A corporate acquisition in May brought a number of Central Oregon service stations and convenience stores into the portfolio of racing legend Mario Andretti.

Andretti Petroleum in May acquired Colvin Oil Co., of Grants Pass, which owns gas stations and convenience stores in Central Oregon, from Sunriver to Madras. The acquisition more than doubled Andretti Petroleum’s gas station inventory and expanded the company’s reach into Oregon and Washington. Headquartered in San Carlos, California, Andretti Petroleum Group through its two subsidiaries operates 44 gas stations and convenience stores from the Bay Area to Northern California.

It also provides fleet fueling and maintenance services, according to the company website.

As part of the deal, Lane Colvin, who succeeded his father and the company founder, Merve Colvin, as owner, became a full partner with Andretti Petroleum, according to a company announcement in May. He manages Colvin Oil as a division of Andretti Petroleum, according to the announcement.

As part of the acquisition, a Colvin Oil subsidiary, American Energy, transferred ownership of nine service stations, a total property value of $14.3 million, to Colvin Oil in May, according to property records in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties. The properties include the Chevron service station and convenience store on NW College Way and the Shell station on NW Galveston Avenue, both in Bend, the Shell station and Circle K convenience store on Venture Lane, Sunriver, and other properties in Bend, Redmond, Prineville and Madras. American Energy, based in Bend, was renamed Amer Inc. in July, according to Oregon Secretary of State records.

“We just combined some companies together into one,” Colvin said Tuesday.

All told, Colvin Oil owns 54 facilities in Oregon and Washington, including 51 gas stations, and also supplies other dealers with fuel, according to the company website. It also operates a commercial fueling business, a lubricants business and a transportation company.

Colvin Oil and Andretti Group are similarly sized companies with adjacent market areas now merged into one larger entity, Colvin said.

Mario Andretti is one of three principals in Andretti Petroleum Group, founded in 1997, along with his son Michael Andretti and the managing partner, M.J. Castelo, a former Texaco executive, according to the company website. It operates two subsidiary divisions, Peninsula Petroleum LLC, of San Carlos, California, and Humboldt Petroleum Inc., of Eureka, California. Castelo was unavailable for comment Tuesday, his office said.

The Andrettis left their mark on racing. Mario Andretti, now 77, has driven stock cars, open-wheeled cars and even tried drag racing. He’s won both the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500. In 1976 he won the Japanese Grand Prix, a story told in “Rush,” a 2013 film by Ron Howard.

Michael Andretti followed his father into motor sports from 1980 to 2007 as a driver and then as leader of Andretti Autosport, an IndyCar racing team.

— Reporter: 541-617-7815, jditzler@bendbulletin.com