Carl Edward Bolch Jr.

Carl Edward Bolch, Jr., Chairman Emeritus of RaceTrac, Inc., a national convenience store leader, passed away at home on December 26, 2025, at the age of 82 surrounded by his family. Carl was a mentor, friend and source of inspiration to many. He spent the entirety of his career working tirelessly to lay the long-term foundation of RaceTrac as a convenience store leader. Bolch leaves an indelible legacy that shaped not only his beloved company, but also the convenience sector as a whole.

Bolch's entrepreneurial spirit and strong work ethic inspired all whom he met throughout his life. In 2024, 90 years after its founding by his father, Carl Bolch, Sr., Bolch's vision enabled RaceTrac to become Georgia's third largest privately held company and 22nd largest in the U.S. RaceTrac's retail brands now include more than 800 RaceTrac® and RaceWay® retail locations, approximately 1,200 Gulf® branded locations, and more than 445 Potbelly® neighborhood sandwich shops throughout the United States.

Bolch joined the company in 1967, having spent the summers of his youth working in his father's businesses, including not only roles in rural gas stations, but also doing manual labor for store maintenance and farmhand work on his father's cattle ranch. After completing his education, Bolch opted to forego what he forever referred to as "the brutal life of a firm lawyer" and, instead, joined the family business. It was in this choice to join RaceTrac that Bolch was able to fulfill his true passions. At RaceTrac, he built a reputation for thinking outside the box, taking calculated risk, and regularly delivering one-line zingers in meetings that would be repeated for years to come. His RaceTrac colleagues will miss his quick wit, strategic vision and extraordinary expectations; for it is these things that, together, created an unparalleled company culture that delivered decades of incredible growth. He became a pioneer in the convenience store retail gasoline industry, driving innovation and redefining convenience for millions of convenience store consumers. Under his leadership, he introduced self-service fuel in the South and led RaceTrac through the fuel crisis of the 1970's and a recession in the early 2000's. Additionally, Bolch vertically integrated RaceTrac's fuel supply and distribution in the 1990's and introduced pay-at-the-pump technology at the turn of the 21st century.

As a past president of the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA) and past chairman of the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), the first person ever to hold both positions, Bolch's ability to lead and inspire others in the industry, together with his unflagging humility, earned him many accolades, including the Distinguished Marketer award from SIGMА in 2003, Convenience Store People's Retail Leader of the Year and induction into the Convenience Store News Hall of Fame in 2009. In July 2023, he was awarded a Special Congressional Honor from U.S. Representative Barry Loudermilk of Georgia. Ultimately, under Bolch's 56 years of leadership, RaceTrac grew from 100 stores in two states to more than 800 stores in 14 states, now employing more than 10,000 team members.

Bolch retired as RaceTrac's CEO in December 2012, becoming Executive Chairman of the Board until 2024. He then served as Chairman Emeritus until his passing.

Bolch was a 1961 Graduate of the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, where he grew up. He earned a BS degree in Finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1964 and a JD from Duke University Law School in 1967.

In addition to his professional and educational accomplishments, Bolch sought to improve the lives of others through his philanthropy. He served on the board of directors of Camp Sunshine for over 35 years and on the board of the Atlanta Rotary Club. He was a member of both the American and Florida Bar Associations and served on the Patient Council for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, an organization that was near and dear to his heart as he, himself, suffered from Parkinson's.

He and his wife, Susan, founded the Wharton Business School Continuing Education Program, built the Bolch Campus of the Boys and Girls Club of Collier County in Immokalee, Florida, and established the Bolch Family Wonderland Garden at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

Having frequently commented that his business success would not have been possible without the rule of law, Bolch and his wife founded the Bolch Judicial institute at Duke University in 2018 to further judicial studies, judicial independence and preserve, protect and establish the rule of law both domestically and internationally. Among its many good works, the Bolch Institute is home to the prestigious Bolch Prize for the Rule of Law and the Lemkin Medal, both of which are awarded annually, and provides the only Masters in Judicial Studies program in the world for sitting judges.

Those close to Bolch will remember his love of dancing and singing, albeit with his own creative lyrics. He will be missed for his quirky sense of humor, his embodiment of original characters such as southern senator Foghorn and being literally unrecognizable as Sportin' Life from Porgy and Bess when he sang his parody of "It Ain't Necessarily So", honoring the 75th birthday of his beloved mother-in-law. No one laughed harder at his own jokes than he did!

Bolch loved travel, in large part due to his insatiable curiosity; and he was fortunate to have seen the world. In the end, nothing brought him more joy than sharing affection with his family. He is survived by his wife, Susan, of 44 years, five children (Carl III, Allison (Crawford Moran), Natalie (Hunter Morhous), Melanie (Steve Isbill) and Jordan (Jessica) and 7 grandchildren (Marjorie, Margaret, Rawson, Wilson, Lily Ray, Edward and Hailey, and a granddaughter on the way).

Admiringly dubbed the "Quiet Man" by his industry peers both for his personality and his humility, Bolch was fond of the maxims, "Make failure your friend." and "Better to be lucky than smart." Throughout his life, he was guided by the former. As to the latter, he was undeniably both.

Due to limited space at the funeral home, the family has requested that the funeral service remain an intimate gathering for those who had a personal connection with Carl.

In lieu of flowers, the Bolch family requests donations be made in Bolch's name to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

For those who wish to watch the recording of the service, please follow the link: https://vimeo.com/1150196944