The 293-lap race, the 100th NASCAR Cup Series event at Darlington Raceway, was won by PPI Motorsports driver Ricky Craven starting from the 31st position.

Kurt Busch of the Roush Racing squad finished in second place and Dave Blaney third for the Jasper Motorsports team.

By lap 291, Craven drew close enough to challenge Busch; after two attempts at a pass failed, he overtook Busch on the final lap, and won by two-thousandths of a second, tied for the closest finish in Cup Series history until the 2024 AdventHealth 400, where Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds.

Drivers were required to strenuously monitor their tire degradation, and track position was the most important aspect due to the difficulty of on-circuit overtaking.

[18] He was joined on the grid's front row by Newman, who stated he could have bettered Sadler's lap had he not ran wide in turns one and two.

[18] 37th to 43rd placed-qualifiers Jeff Burton, Joe Nemechek, Ricky Rudd, Kyle Petty, Tony Raines, Larry Foyt, and Brett Bodine used provisionals to enter the race.

Nemechek, Jeff Green, Newman, Marlin, Kenny Wallace, Martin and Stewart made up positions four to ten.

[24] Towards the conclusion of the session, the right side of Waltrip's vehicle struck an outside barrier at turn two due to a cut tire, and he switched to a back-up car.

[21][23] Live television coverage of the 293-lap 400.238 mi (644.121 km) race in the United States on Fox began at 12:30 Eastern Time (UTC−05:00).

[1][2] Play-by-play commentary was provided by Mike Joy, with analysis from three-time Cup Series champion Darrell Waltrip and former crew chief Larry McReynolds.

[1] During the pace laps, Busch and Waltrip moved to the rear of the field because of their engine change and switch to a back-up car.

[31] Drivers behind him drove onto the apron to avoid a collision;[29][30] Jamie McMurray made contact with Kenseth, causing the latter to spin, and bringing out the first yellow caution flag.

[30] Spencer did not make a pit stop and led at the restart on lap 17, followed by Earnhardt, Nadeau, John Andretti, and Green.

[30] This caused a chain-reaction accident involving Labonte, Sprague, Todd Bodine, Harvick, Robby Gordon, and Raines.

[31] Earnhardt led Nadeau by five seconds by the 50th lap, while Martin and his Roush Racing teammate Busch had advanced to third and fourth places.

[31] Twelve laps later a fractured oil casing forced Nadeau to enter pit road, and drop out of contention for a strong result.

Drivers who made pit stops hoping to advance their positions did not succeed, however, because a sixth caution was waved on lap 191.

[31] The right front corner of Spencer's vehicle came into contact with Andretti's left-rear wheel, causing the latter to sustain a flat tire.

[30] Just as pit stop strategy was about affect the final result,[31] officials noticed debris between the third and fourth turns and waved the seventh caution flag on lap 237.

[35] With a three-second lead it appeared that Busch would win comfortably,[31] but his spotter informed him over the radio that Craven was drawing nearer.

[31] With ten laps to go, Busch's power steering failed,[36] numbing his arms,[37] reducing his stamina,[38] and making his car more difficult to handle.

[27][35] Craven drew alongside Busch at the exit of turn four;[32] both drivers got loose without slowing,[22][35] and clattered into each other several times in the final 300 yd (270 m),[32] with smoke emitting from their tires.

[2] After crossing the finish line, Craven corrected his car, and on the way back to pit road, asked his crew who had won the race.

[32] Leaving turn two,[33] with half a dozen crew members all drowning each other out on the radio, he glanced to his left to read the scoring pylon informing drivers and spectators of the finishing positions, and learnt he had succeeded.

"[36] After the race, Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knaus were ordered to report to meet Cup Series director John Darby in an office in NASCAR's hauler to explain the collision with Marlin early on.

"[41] Earnhardt, who finished sixth and led more laps than any other driver, said an error with the installation of a lug nut prevented him from challenging for the victory, "This [Darlington] has really been an Achilles heel for us in the past.

"[36] After his eighth-place finish, Kenseth spoke of his relief the collision with McMurray on lap six had not damaged his car's toe-in, "Eighth was great for us today – even if we weren't as beat up as we are.

"[42] Gordon admitted he was fault for the collision on lap 273 that negatively affected his car's performance, and Sadler said he had committed "a stupid driving mistake" by following and heavily pressuring the former, and making the same driver error simultaneously.

Two guys gassing, gouging and grinding to the checkered flag – damn the consequences" and the duel of Craven and Busch reminded him of a battle between Rick Mears and Gordon Johncock for the win in the last ten laps of the 1982 Indianapolis 500.

[44] Writing for the Daily Press, Al Pearce spoke of "a marvelous stock car race",[27] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Rick Minter declared "the racing gods smiled on the old track" after Darlington Raceway was under threat of removal from the NASCAR Cup Series,[32] and David Poole of The Charlotte Observer stated it was "electrifying" and the conclusion was "the kind of finish people will be talking about for years.