NASCAR throws caution for medical emergency, ambulance as Shane van Gisbergen takes lead at Chicago

A very strange caution in the NASCAR Chicago Street Race just as Shane van Gisbergen passed Chase Briscoe for the lead. Due to an ambulance needing to cross the track, officials had to get the caution out and slow down the race.

According to reports from the track, a spectator had a medical emergency. The ambulance had to get to the spectator and therefore, the track had to be put under caution.

All of this as NASCAR tries to finish the last 15 laps before it starts to rain. Shane van Gisbergen out in front of Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick. What is going to happen at the end of this race?

Race control needed to call a caution here on lap 59. A spectator medical emergency necessitated the field to be under caution so an ambulance could exit the facility.

— Mike Forde (@mforde) July 6, 2025

This race is only getting more intense with each lap that passes by. Drivers have had a time dealing with this race track. The different pavement types and roughness of the city streets has actually worn out tires more than most expected. There has been a lot of surprises in this dry Chicago Street Race.

Of course, the race is in Shane van Gisbergen’s hands. He is the master of this track. No matter what car he is in, Xfinity or Cup, SVG is the man to beat. That is no different today in Chicago than it was in 2023 when he won the first one.

Michael McDowell out of NASCAR Chicago race after leading

Michael McDowell expressed confidence coming into this NASCAR Chicago Street Race weekend. He then followed that up with a great first 31 laps in the Cup Series race.

Just when things were getting interesting, McDowell had issues. His throttle was stuck and a Josh Berry caution gave him a window to switch up his strategy. So, the 71 team hit pit road to fix the issue and get tires and fuel. Well…the issue wasn’t an easy fix like they thought it was.

When Michael McDowell has the right car for it, he can be straight up dangerous. His road course racing skills are on par with AJ Allmendinger and others in the series. When asked about his chances against SVG, McDowell said that the Trackhouse driver wasn’t “unbeatable.” He definitely wasn’t intimidated by the Kiwi.

Early on in the race today, McDowell backed up that confidence. He fought for the lead on the first restart and took it from SVG. Then he did it again on a couple of other restarts. McDowell went on to win the first stage, and everything was lining up for him. Then his throttle pedal cable broke.