Nick LaFalce, RaceTrac’s marketing manager, recently sat down with Darren Schulte, NATSO’s vice president of membership, and Amy Toner, executive director of the NATSO foundation, for an episode of the Truck Stops Here podcast. During the podcast session, LaFalce shared more on how RaceTrac is expanding its reach and communicating its brand.

A major topic of discussion was RaceTrac’s travel center program. LaFalce describes the locations as “larger-format RaceTrac store with attached truck lanes that we cater to the over-the-road professional driver.”

With the program, LaFalce said RaceTrac and RaceWay are focused on connecting with professional drivers without alienating regular consumers. “I think the biggest challenge that we experience is just overcoming that 90-year history of communicating ourselves as a convenience store,” he explained.

One method the retailer is using to address that challenge is by sharing information about the travel center’s amenities, making them as visible as possible. Additionally, RaceTrac has partnered with different fuel savings programs to help connect with drivers.

“Recently in April, we just relaunched our RaceTrac rewards app and with that we added the functionality to select your driver profile,” LaFalce explained, adding that professional drivers now have more visibility into a location’s amenities.

LaFalce also noted that the company has plans of incorporating more special offers for professional drivers. The company website already shows the weekly deals professional drivers will receive during September, which is Truck Driver Appreciation Month.

“It’s been a special focus for us since we’ve launched this travel center program. Historically, we talk about it as Truck Driver Appreciation Week for RaceTrac,” LaFalce said. “We like to expand that and call it Truck Driver Appreciation Month.”

Each week, professional drivers will receive one free:

• Nathan’s Hot Dog: September 4-September 8
• Pizza Slice: September 9-September 15
• Classic Breakfast Sandwich: September 16-September 22
• Cheeseburger: September 23-September 30

“In addition, we’ve worked on a fleet services landing page. That’s a page that we dedicate to the over-the-road professional driver and more that talking about payment acceptance where we have our high-flow diesel sites,” LaFalce said.

LaFalce also mentioned that RaceTrac, historically, has not featured RaceWay on its website, and that it’s one of the company’s first areas of opportunity to combine the brands, showing professional drivers they can stop at both retailers.

Currently, LaFalce said that about 20 locations offer truck parking. “We have to balance what our real estate team can find and source, and then also whether we can standardize that experience across the board,” he explained. “In an effort to do that, we’ve worked with several partners.”

Currently, RaceTrac is running a pilot with ParkX Management at eight of its locations, which allows drivers to reserve a space via QR code and pay up to 30 days in advance.

Also discussed during the podcast was RaceTrac’s expansion plans. The company recently expanded into South Carolina and Indiana, and LaFalce said he expects expansion in the Midwest to continue.

“I think it’s a great area of opportunity for us, especially as we work in what we call a decentralized market,” he said. “When we enter new markets, RaceTrac has a new area of opportunity where historically we haven’t been known. So, it’s an area of opportunity for us to position ourselves as a new high flow diesel site.”

Listen to the full podcast here.