Margo Edwards of Centerville was taking advantage of the sub-$4 a gallon price at the station as well.
“It’s saving me money and I really can’t afford the prices they charge for gas,” she said. “I travel on my job and it gets expensive. I get reimbursed, but not as much as it costs to drive my car.”
Rich Ernsting was waiting his turn at the pump. He said, “We just got back from Florida and it costs us over $700.”
The price of regular-grade reached $4.15 a gallon at many stations Thursday. The local average retail price as of 5:45 p.m. was $4.11, matching the all-time high set in July 2008.
Speedway sets the retail gas prices in the state because it operates 447 stations in Ohio, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, which oversees DaytonGasPrices.com, a website that monitors local gas prices.
The high gas prices also can be tied to low gas inventories, DeHaan said. According to the latest Department of Energy report, inventories have dropped 8.1 percent to 18.1 million barrels compared with this time last year.
“There continues to be speculation that there will not be adequate supply to meet demand,” DeHaan said.