Pilot was founded in 1958 as a single, family-owned gas station in Gate City, Virginia.

In 1976, Pilot built its first convenience store and began converting the rest of its locations to convenience stores.

Pilot’s first travel center opened in 1981, and travel centers have been the main thrust of its business ever since.

In 1988, Pilot began concentrating on expanding its Travel Center operations into a nationwide network. Also in 1988, the company opened its first travel center with a fast-food concept.

By 2001 Pilot was operating 65 convenience stores and 140 travel centers in 37 states. On September 1, 2001, Pilot Corporation and Marathon Ashland Petroleum (MAP), now known as Marathon Petroleum Company LLC (MPC), entered into an agreement to form Pilot Travel Centers (PTC). MPC is the fifth largest refiner of petroleum products in the country.  MPC's 974,000 barrels per calendar day (bpcd) of crude refining capacity represents six percent of the total U.S. capacity.

In February 2003, Pilot acquired Williams Travel Centers.

In 2006, Pilot was recognized as the 10th-largest restaurant franchisee in the United States.

Also in 2006, Pilot goes "international," opening its first Travel Center in Canada.

In 2007, Pilot was recognized by Area Developer magazine as one of the "Top 99 Megafranchisees."

Recognized by SAP Retail, Inc. in 2007 as #30 in the Top 100 Retailers.

In 2008, Pilot welcomed a new partner, CVC Capital Partners, which acquired 47.5 percent interest in Pilot Travel Centers and facilitated the acquisition of Marathon Petroleum Company's interest.