why was it here? And why was it at a gas station of all places?

Nicole Hragyil, a College Football Playoff trophy manager, said she and other representatives take the trophy around the country for games and occasional midweek stops. She’s from San Diego, California, and typically doesn’t make many trips with the trophy away from the West Coast. But due to schedules, she was given duties for this Alabama trip.

Her first-ever trip to the state brought her to a gas station bringing along the symbol fans in this town hope their team can someday call their own.

Dr. Pepper, which sponsors the trophy, determines the midweek stops and will pick large distributors of the cherry-flavored soda.

That means making frequent stops at Walmarts, grocery stores and, yes, gas stations. The trophy has previously made stops to Circle Ks in the SEC region.

“Every week of the season we’re at at least two locations, if not more than that,” Hragyil said. “We’ll go to the game and then we’ll do two, usually Wal-Mart, appearances at each game. And then we also have a mid-week, so I guess it’s like four stops per week.”

The trophy itself has traveled more than 60,000 miles already this season, Hragyil said. It will continue to travel before it is lifted by the eventual national champion on Jan. 8, 2024 in Houston, Texas.

Hragyil said many fans have asked her if the trophy is fake. It isn’t, she said. The College Football Playoff organization does not have any replica trophies.

So that does cause anxiety in transporting the trophy. Hragyil said it isn’t taken with her or others in charge of the trophy. Instead, it is shipped in a heavy, sturdy black box similar to what is is seen for concert equipment. The box actually turns into the trophy’s stand, covered up by a black, branded cover.

Yes, it has been lost in the mail before, Hragyil said.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]