Which gasoline brand got its name partly from a test drive on U.S. Route 66?

Phillips 66 got its name partly from a gasoline test drive on U.S. Route 66.

According to the Phillips Petroleum Company Museum account, several details combined to produce the name. The gasoline’s specific gravity was close to 66, the test car reached 66 miles per hour, and the test took place on U.S. Route 66.

The Phillips 66 brand emerged from Phillips Petroleum, founded by Frank Phillips and L. E. Phillips in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, in 1917. The company opened its first Phillips 66 service station in Wichita, Kansas, on November 19, 1927.

The brand name is therefore not simply a reference to the highway number. Its origin combines a road location, a speed, and a fuel characteristic. That blend helped make Route 66 part of the commercial identity of a major American petroleum brand.