The ongoing war between the United States and Iran has led to a surge in gas prices which is directly affecting NASCAR teams. As of March 31, the national average of diesel fuel in the U.S. was $5.401 per gallon.

That number dropped slightly after President Donald Trump‘s national address on Wednesday, but teams such as Kaulig Racing are still finding life difficult. Kaulig Racing president Chris Rice said Thursday that the conflict with Iran has them taking every step possible to save as much money on fuel.

“Oh, it’s been big,” Rice said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, via Motorsport. “I’ll tell you an inside story of us… back in January… we spent a lot of money in fuel running parts here and there, doing this and that. Now we actually have a group text, it’s called the ‘traveling group text’ for Kaulig Racing where we plan our trips accordingly. If we can wait a day and pick up more stuff in a day, we’ll do that. I was talking to our truck [hauler] drivers and saying, ‘Hey, watch fuel prices to make sure that, since we’re only going to Rockingham, do we need to fill it all the way up?’

“Will the fuel prices come down? We keep our eyes on that. We look for ways that we can find locations that sell it a little bit cheaper. Every dollar matters with us and in the Truck Series.”

Kaulig Racing facing challenges in first year back in Truck Series

Kaulig, in addition to fielding two full-time entries in the Cup Series, has a five-truck stable in the Truck Series. Kaulig is back in the Truck Series in 2026 as the anchor team for Ram’s return to the sport.

Rice said that its budget is already higher than other teams since it doesn’t have an established inventory yet. The overall cost has been even more than anticipated, and a big part of that is the increase in fuel prices around the country.

“This is all costing us a bit more than anticipated,” Rice said. “We’ve never run a Truck Series budget. Ty Norris [COO] tells me all the time that he’s never seen someone like me keeping track every spoon and fork we buy. But yes, the fuel prices have really put a huge hit into our budget. It is what it is.

“We have to budget for everything and we’ve already torn up more fenders this year than we expected to too. But the fuel prices are rough right now.”

Fortunately for Kaulig, the schedule this week is light. The Cup Series is off due to Easter and Friday’s Truck Series race is at Rockingham Speedway, just over an hour from the Kaulig shop in Lexington, N.C.