When Earnhardt attempted to regain control and turned back onto the track, he crossed in front of Schrader, colliding with Schrader and dragging his car up the track. Earnhardt collided head-on into the retaining wall at a critical angle, damaging the car at an estimated speed between , enough to break the right rear wheel assembly off the car. Upon impact, his hood pins severed, causing it to open and slam up against the windshield multiple times. As Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. were about to complete the race, both of the wrecked cars went down the steep banking and slid into the infield grass near the exit of turn 4. No other drivers hit Earnhardt or Schrader after the crash, as they were able to make it past them without incident. After both cars came to a stop on the infield, Schrader climbed out of his car with minor injuries and went to check on Earnhardt. Earnhardt's window net was still up, and Schrader pulled it down himself, then frantically signaled for paramedics who were just arriving at the crash site. That day, and in retellings of the events, Schrader described what he saw in indirect terms: "We've got bigger problems. Look, I'm not a doctor, I'm telling you it don't look good." Only shortly after the 10-year anniversary when asked about it, did Schrader finally say, "Here's the deal. When I went up to the car ... I knew. I knew he was dead, yeah. ... I didn't want to be the one who said 'Dale is dead.'" Race officials threw the checkered flag and the yellow simultaneously as the front-runners crossed the finish line, aware only that a crash had occurred behind the finishers. Waltrip won the race, with Earnhardt, Jr. finishing second behind him. Rusty Wallace finished third (after taking damage in the lap 173 crash), Ricky Rudd finished fourth, polesitter Bill Elliott finished fifth, Wallace's brother Mike finished sixth, Marlin finished seventh, Bobby Hamilton finished eighth, Jeremy Mayfield finished ninth, and outside polesitter Stacy Compton finished 10th. Joe Nemechek finished 11th. Earnhardt and Schrader were credited finishing 12th and 13th despite not completing the final lap (only 11 cars – Waltrip and Earnhardt Jr. included – finished on the lead lap as a result of the long green flag runs and the lap 173 crash). Afterwards, Earnhardt, Jr. rushed to his father's location.