This makes a lot of sense. In 2019 Casey's acquired all the Fantasy's convenience stores, then all the Bucky's stores in 2021.From what I understand, Casey's had a leadership change in recent years, and it wasn't terribly well received. They shed quite a bit of talent at the corporate level, as a result. Also, there had previously been a bit of a modus vivendi with Kwik Star/Kwik Trip where they didn't expand aggressively in Iowa and Casey's didn't push too far into Wisconsin. Casey's new leadership breached that gentleman's agreement, and Kwik Star)Trip responded in kind, resulting in a lot more competition.
Growing by acquisition but it seems they skewed from the original business model that made it successful