History

The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Speedway (store) page on 14 February 2025, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Speedway is an American convenience store and fuel station chain headquartered in Irving, Texas, with locations primarily in the Midwest, East Coast, and Southwestern regions of the United States wholly owned and operated by 7-Eleven. Speedway stations are located in 36 states, up significantly from its core seven-state region in the Midwest since 2012. Prior to 2021, the company was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Marathon Petroleum Corporation and headquartered in Enon, Ohio. It is the largest convenience store chain in central Ohio.

Speedway started in 1952 as Speedway 79, the name of a fuel chain based in Michigan. Unlike other fuel station chains at the time, Speedway 79 did not have a service station to perform vehicle maintenance, but rather vending machines that focused on cigarette and soft drink sales, giving their locations the nickname "Smokes and Cokes". The "79" denoted the octane rating of Speedway's gasoline. In 1959, Marathon Oil, then known as the Ohio Oil Company, purchased the chain and in 1962 converted its outlets to the Marathon brand.

As self-service fuel became legalized in many states, in May 1975 Marathon decided to use "Speedway" (without the "79", as 87 octane had become the standard at this point) at higher-volume self-service stations with convenience stores. Some of the first were converted from Oshkosh, Wisconsin–based Consolidated Stores, which at the time had locations in Wisconsin and Michigan. These stores were converted to the Speedway name throughout the 1970s and 1980s after Marathon acquired Consolidated. The concept turned out to be one of the few bright spots for Marathon during this time due to the 1970s energy crisis, and the company 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 fuel station chains, including GasAmerica, Starvin' Marvin, Gastown, Wake Up, Bonded, United, Cheker, Port, Ecol, and Value. These stations were converted to the Speedway branding. Stations acquired in the Cheker deal included former Enco stations that Cheker acquired after they were sold off by Exxon in 1977. Legally, Marathon's convenience store business was known as Emro Marketing Company during this period, getting its name from placing an "E" in front of Marathon Oil's ticker symbol, MRO. Speedway adopted its current logo, known as the "Moving S", in 1982.

On August 2, 2020, Marathon announced that Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. would be acquiring Speedway for $21 billion. The deal closed on May 14, 2021.

Article Index

Date	Article	Details
28 February 2024	Speedway Agrees to Improve Processes to Ensure Refueling Assistance for Customers with Disabilities “Speedway/7-Eleven has worked cooperatively to address this issue and promptly institute company-wide changes to ensure it is providing refueling assistance to individuals with disabilities as required by the ADA,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.	Press Release (text) Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota Dateline: Minneapolis, Minnesota Topic: Speedway
2 July 2024	Jefferson County man guilty of federal violation related to gas station robbery According to the store clerk, a dark-colored Dodge Caravan pulled into the parking lot of the business and parked near one of the gas pumps. The driver, described as a white male, entered the business wearing a black mask, blue latex gloves, and a gray hat.	Press Release (text) Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Texas Dateline: Beaumont, Texas
1 October 2024	Jefferson County felon sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for gas station robbery According to court documents, on January 16, 2024, law enforcement officers responded to a call regarding an armed robbery at the Speedway Gas Station located on Eastex Freeway in Beaumont.	Press Release (text) Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Texas Dateline: Beaumont, Texas Topic: Speedway
5 November 2024	Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Federal Prison After Serving as Getaway Driver in Enfield Convenience Store Robbery According to court documents and other information presented in court, Khiyelle Dent was the getaway driver for an individual who entered the Speedway in Enfield, brandished a firearm, and demanded money from the clerk.	Press Release (text) Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of North Carolina Dateline: Raleigh, North Carolina Topic: Speedway