Description
Sunoco is an American master limited partnership organized under Delaware state laws and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that is a wholesale distributor of motor fuels. It distributes fuel to more than 7,300 Sunoco-branded gas stations, almost all of which are owned and operated by third parties. The partnership is controlled by Energy Transfer Partners.
The partnership was formerly known as Sun Company Inc. (1886–1920 and 1976–1998) and Sun Oil Co. (1920–1976). It was formerly engaged in oil refinery, the chemical industry, and retail sales, but divested these businesses. Sunoco today claims to be largest distributor of fuels in the United States, distributing fuels to 10,000 locations across 33 US States.
Motorsports partnerships
The Sunoco fuel brand was Team Penske's sponsor of choice for many years, particularly in the SCCA Trans-Am Series, where Roger Penske's Sunoco Camaros won the championship in 1968 and 1969. Sunoco also sponsored Penske Porsches in the SCCA Can-Am series, and won the Indianapolis 500 in 1972 with Penske and driver Mark Donohue.
Between 1989 and 1992, Sunoco sponsored NASCAR team owner Billy Hagan's No. 94 Cup team. Sterling Marlin drove the #94 Sunoco Ultra94 Oldsmobile during the 1989-90 seasons and Terry Labonte for the 1991-92 seasons.
From 1995 to 1997, Sunoco was the primary sponsor of ST Motorsports' #47 Chevrolet, driven by Jeff Fuller. Fuller captured his lone NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now NASCAR Xfinity Series) victory at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 23, 1996.
Sunoco was the official fuel supplier of the IndyCar Series (now the Verizon IndyCar Series) from 2011 through 2018.[68] In 2013, Sunoco sponsored the #60 Panther Racing Chevrolet in the 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500 with driver Townsend Bell. Following their participation in that event, Sunoco partnered with KV Racing and driver Tony Kanaan, who won the 2013 Indianapolis 500, for a four-race primary sponsorship agreement.
In 2015, Sunoco became the Official Fuel of the National Hot Rod Association.
In 2016, Sunoco was the founding partner of the "Daytona Rising" project, which was highlighted by the reimagining of the historic Daytona International Speedway. The Sunoco Injector, a branded fan engagement area built as part of the new stadium opened during NASCAR's Daytona 500 weekend that year.
In 2017/2018, Sunoco became the official race fuel for the Canadian Snow Cross Circuit, CSRA.
In 2019, Sunoco signed on to be the presenting sponsor of the Richmond Raceway eSports Fueled By Sunoco, an eNASCAR iRacing World Championship Series team, with Malik Ray driving the #90 Sunoco Toyota Camry. Beginning in 2020, defending series champion Zack Novak will pilot the Sunoco-sponsored entry, with Jimmy Mullis as his RR eSports teammate in the #46 Toyota.
