For about a week, drivers in the Lake Dallas, Texas area enjoyed less expensive gas as the result of a battle to sell gasoline, Denton Record Chronicle reported.
The gas sales battle took place between two neighboring c-stores-a new QuikTrip that opened on Sept. 3 and a Circle K, both of which were selling gasoline for just $1.99 per gallon.
That’s a great deal when you consider that the average price for regular gas in Texas was $2.39 while the national average was $2.57 on Wednesday, (5 cents less than Tuesday), according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report, which tracks gas prices.
Mike Thornbrugh, a spokesman for the QuikTrip Corp., told the Denton Record Chronicle the price war is just a friendly competition. “The people that know us, know that we are not going to get beat on price,” he said. The convenience store/ gas station is large enough to allow 20 vehicles to fuel up at one time.
“It is not uncommon that when we open in certain areas, the competition is not thrilled about it,” Thornbrugh added.
Meanwhile, David Franklin, manager of the Circle K, said his station has been busy and his customers love the $1.99 gasoline price available since last Saturday. The station sees the most traffic between 4p.m.-6p.m. when drivers are commuting home from work.
While QuikTrip and Circle K lowered their regular unleaded gasoline price to $1.99 over the weekend, on Tuesday the Chevron and Exxon gas stations nearby sold theirs for $2.17 and $2.09, respectively.
Dan Ronan, a spokesman for AAA Texas, said the price followed historical trends and that gas prices start to go down around Labor Day.
Thornbrugh said the Labor Day weekend did not play a role in the current gas price offered at the QuikTrip.