RaceTrac, Inc. is an American corporation that operates a chain of

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

service stations across the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. The firm is Georgia's third largest private company, with sales of $9.1 billion in 2013.

History

The company was founded by Carl Bolch Sr. in 1934 in St. Louis,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, 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 Opp is a city in Covington County, Alabama, Covington County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 6,771. Opp is named after Henry Opp, a lawyer for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Geogr ...

, which consisted of numerous independent outlets across rural

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. His son, Carl Bolch Jr., who succeeded his father as chief executive, joined the company in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

in 1967. After pioneering the concept of self-service gasoline in Alabama,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and Georgia, the company relocated its headquarters in 1976 to Atlanta, Georgia. In 1979, all company-operated stores adopted the brand, "RaceTrac", and the "RaceWay" brand is born for all contractor-operated stores. In the 1990s RaceTrac operated as a cash-only business, but now accepts

credit card A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...

debit card A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The term '' plastic card'' includes the above and as an identity document. These are similar to a credit card, but u ...

s 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. In October 2012, Carl Bolch Jr. announced he would be passing the CEO title to his daughter, Allison Bolch Moran, while remaining chairman of the board. The change went into effect December 31, 2012. In February 2019, Max McBrayer became CEO of RaceTrac and Natalie Bolch Morhous became President of RaceTrac. On April 5, 2021, employee tax and financial records, 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.

Locations

RaceTrac, Inc. operates more than 550 retail gasoline convenience stores in 12 southeastern states under the RaceTrac (company-operated) and RaceWay (Contract Operator-operated) names. Most RaceTracs feature 20 to 24 fueling positions and a 5000+ sq. ft. convenience store offering over 4,000 items. In January 2012, RaceTrac introduced its new 6,000 square foot store design, the RT6K, which features Swirl World frozen yogurt, free

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

internet and indoor and outdoor seating. RaceTrac can be found in Florida, Georgia,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. There are over 300 RaceWay-branded locations in Alabama,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, Louisiana, Mississippi,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, Tennessee, Texas, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Awards and acknowledgments

The company was ranked on ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' magazine's list of the largest private companies in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and in 2009 and 2010 it was named by the ''Dallas Business Journal'' as one of the "Best Places to Work" in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In October 2009, Carl Bolch Jr, chairman and CEO of RaceTrac, was named by Convenience Store News as their 2009 Retailer of the Year for "pioneering forecourt retailing in the Southeast and making an indelible mark on the convenience industry overall". In 2012, RaceTrac was named CSNews' Retailer Innovator of the Year. In 2012, RaceTrac was named Best Place to Work by the ''

South Florida Business Journal South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

''. In 2013, RaceTrac was named a Top National Workplace by Workplace Dynamics.

References

External links

Company website
{{Atlanta companies Companies based in Atlanta Privately held companies based in Georgia (U.S. state) Privately held companies of the United States Economy of the Southeastern United States Convenience stores of the United States Retail companies established in 1934 Gas stations in the United States 1934 establishments in Missouri Companies based in Cobb County, Georgia