trading name pilot flying j type privately held limited liability company industry truck stop convenience store petroleum restaurant founded november 15 1993 as pilot travel centers llc july 1 2010 as pilot flying j headquarters knoxville tennessee usa number of locations 550 areas served canada united states key people jimmy haslam chairman and ceo owners pilot corporation majority fj management inc. divisions pilot travel centers flying j travel plaza website pilotflyingj.com pilot travel centers llc 1 doing business as pilot flying j is a chain of truck stops in the united states and canada . the company is based in knoxville tennessee where pilot corporation the majority owner is based . the company is owned by pilot and fj management inc. . the company operates truck stops under the pilot travel centers and flying j travel plaza brands . contents 1 history 1.1 flying j merger 1.2 pfj southeast 2 business profile 3 travel center amenities 4 truck repairs 5 magazine 6 rebate fraud 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit pilot flying j was founded as pilot travel centers on november 15 1993 in a joint venture between pilot corporation and marathon petroleum company . immediately all pilot truck stops were converted into pilot travel centers . at its inception the number of stops was around 60 ; however that was to be short lived . in the next few years pilot travel centers experienced significant growth . marathon converted many speedway truck stops wholly owned by marathon over to the pilot travel center moniker starting in mid 2002 . midway through 2003 another major expansion occurred with the purchase of the williams truck stop chain . the marathon pilot joint venture successfully increased the pilot travel center name recognition throughout the united states as the number of stops more than quadrupled . in 2008 pilot bought out marathon s interest in the business and entered into a new partnership arrangement with cvc capital partners an international private equity firm . 2 pilot also has partnerships with road ranger and town pump . in october 2014 pilot flying j announced they would borrow funds to provide a 750 million dividend to shareholders and facilitate a buyout of its private equity partner cvc capital partner . 3 in 2015 the haslam family completed the buyout of cvc capital partner s stake . 4 flying j merger edit a pilot diesel fuel truck at a flying j in pasco florida . in july 2009 pilot agreed to purchase flying j s travel centers as a part of flying j s efforts to remove itself from chapter 11 bankruptcy . 5 the deal was finalized july 1 2010 and the combined company took the d.b.a. name pilot flying j 6 while pilot travel centers llc remained the company s legal name . 1 as part of the deal both the pilot and flying j chains will keep their identities intact while both chains started accepting the comdata and flying j s in house tch fuel cards . in addition flying j received cash and equity in the new combined chain . flying j s oil & refining operations as well as its banking & insurance division will remain separate from the new company 7 and was subsequently renamed fj management inc. 8 to settle antitrust concerns with the federal trade commission pilot sold 20 pilot travel centers locations and six flying j locations to love s travel stops & country stores on june 30 2010 . 9 the merger left the combined company with over 550 locations in 44 u.s. states and six canadian provinces . 10 in 2011 pilot flying j began a partnership with truckers against trafficking . 11 pfj southeast edit on june 23 2016 pilot flying j and speedway announced a new joint venture between the two companies that will see 41 speedway locations all former wilco hess locations and 79 pilot flying j locations primarily in the southeastern united states form pfj southeast llc . the locations will be operated by pilot flying j and the speedway locations will be rebranded as either pilot or flying j. 12 business profile edit a pilot travel center branded location in lost hills california . currently pilot flying j is the largest purveyor of over the road diesel fuel in the united states . pilot flying j also is known as the largest travel center chain in the country with over 550 locations under the pilot and flying j brands . pilot flying j is also the third largest franchiser of quick service restaurants in the nation offering one to three different concepts at each location making it the largest franchisee of subway in the world with over 200 locations . unlike many travel centers and truck stops the majority of locations with the pilot travel centers brand do not utilize full service dining . however the flying j brand does utilize full service dining with denny s as do a small handful of pilot branded locations . pilot flying j s main restaurants include arby s chester s chicken dairy queen denny s mcdonald s pizza hut subway taco bell wendy s and cinnabon . recently they have been adding huddle house full service restaurants and moe s southwest grill in their locations . they also have one or two location deals with several other restaurants . in new york and new hampshire some locations have a dunkin donuts shop . pilot flying j s main competitors include travelcenters of america love s travel stops stuckey s roady s truck stops and t a owned petro stopping centers . in 2012 the company signed country music singer trace adkins to become its new spokesperson for its relaunched loyalty program . 13 in addition to adkins the company has a nascar sponsorship with hscott motorsports driver michael annett as the primary sponsor for annett s number 46 chevrolet ss in nascar s sprint cup series ; in 2014 the company sponsored annett in the number 7 chevrolet ss for tommy baldwin racing . 14 in 2013 the company sponsored annett in the richard petty motorsports number 43 ford mustang in nascar s nationwide series . 15 in 2016 the company was the title sponsor for the battle at bristol at bristol motor speedway . 16 travel center amenities edit pilot travel centers former logo . flying j logo . amenities featured at pilot flying j locations include 17 parking cat scales transflo express travel documents trip paks truck washes audiobook rental payphones high speed internet kiosks atms western union check cashing public laundry showers game rooms wireless internet access lounges with big screen televisions for professional drivers . truck repairs edit diesel pumps at a flying j branded location . at some locations pilot flying j offers truck maintenance through garages operated by third party companies . wingfoot truck care centers operated by the goodyear tire & rubber company provide 24 hour road service preventative maintenance tire service part replacement oil changes and light mechanical work . in addition to wingfoot pilot flying j also has bosselman boss shop garages operated by bosselman that provide similar services as wingfoot . the boss shop partnership expanded as part of an agreement for pilot flying j to acquire most of bosselman s truck stops in november 2011 in order to boost pilot flying j s presence in the northern great plains region . before the deal bosselman bought diesel fuel from pilot and continues to do so for its remaining travel center location in grand island nebraska . 18 magazine edit in 2005 pilot flying j joined forces with victory 500 marketing to publish challenge magazine a magazine aimed at professional truckers and sold exclusively at pilot flying j travel centers as well as by subscription . 19 the magazine ceased publication after 110 issues in december 2014 . 20 rebate fraud edit pilot flying j chairman ceo jimmy haslam on april 15 2013 the headquarters of pilot flying j located in knoxville tennessee was raided by fbi and irs agents as part of an ongoing investigation . on april 16 ceo jimmy haslam reported the investigation involved claims of failure to pay rebates to trucking customers . 21 on april 18 2013 an affidavit used to secure various search warrants was made public . the documents alleged that several members of the pilot flying j sales force as well as company president mark hazelwood were either involved or aware of the alleged scheme . 22 23 three sales employees private homes were also raided as part of the investigation . 24 on tuesday july 16 2013 a federal judge in arkansas granted preliminary approval to a proposed settlement agreement between pilot flying j and several trucking companies that had sued over allegations of fuel rebate fraud . 25 pilot flying j paid restitution to customers and agreed to pay a 92 million penalty pursuant to a criminal enforcement agreement . 26 see also edit love s travel stops & country stores references edit a b pilot flying j . pilot flying j. 2012 07 11 . retrieved 2013 04 20 . pilot buys marathon stake in travel centers sells 47.5 % of ptc to cvc knoxville news sentinel october 1 2008 pilot flying j to buy out partner cspnet.com october 2 2014 simon clark pilot flying j s haslam buys cvc capital s stake in truck stop operator wall street journal 16 october 2015 . duncan mansfield 2009 07 14 . pilot to acquire flying j s 250 travel centers . utah daily herald . associated press . retrieved 2016 02 15 . 1 archived august 28 2010 at the wayback machine . pomerleau charlie . merger official today for two companies . standard examiner . retrieved 2011 07 26 . fj management website . accessed 15 february 2016 . pilot flying j finalize merger . convenience store news . 2010 07 01 . retrieved 2011 07 26 . complete locations pilot flying j website . accessed 15 february 2016 . pilot flying j supports truckers against trafficking . convenience store news . november 7 2011 . retrieved september 7 2013 . latest pilot speedway jv builds on history csp 23 june 2016 . pilot flying j . pilot flying j. 2012 02 17 . retrieved 2013 04 20 . pearce al november 15 2013 . michael annett to replace dave blaney in tommy baldwin racing s nascar cup seat in 2014 . autoweek . retrieved 2013 11 15 . annett claims another solid finish at fontana news . motorsport.com . 2012 03 25 . retrieved 2013 04 20 . pilot flying j partners with bristol motor speedway as title sponsor for 2016 battle at bristol . pilotflyingj.com . knoxville tennessee pilot flying j. november 24 2015 . retrieved november 24 2015 . pilot flying j amenities . pilottravelcenters.com . retrieved 2011 07 26 . pilot flying j acquiring seven travel centers from bosselman . cspnet.com . retrieved 2013 04 20 . about us ptc challenge . retrieved january 2015 . check date values in access date help farewell ptc challenge . retrieved january 2015 . check date values in access date help pilot flying j ceo jimmy haslam raid part of criminal investigation into rebates to trucking customers knoxville news sentinel 16 april 2013 . retrieved 16 april 2013 . flory josh april 18 2013 . fbi pilot engaged in fraud . knoxville news sentinel . retrieved april 18 2013 . gervin cari wade april 24 2013 . the case against pilot behind the accusations of fraud at pilot flying j . metro pulse . knoxville tennessee e. w. scripps company . archived from the original on june 29 2013 . retrieved december 22 2013 . witt gerald april 18 2013 . three private homes raided under pilot warrant . knoxville news sentinel . retrieved april 18 2013 . flory josh . judge oks pilot flying j