Speedway SuperAmerica
Encyclopedia
Speedway LLC is the operator of a chain of combination gas stations and convenience store
s in the Midwest and South of the United States
operating under the Speedway brand name. Speedway LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary
of the Marathon Petroleum Company
. It is the largest chain in central Ohio
.
for much of the first half of the 20th century. In 1959, The Ohio Oil Company (now Marathon) purchased the chain and promptly converted them to the Marathon brand. It was during this time that Marathon was on a spending spree buying out rival chains. This would catch up to them by the 1970s' oil crisis, with many companies, (most notably Mobil
, which was thriving from excess cash as a result of the oil crisis), wanting to purchase Marathon. An older, black-and-white commercial featuring Speedway 79 gasoline can be viewed here. The company's jingle
in commercials during the 1980s and 1990s was "The convenient products of Speedway", with a list of other brands used by the company, including the Marathon "M" logo.
While this was going on, Marathon decided to revive the Speedway name (without the "79") at higher-volume stations with convenience stores. The concept turned out to be one of the few bright spots for Marathon during this time, and quickly expanded this concept across Marathon's main territories across the Midwest and southeastern United States
. Part of this expansion was through the acquisition of various other smaller regional gasoline station chains, including Starvin' Marvin, Gastown, Wake Up, Bonded, United, Cheker and others.
In 1997, Marathon and Ashland Petroleum
formed Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC (MAP), a joint venture combining the companies’ refining, marketing and transportation businesses, with Marathon owning 62% of the operations while Ashland owned 38%. In the process, Ashland's SuperAmerica and Marathon's Speedway convenience store chains were merged together to form Speedway SuperAmerica LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of MAP.
When the merger was completed in 1998, the Speedway and SuperAmerica brands began to market together. The company's jingle was "The convenient stores of _______" (using "Speedway" or "SuperAmerica" depending on the market). The visuals included a generic SSA store and employees with the Speedway or SuperAmerica logo superimposed, rather than appearing on the store or uniforms.
In 2005, Marathon purchased Ashland's share of Marathon Ashland Petroleum, which became Marathon Petroleum Company LLC.
. Ashland Petroleum
purchased Northwestern Refining and the SuperAmerica chain in 1970. Much like what Marathon did with Speedway, Ashland used the SuperAmerica brand for its high-volume locations with convenience stores, expanding from Minnesota to its home territory around Ashland, Kentucky (which included Ohio and West Virginia).
During commercials of the 1960s and 1970s, the company's jingle
was "Su-per-amer-i-ca, Fill'er up, tank or truck." An extended version with SuperAmerica's cartoon mascot featured the lyrics, "SuperAmericaMan, Great Gas, Good Goods, Ev'ry Night and Day, SuperAmericaMan, When You Run Out, Run In to SA".
The SuperAmerica brand is used in Minnesota
as well as at one location in Kentucky
, one company-owned and one franchised location in South Dakota
, as well as many SuperAmerica stores in western Wisconsin.
Marathon sold SuperAmerica to Northern Tier Energy, a newly formed company backed by the private equity firms ACON Investments and TPG Capital, in February 2011.
. The chain is still prominent in the Midwest, but pulled out in the Southeast in 2003 when Marathon sold off Speedway's operations to Sunoco
. Around the same time, Speedway's truck stop
chain was merged into the Pilot Travel Centers brand after Marathon and Pilot Corp.
entered into a partnership to form Pilot Travel Centers. Pilot has since bought out Marathon's interest in Pilot travel centers. Speedway pulled out of Minnesota in 2011 when it sold its SuperAmerica Brand to Northern Tier Energy, thus renaming the company to Speedway LLC. The Speedway brand is used in Illinois
, Indiana
, Kentucky
, Michigan
, Ohio
, West Virginia
, and Wisconsin
.
Speedway's main rivals include BP
, Circle K
, Holiday Stationstores
, Kwik Trip
, and Casey's General Stores
. Sheetz
competes directly with Speedway stores in West Virginia and eastern Ohio.
While all Marathon locations are franchises, all Speedway locations are owned and operated by Speedway, LLC. and most SuperAmerica locations were owned and operated by Northern Tier Energy LLC until they purchased SuperAmerica in 2011. Only 4% of SuperAmerica stores are individually owned and operated as franchise locations. Most franchise locations are owned by franchisees with 10-15 stores each.
Speedway's current commercial jingle is: "Around the corner, around the country, at work or play we're on your way, the convenient stores of Speedway."
A Speedy Rewards Card can be registered (name, address, and PIN
are the required registration information) at a Speedy Rewards Terminal in any Speedway or SuperAmerica location.
In addition to the points program, the Speedy Rewards Card features "Clubs" that do not require registration. These clubs dispense coupons for free beverages, chips, energy shots, and other items when the customer purchases a specific number of them (usually six).
The Speedy Rewards program is sometimes used to make targeted offers in the form of coupons that are dispensed with the Speedy Rewards point balance at checkout. These offers are targeted to customers based on their location or shopping habits.
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
s in the Midwest and South of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
operating under the Speedway brand name. Speedway LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of the Marathon Petroleum Company
Marathon Petroleum Company
Marathon Petroleum Corporation is a U.S. based oil refining, marketing, and pipeline transport company. The company was formed as a subsidiary on September 1, 2005, from the former Marathon Ashland Petroleum, LLC, and is based in Findlay, Ohio...
. It is the largest chain in central Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
.
History
Speedway 79 was a gasoline chain based in MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
for much of the first half of the 20th century. In 1959, The Ohio Oil Company (now Marathon) purchased the chain and promptly converted them to the Marathon brand. It was during this time that Marathon was on a spending spree buying out rival chains. This would catch up to them by the 1970s' oil crisis, with many companies, (most notably Mobil
Mobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
, which was thriving from excess cash as a result of the oil crisis), wanting to purchase Marathon. An older, black-and-white commercial featuring Speedway 79 gasoline can be viewed here. The company's jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
in commercials during the 1980s and 1990s was "The convenient products of Speedway", with a list of other brands used by the company, including the Marathon "M" logo.
While this was going on, Marathon decided to revive the Speedway name (without the "79") at higher-volume stations with convenience stores. The concept turned out to be one of the few bright spots for Marathon during this time, and quickly expanded this concept across Marathon's main territories across the Midwest and southeastern United States
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
. Part of this expansion was through the acquisition of various other smaller regional gasoline station chains, including Starvin' Marvin, Gastown, Wake Up, Bonded, United, Cheker and others.
In 1997, Marathon and Ashland Petroleum
Ashland, Inc.
Ashland Inc. is a Fortune 500 company which operates in more than 100 countries throughout the world. Presently based in Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, the company traces its roots back to Ashland, Kentucky .-History:...
formed Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC (MAP), a joint venture combining the companies’ refining, marketing and transportation businesses, with Marathon owning 62% of the operations while Ashland owned 38%. In the process, Ashland's SuperAmerica and Marathon's Speedway convenience store chains were merged together to form Speedway SuperAmerica LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of MAP.
When the merger was completed in 1998, the Speedway and SuperAmerica brands began to market together. The company's jingle was "The convenient stores of _______" (using "Speedway" or "SuperAmerica" depending on the market). The visuals included a generic SSA store and employees with the Speedway or SuperAmerica logo superimposed, rather than appearing on the store or uniforms.
In 2005, Marathon purchased Ashland's share of Marathon Ashland Petroleum, which became Marathon Petroleum Company LLC.
SuperAmerica
SuperAmerica convenience stores began in the 1960s in St. Paul by Northwestern Refining of St. Paul Park, MinnesotaSt. Paul Park, Minnesota
St. Paul Park is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,279 at the 2010 census. It is located on the Mississippi River five miles downstream from St...
. Ashland Petroleum
Ashland, Inc.
Ashland Inc. is a Fortune 500 company which operates in more than 100 countries throughout the world. Presently based in Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, the company traces its roots back to Ashland, Kentucky .-History:...
purchased Northwestern Refining and the SuperAmerica chain in 1970. Much like what Marathon did with Speedway, Ashland used the SuperAmerica brand for its high-volume locations with convenience stores, expanding from Minnesota to its home territory around Ashland, Kentucky (which included Ohio and West Virginia).
During commercials of the 1960s and 1970s, the company's jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
was "Su-per-amer-i-ca, Fill'er up, tank or truck." An extended version with SuperAmerica's cartoon mascot featured the lyrics, "SuperAmericaMan, Great Gas, Good Goods, Ev'ry Night and Day, SuperAmericaMan, When You Run Out, Run In to SA".
The SuperAmerica brand is used in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
as well as at one location in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, one company-owned and one franchised location in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, as well as many SuperAmerica stores in western Wisconsin.
Marathon sold SuperAmerica to Northern Tier Energy, a newly formed company backed by the private equity firms ACON Investments and TPG Capital, in February 2011.
Today
Today, Speedway LLC is headquartered in Enon, OhioEnon, Ohio
Enon is a village in Clark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,638 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area.Enon is the headquarters of the Speedway SuperAmerica gas station chain....
. The chain is still prominent in the Midwest, but pulled out in the Southeast in 2003 when Marathon sold off Speedway's operations to Sunoco
Sunoco
Sunoco Inc. is an American petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formerly known as Sun Company Inc. and Sun Oil Co. ....
. Around the same time, Speedway's truck stop
Truck stop
A truck stop is a commercial facility predicated on providing fuel, parking, and often food and other services to motorists and truck drivers...
chain was merged into the Pilot Travel Centers brand after Marathon and Pilot Corp.
Pilot Corp.
Pilot Corporation is a petroleum corporation in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Pilot operates the Pilot Food Mart convenience stores in Tennessee. Along with Flying J and CVC Capital Partners, Pilot is joint-owner of Pilot Flying J, the largest truck stop chain in the United States.- History...
entered into a partnership to form Pilot Travel Centers. Pilot has since bought out Marathon's interest in Pilot travel centers. Speedway pulled out of Minnesota in 2011 when it sold its SuperAmerica Brand to Northern Tier Energy, thus renaming the company to Speedway LLC. The Speedway brand is used in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
.
Speedway's main rivals include BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
, Circle K
Circle K
Circle K is an international chain of convenience stores, founded in 1951, in El Paso, Texas, United States. It is owned and operated by the Canadian-based Alimentation Couche-Tard.-Overview:...
, Holiday Stationstores
Holiday Stationstores
Holiday Stationstores is a chain of convenience stores in the United States. It is the 24th largest convenience store chain in the United States, with over 400 locations. It also ranked 132nd on Forbes list of America's largest private companies. It is based in Bloomington, Minnesota....
, Kwik Trip
Kwik Trip
Kwik Trip/Kwik Star is a chain of convenience stores founded in 1965 with locations throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota under the name Kwik Trip, and in northeast Iowa under the name Kwik Star . The company also operates stores under the name Hearty Platter and Tobacco Outlet Plus. Kwik Trip, Inc...
, and Casey's General Stores
Casey's General Stores
- External links :* *...
. Sheetz
Sheetz
Sheetz, Inc. is a chain of gas stations/convenience stores owned by the Sheetz family. Stores are located in Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia....
competes directly with Speedway stores in West Virginia and eastern Ohio.
While all Marathon locations are franchises, all Speedway locations are owned and operated by Speedway, LLC. and most SuperAmerica locations were owned and operated by Northern Tier Energy LLC until they purchased SuperAmerica in 2011. Only 4% of SuperAmerica stores are individually owned and operated as franchise locations. Most franchise locations are owned by franchisees with 10-15 stores each.
Speedway's current commercial jingle is: "Around the corner, around the country, at work or play we're on your way, the convenient stores of Speedway."
Store Features
Stores feature fresh coffee during all hours of operation, hot specialty drinks (such as hot chocolate and cappuccino), a variety of fountain drinks, a deli case for cold subs and sandwiches, and a roller grill for hot food. Most stores also have a hot cart, where breakfast and lunch offerings are available during selected parts of the day. Select locations carry fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts, whereas other locations instead carry packaged Hostess and Dolly Madison doughnuts and other pastries.Speedy Rewards Card
In 2003, Speedway launched its Speedy Rewards Card program. The Speedy Rewards Card is a free card for customers to use when making purchases at Speedway and SuperAmerica stores in order to earn Speedy Rewards Points. These points may be redeemed for coupons for fuel discounts, free food, or giftcards.A Speedy Rewards Card can be registered (name, address, and PIN
Personal identification number
A personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...
are the required registration information) at a Speedy Rewards Terminal in any Speedway or SuperAmerica location.
In addition to the points program, the Speedy Rewards Card features "Clubs" that do not require registration. These clubs dispense coupons for free beverages, chips, energy shots, and other items when the customer purchases a specific number of them (usually six).
The Speedy Rewards program is sometimes used to make targeted offers in the form of coupons that are dispensed with the Speedy Rewards point balance at checkout. These offers are targeted to customers based on their location or shopping habits.