Why It Matters
The House passed H.R. 1346, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, on May 13, and a competing set of credit card routing bills advances in committee, putting two core operating-cost issues for RaceTrac Inc., a family-owned fuel and convenience retailer with more than 600 locations across 14 states, squarely before Congress. The fuel-volatility bill would expand the ethanol blend eligible for a federal waiver that limits smog-causing vapor pressure, while the credit card bills would require the Federal Reserve to mandate network competition in card transactions, directly affecting how fuel retailers process payments at the pump.
By the Numbers
The in-house third-quarter 2026 filing reports $130,000, up $60,000 from the $70,000 reported in the second quarter of 2026.
Atlas Crossing LLC, RaceTrac's outside firm, filed separately for the same period at $50,000, bringing the combined third-quarter 2026 total to $180,000, the highest combined quarterly figure in the records covering the first quarter of 2025 through the third quarter of 2026, and up $120,000 from the $60,000 combined total in the third quarter of 2025.
The sole lobbyist on the in-house filing is Jake Olson, RaceTrac's executive director, public policy. His congressional background includes service as chief of staff to Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24), chief of staff to Rep. David Young (R-IA-3), and deputy staff director of the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress during the 116th and 117th Congresses.
Broader Context
H.R. 1346 passed the House on May 13; Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) sponsors the bill, which lists 55 cosponsors. The Senate companion, S. 593, was introduced Feb. 13, 2025, by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
Separately, in a debate over proposals to suspend the federal gasoline tax, opponents including the American Trucking Associations and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) argued that savings collected at wholesale might not reach motorists and that lost receipts would undercut Highway Trust Fund infrastructure spending. A Congressional Research Service report published Oct. 13, notes that fuel taxes supplied 82 percent of Highway Trust Fund revenue in fiscal years 2015 through 2024.
Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) introduced H.R. 7035, the Credit Card Competition Act of 2026, on Jan. 13, 2026; it was referred to the House Financial Services Committee. The Senate companion, S. 3623, would require Federal Reserve regulations on network competition in credit-card transactions.
The Bottom Line
RaceTrac's in-house spending rose from a $30,000 low in the third quarter of 2025 to $130,000 in the third quarter of 2026, and its combined total across both registrants, $180,000, is the highest quarterly figure in records covering the first quarter of 2025 through the third quarter of 2026.
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