A NASCAR contractor nicknamed 'MacGyver' was electrocuted at the Chicago Street Race, autopsy finds

• Autopsy results show that a contractor for NASCAR was electrocuted ahead of the Chicago Street Race.
• Duane Tabinski was hired by NASCAR to produce audio for the celebrations ahead of the race.
• Tabinski died of accidental contact with electrical wires, according to the autopsy report.

An audio specialist contracted to work on NASCAR's Chicago Street Race was electrocuted while helping set up the course, according to autopsy results obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.

The newspaper reported that Duane Tabinski, 53, was working in a "padlock" area on Friday, where high-voltage electricity was circulating. At one point, a witness heard him groan and saw him "slumped over."

The autopsy report, obtained by the Sun-Times, said Tabinski died of accidental contact with electrical wires.

NASCAR did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment but told the Associated Press that Tabinski "suffered a fatal medical emergency."

Tabinski's wife, Kristin Tabinski, told the Sun-Times she had nicknamed her husband "MacGyver" because he "never met a problem he couldn't solve." The newspaper reported that NASCAR hired Tabinski to produce audio for the celebrations ahead of the race.

"He was so excited to help fans 'feel' the action," Kristin Tabinski told the Sun-Times.

Tabinski owned an event production company called DUANE, and his colleagues told ABC 7 Chicago he had invented a piece of audio equipment called Tracpac, which is what he was setting up when he was electrocuted. 

The Chicago Street Race took place on July 1 and July 2, taking drivers through the city's major roads and downtown landmarks.