Advance Auto Parts was founded by Arthur Taubman in 1932 with two stores in Roanoke and Lynchburg, Virginia. The company did not make any major expansions until 1998 when they acquired what was left of Western Auto in 1998 after they had partly been bought out by Sears, Roebuck and Co. in 1987.

Beginning in April 2001 Advance Auto Parts acquired 29 stores in the regional chain of Carport Auto Parts located in Mississippi and Alabama. Later that year Advance bought the 671 stores of the Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Louisiana regional chain of Discount Auto Parts, Inc. When this merger was completed Advance became a publicly traded firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange. By the end of 2001 AAP had 2,484 stores in 39 of the 50 states.

Today Advance runs more than 3,800 shops in 40 states including in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.