Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Retail (convenience stores) |
Founded | 1934 |
Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
Number of locations | 667 |
Key people | Carl Bolch Natalie Bolch Morhous Max McBrayer |
Number of employees | 10,082 |
Website | www |
RaceTrac Inc. is an American corporation that operates a chain of gasoline service stations across the Southern United States. In 2023, Forbes ranked RaceTrac Inc. as the 18th largest private company in the United States and ranked 22 with an annual revenue of $19.72 billion. [1]
Carl Bolch Sr. founded the company in 1934 in St. Louis, Missouri, with his first stores operating under the name Carl Bolch Trackside Stations. In 1959, Bolch relocated and acquired the Oil Well Company of Opp, Alabama, which consisted of numerous independent outlets across rural Alabama.
His son, Carl Bolch Jr., who succeeded his father as chief executive, joined the company in Montgomery, Alabama in 1967. After pioneering the concept of self-service gasoline in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, [2] the company relocated its headquarters to Atlanta, Georgia in 1976. In 1979, all company-operated stores adopted the "RaceTrac" brand, and all contractor-operated stores took on the "RaceWay" brand.
In the 1990s, RaceTrac operated as a cash-only business, and it now accepts credit cards, debit cards and fleet cards.
In 1996, RaceTrac founded Metroplex Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RaceTrac, Inc. and a wholesale fuel supplying company that secures bulk fuel to supply RaceTrac and RaceWay stores and other third-party companies.
On December 31 2012, Carl Bolch Jr. transitioned the CEO title to his daughter, Allison Bolch Moran. During that time, Bolch Jr. maintained his executive chairman position. [3] In February 2019, Max McBrayer became CEO of RaceTrac and Natalie Bolch Morhous became President of RaceTrac. On January 2, 2024, Natalie Morhous became CEO of RaceTrac, replacing Max McBrayer. Carl Bolch Jr. remains executive chairman of the RaceTrac board.
On April 5, 2021, employee tax and financial records, [4] and email addresses and first names of some of the RaceTrac Rewards Loyalty users were illegally accessed and posted to the victim shaming site for the Clop ransomware gang. [5]
On July 5, 2023, RaceTrac announced that its subsidiary, Metroplex Energy, agreed to acquire Gulf Oil LP for an undisclosed amount. On December 14, 2023, the acquisition was completed. The acquisition marks the largest in the company's history, expanding its scale and operating network. As part of the transaction, RaceTrac acquired Gulf's iconic brand in the United States and Puerto Rico, all Gulf-branded distributor and license agreements comprising approximately 1,100 branded sites, as well as exclusive rights to market fuel at eleven Massachusetts Turnpike service plaza locations. [6]
RaceTrac, Inc. operates more than 580 retail gasoline convenience stores and travel centers in 13 states under the RaceTrac (company-operated) and RaceWay (contract operator-operated) names. Most RaceTrac locations feature 20 to 24 fueling positions and a 5000+ square foot convenience store offering more than 4,000 items. In January 2012, RaceTrac introduced its new 6,000 square foot store design, which features Swirl World frozen yogurt, free Wi-Fi internet and indoor and outdoor seating. [7]
RaceTrac locations operate in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina Tennessee, and Texas. There are more than 200 RaceWay-branded locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. [8]
In 2023, RaceTrac announced plans for an expansion into Ohio, marking the chain's first move into the Midwestern United States. The first location is expected to open sometime in 2024 in the Columbus suburb of Delaware. RaceTrac's expansion into Ohio follows Wawa's planned expansion into the state, as well as Buc-ee's planned location in the Dayton, Ohio area, Sheetz's expansion into Columbus & Dayton, Casey's expansion into the western part of the state, and 7-Eleven's purchase of Ohio-based Speedway. [9]
The company has been ranked on Forbes magazine's list of largest private companies every year since 1998. [10]
In October 2009, Convenience Store News named Carl Bolch Jr., then executive chairman and CEO, the 2009 Retailer of the Year for "pioneering forecourt retailing in the Southeast and making an indelible mark on the convenience industry overall". [11]
In 2017, Convenience Store News named RaceTrac as the Cold & Frozen Beverages Innovator of the Year. [12]
In 2023, USA Today 10Best Awards: Convenience Stores - awarded RaceTrac with 3rd Best Gas Station Brand in the U.S. [13]
In 2023, RaceTrac was listed in the In Good Company Report – a list of companies that demonstrate a commitment to business generosity. [14]
In 2023, CSP named Natalie Morhous, President of RaceTrac, Inc. as Retail Leader of the Year. . [15]
This section contains content that is written like an advertisement .(March 2023) |
RaceTrac has been actively involved with The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) and hosted several fundraising events since 2011 that has helped to collectively raise over $6 million to cure Parkinson's disease.
The Standard Oil Company of Ohio was an American oil company, a successor of the original company established in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller. It was established as "Standard Oil Company of Ohio" as one of the separate entities created after the 1911 breakup.
Sunoco LP is an American master limited partnership organized under Delaware state laws and headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Dating back to 1886, the company has transitioned from a vertically integrated energy company to a distributor of fuels. It was previously engaged in oil, natural gas exploration and production, refining, chemical manufacturing, and retail fuel sales, but divested these businesses. Sunoco is the largest independent distributor of fuels in the United States.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., or simply Couche-Tard, is a Canadian multinational operator of convenience stores. The company has 14,302 stores across Canada, the United States, Mexico, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Japan, China, and Indonesia. The company operates its corporate stores mainly under the Couche-Tard, Circle K, and On the Run brands but also under the affiliated brands Mac's Convenience Stores, go!, 7-jours, Dairy/Daisy Mart, Becker's and Winks.
Circle K Stores, Inc. is a chain of convenience stores that is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and owned by Alimentation Couche-Tard, Inc., based in Laval, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1951 in El Paso, Texas, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 1990 and went through several owners, before being acquired by Alimentation Couche-Tard in 2003. As of February 2020, Circle K has 9,799 stores in North America, 2,697 stores in Europe, and an additional 2,380 stores operating under franchise agreements worldwide.
Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned chain of supermarkets in the Midwestern and Southern United States, with more than 280 locations in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, with stores planned in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. Hy-Vee was founded in 1930 by Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg in Beaconsfield, Iowa, in a small brick building known as the Beaconsfield Supply Store, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Wawa, Inc. is an American chain of convenience stores and gas stations originating in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and now located along the East Coast of the United States, operating in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Florida. Wawa is based in, primarily associated with, and mainly concentrated in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, though in recent years it has gradually expanded its store locations beyond the Philadelphia area. The company's corporate headquarters is located in the Wawa area of Chester Heights, Pennsylvania in Greater Philadelphia.
Marathon Petroleum Corporation is an American petroleum refining, marketing, and transportation company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil until a corporate spin-off in 2011.
ampm is a convenience store chain with branches located in several U.S. states, including Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and in several countries such as Costa Rica and Brazil. The brand pulled out of the Eastern United States in 2012, but returned a decade later.
Sheetz, Inc. is an American chain of convenience stores and coffee shops owned by the Sheetz family. The stores sell custom food, beverages and convenience store items, with all locations having offered 24/7 service since the 1980s. Nearly all of them sell gasoline; a few locations are full-scale truck stops, including showers and a laundromat. Sheetz's headquarters is in Altoona, Pennsylvania, with their corporate offices located there as well, with over 700 stores located in Central and Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, and North Carolina, with plans to expand into Michigan.
Kum & Go is a convenience store chain primarily located in the Midwestern United States. Started by William A. Krause and Tony S. Gentle, the company is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa and operates 400 stores in 13 states—primarily in its home state of Iowa.
The Pantry, Inc. was a publicly traded convenience store chain based in Cary, North Carolina that operated Kangaroo Express stores. The Pantry was founded in 1967 by Sam Wornom and Truby Proctor, Jr. in Sanford, North Carolina The company has been publicly traded since June 1999 and owned by investors since 1987, when then investor Montrose Capital purchased controlling shares from Wornom and Proctor. Recent CEOs have included the former chairman of the board and interim CEO Edwin J. Holman, who took over after Terrance M. Marks, the former president and CEO, resigned in December 2011. Dennis Hatchell was the CEO of the company as of 2012.
GoMart, Inc. is a convenience store chain based in Gassaway, West Virginia. The company currently operates over 100 stores in most of the state of West Virginia, and border areas of Virginia and Ohio. All Go-Mart stations are unbranded. Go-Mart is the 53rd-largest convenience store chain in the United States.
VPS Convenience Store Group was an American convenience store chain headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina that could trace its roots to the founding of the first Village Pantry convenience store in 1966. VPS was sold in two parts in 2013 and 2015 to GPM Investments.
TravelCenters of America LLC is the largest publicly traded full-service truck stop and travel center company in the United States. The company operates full service centers, convenience stores, and restaurants under the TravelCenters of America, TA, Petro Stopping Centers, TA Express, GOASIS brands ' TravelCenters of America is headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, operates in 44 U.S. states, and employs nearly 20,000 people, as of 2021.
The QuikTrip Corporation, more commonly known as QuikTrip (QT), is an American chain of convenience stores based in Tulsa, Oklahoma that operates in the Midwestern, Southern, and Western United States. QuikTrip is one of two convenience store chains based in Oklahoma.
Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, doing business as Love's, is an American family-owned and -operated chain of more than 630 truck stops in 42 states in the United States. The company is privately owned and headquartered in Oklahoma City. Love's ranked No. 10 on the 2022 Forbes list of America's largest private companies. Love's has two primary kinds of stores: country stores and travel stops. Country stores are fueling stations with a convenience store attached. The larger travel stops are located along highways and offer additional amenities such as food from restaurant chains such as Arby's, Bojangles, Burger King, Chester's, Dunkin', McDonald's, Taco John's, Subway, Wendy's, Hardee’s/Carls Jr., truck parking spaces, showers and laundry. The company started adding RV hookups and RV Stops in 2022. Love's had more than 40,000 employees in 2023.
Joseph Petrowski was an American businessman who was the founder and managing partner of Mercantor Partners, an investment firm and management team working with Arclight Capital of Boston to undertake investments in downstream energy and retail convenience stores.
Boyett Petroleum is a family-owned, independent fuel supplier, distributor, and retailer based in Modesto, California. The company sells gas under the Boyett Petroleum, Cruisers and Kwik Serv brands, distributes to over 500 gas stations in California and Nevada, and supplies diesel directly to a large segment of California’s agricultural community.
Parkland Corporation is a Calgary, Alberta-based energy and retail company. Parkland operates gas stations under the Pioneer, Columbia Fuels, Ultramar, Chevron, and Fas Gas Plus brands, as well as franchised Esso locations. The company holds the rights to the convenience store brand On the Run in Canada and most of the United States, and franchises White Spot's fast food restaurant chain Triple O's in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. Parkland also operates commercial oil and gas businesses under the Bluewave Energy, Sparlings, and Ultramar brands.