NASCAR teams are being impacted by elevated petroleum prices, according to chief operating officer Ben Kennedy, though maybe not in the most obvious way.  

The biggest impact, Kennedy explained on the latest episode of the Sporticast podcast, isn’t the gas used during races, which can sometimes top 600 miles. It’s the fuel used to get cars, staff and equipment from one race to another. And like many Americans, they’re feeling the impact of gas prices that have jumped around 30% since the start of the Iran war in February, and roughly 45% for the diesel fuel most often used for trucking.

NASCAR held a Cup Series race in Newton, Iowa on Sunday, and the next race is in Richmond, Va., this weekend. Between those races, Kennedy explained, about 250 different 18-wheeler trucks will haul equipment back to teams’ headquarters in North Carolina, reload, then to drive up to the Virginia capital. That’s a total of 1,300 miles in less than a week.

“We’re not even driving from track to track, there’s usually a stop to Charlotte in between,” Kennedy said. “It’s something that we track on a weekly basis—fuel prices—and ultimately the impact that it has on our teams, on our competitors, on our fans and on a lot of our partners as well. Goodyear and Sunoco are examples of that, they are on the road with us every weekend.”

That Sunoco deal covers gas used during races, so those costs are not borne by teams.

The Iran war, which spread across the Middle East, has disrupted the manufacturing, refining and shipping of global oil. The national average for a gallon of gasoline at the pump is currently about $4.07, according to The Gas Index. That’s up from a national average of about $2.94 in February before the start of the war. The price of diesel has risen more sharply, from $3.69 to $5.35.

Though fuel tends to be cheaper in the southern U.S., which includes a big piece of NASCAR’s footprint, the circuit races around the country, including a street race earlier this year in Coronado, Calif., which is 2,400 miles from Charlotte.

As is happening with consumers nationally, the elevated prices are impacting fans as well. Many people drive long distances to attend NASCAR races, often in fuel-intensive vehicles like trucks or RVs.

Teams, and NASCAR itself, are individually responsible for their own fuel costs on the road, Kennedy said.

It’s not bought in bulk at the NASCAR level, nor is it directly included in any circuit-wide partnerships. He declined to provide specifics of the financial impact.

“It’s been enough to be mentioned in quite a few conversations that we’ve had,” he said.

The Sporticast podcast breaks down the biggest sports business topics every week. It is published every Tuesday and Thursday morning.