The US-Israel conflict with Iran has been boiling over for a long time. Owing to that, the Middle East is pretty much a massive war zone. Now this has some massive consequences in the motorsport sector, as cars need fuel and the Middle East is the hotbed of oil. Already, Formula One, MotoGP, WEC, and other series have cancelled races that would be held in Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and more. The Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia became the latest race set to be cancelled due to the ongoing conflict.

How is the conflict affecting motorsport around the world?

It was the Malaysian government that appealed to the Super GT series to call off its June race in Sepang. The opening races at Okayama and Fuji have yet to begin, and Malaysia was set to host Round 3. However, that is no longer going to be the case in 2026, as the government is worried about fuel shortages.

The ongoing conflict seems to have triggered a detrimental butterfly effect. With the Strait of Hormuz being inaccessible to any ship’s passage, this has had massive consequences. Among those ships are oil tankers that carry fuel for road cars, race cars, and, more importantly, everyday living.

Aside from the Jeddah Grand Prix, Bahrain Grand Prix, and Qatar Grand Prix, WEC’s Qatar 1812km is also on ice. Of course, Malaysia is several miles away from the conflict zone, but the fuel problem is still there. As per reports, the supply reduction has led to a sharp inflation of oil prices. Subsequently, this has inflated the costs of transporting freight and personnel, which is what propelled the Malaysian government to make the decision.

Fortunately, this has come before the season began, so there is plenty of time for adjustments to the schedule. In a sense, the Malaysian round could either be replaced by another race in Japan, or the calendar could be reduced by one race. However, with all that has happened in the past 40 days, the question on if it will affect NASCAR remains.

Will NASCAR be affected by the conflict?

Obviously, fuel supply might be an issue in NASCAR as well. The stock car racing motorsports series’ official fuel partner is Sunoco fuel, an American brand, but the issue has become global, and the prices have gone up even in the US.

So the question is, do they find alternate sources for fuel? Would NASCAR be forced to truncate its season to accommodate the limited supply? Kaulig Racing president Chris Rice already admitted that NASCAR is starting to feel the effects of the conflict.

He said, “Oh, it’s been big, I’ll tell you an inside story of us… Back in January… we spent a lot of money on 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?’”

Without a doubt, this could soon be a concern for other teams as well. As it is, it isn’t just Sunoco fuel that is consumed by the cars. The haulers that transport the cars also require fuel as well, and the surge in oil prices will be a big talking point.