Who Owns Sinclair Gas Stations?

Sinclair gas stations can be found across 32 states in the United States, with most locations in California, Colorado, Idaho, and Utah. The gas stations are instantly recognizable thanks to the green Apatosaurus in their logos – and sometimes standing outside. 

Sinclair gas stations kept their iconic branding even after Sinclair Oil was purchased by HollyFrontier Corporation and Holly Energy Partners for $2.6 billion. The parent company rebranded as HF Sinclair, merging the two entities as they work together to grow their renewable diesel, lubricants, and marketing businesses. 

Before the merger, Sinclair Oil was a privately held firm. The founder, Harry F. Sinclair, started working in the oil business at just 20 years old. He sold lumber to oil derricks, leading him to become the richest man in Kansas aged just 31 years old. He founded Sinclair Oil Corporation in 1916 at 40 years old. It became the seventh largest oil company in the United States by the 1920s, a few decades after the first ever gas station popped up in the U.S. Before that, people filled up their cars with gas rather differently.

Sinclair’s advertising started using a large dinosaur back in 1930. Multiple dinosaurs were used at that point, but the long-necked giant stood out. Known as DINO, it was originally called a Brontosaurus, but it’s now called an Apatosaurus, due to the confusion of the Brontosaurus being an individual species. “Sinclair has followed the prevailing opinions of the scientific community,” the company stated. 

Two years after DINO’s debut, Sinclair registered the mascot as a trademark. DINO appeared at multiple World’s Fairs, including as a fiberglass animatronic in Sinclair’s Dinoland exhibit at the New York World’s Fair in 1964 and 1965. Around this time, he was also featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Today, you can see the 70-foot version of DINO, previously featured at Dinoland, at the Dinosaur Valley State Park in Texas. DINO is also “lovingly parodied,” as Sinclair itself says, as the Dinoco logo, which almost sponsored Lightning McQueen in Pixar’s “Cars.” Of course, you can still se DINO outside some Sinclair gas stations.