In 1974, Haslam's wife, Cynthia, died suddenly, and his eldest son, Jimmy, then a student at U.T., took her place on the company's board of directors. Shortly afterward, Pilot expanded into the convenience store market. In 1981, Pilot opened its first travel center in Corbin, Kentucky, a move inspired by a visit to fellow U.T. alum Ken Pritchard, who was operating a travel center in Slidell, Louisiana. As Marathon began to complain about Pilot's expansion efforts, Haslam bought out Marathon's share of the company in 1988.