Shane van Gisbergen in the #9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro led the field to the green flag while Perkins started the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra from fifth.

After his standout qualifying performance, Perkins dropped two positions in the opening laps of the race.

The typically chaotic Chicago street course claimed its first victim when Ryan Sieg lost control of his #39 RSS Racing Ford Mustang into the wall and damaged his car.

Moments later, Perkins appeared to cop a hit from Sammy Smith in the #8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro at Turn 6.

Perkins’ car backed into the concrete wall and suffered significant rear-end damage, forcing him into the pit lane.

“Super unfortunate for Jack Perkins,” said part-driver driver and commentator Parker Kliggerman.

“He gets this opportunity with Joe Gibbs over from Australia. We thought at first glance looking at the damage on the car where it happened that possibly a wheel-hop situation.

“He’s still getting used to these cars. A lot of the Australian drivers come over here and they struggle with that because they have different rear ends with diffs in those cars.

“But on closer inspection, maybe some help in some respects. The #8 is pretty close there.”

Co-commentator AJ Allmendinger said it “definitely wasn’t a wheel-hop issue” and that Smith got into the rear of Perkins.

The caution came out as a result of Perkins facing the wrong way. Van Gisbergen led the race after eight laps. He reported a sluggish engine during the break after coming under attack from Sheldon Creed in the opening laps.

“I’m struggling with the engine. It’s running like shit,” said van Gisbergen.

“Just when I tip back in. The same as practice, but it’s worse, every single corner.”

A look at the incident involving @jack_perkins … as well as issues for his teammate, @WilliamSawalich. pic.twitter.com/F4Ipwx3pjm

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) July 5, 2025

Perkins was able to continue racing, albeit with a very wounded #19 Toyota Supra. He suffered a subsequent puncture two laps after the race restarted.

The Stage 1 break came on the stroke of Lap 14 with van Gisbergen heading Hill and Sheldon Creed.

The break came slightly earlier than expected when Brad Perez locked up and slid the #45 Alpha Prime Racing Camaro into a tyre barrier.