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Stock Car Racing: 1981 Season

Stock Car Racing: 1981 Season

Section Navigation
1980 Season « Go to Stock Car Racing » 1982 Season Page Sections Race Schedule NASCAR Winston Cup Points Standings
1981 National Series Champions
NASCAR Winston Cup: Darrell Waltrip (Buick) ARCA Racing Series: Larry Moyer (Pontiac)

1981 would mark a turning point in NASCAR's Winston Cup series on a technical level.  The cars had shorter wheelbases, the first of many changes which would take the cars away from matching exterior dimensions with their street counterparts.  This change, which necessitated larger spoilers, would lead the series into a new era of purpose-built race cars that began to look very different from the cars they were intended to simulate.

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Race Schedule

Date	Series	Race	Track	Pole	Winner	Winner's Make
January 11	Winston Cup	Winston Western 500	Riverside International Raceway	Darrell Waltrip	Bobby Allison	Chevrolet
February 15	Winston Cup	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway	Bobby Allison	Richard Petty	Buick
February 22	Winston Cup	Richmond 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway	Morgan Shepherd	Darrell Waltrip	Buick
March 1	Winston Cup	Carolina 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway	Cale Yarborough	Darrell Waltrip	Buick
March 15	Winston Cup	Coca-Cola 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Terry Labonte	Cale Yarborough	Buick
March 29	Winston Cup	Valleydale 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip	Buick
April 5	Winston Cup	Northwestern Bank 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway	Dave Marcis	Richard Petty	Buick
April 12	Winston Cup	CRC Rebel 500	Darlington Raceway	Bill Elliott	Darrell Waltrip	Buick
April 26	Winston Cup	Virginia 500	Martinsville Speedway	Ricky Rudd	Morgan Shepherd	Pontiac
May 3	Winston Cup	Winston 500	Talladega Superspeedway	Bobby Allison	Bobby Allison	Buick
May 9	Winston Cup	Melling Tool 420	Nashville International Raceway	Ricky Rudd	Benny Parsons	Ford
May 17	Winston Cup	Mason-Dixon 500	Dover International Speedway	David Pearson	Jody Ridley	Ford
May 24	Winston Cup	World 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Neil Bonnett	Bobby Allison	Buick
June 7	Winston Cup	Budweiser 400	Texas World Speedway	Terry Labonte	Benny Parsons	Ford
June 14	Winston Cup	Hodgdon 400	Riverside International Raceway	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip	Buick
June 21	Winston Cup	Gabriel 400	Michigan International Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Bobby Allison	Buick
July 4	Winston Cup	FireCracker 400	Daytona International Speedway	Cale Yarborough	Cale Yarborough	Buick
July 11	Winston Cup	Busch Nashville 420	Nashville International Raceway	Mark Martin	Darrell Waltrip	Buick
July 26	Winston Cup	Mountain Dew 500	Pocono Raceway	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip	Buick
August 2	Winston Cup	Talladega 500	Talladega Superspeedway	Harry Gant	Ron Bouchard	Buick
August 16	Winston Cup	Champion 400	Michigan International Speedway	Ron Bouchard	Richard Petty	Buick
August 22	Winston Cup	Busch 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip	Buick
September 7	Winston Cup	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	Harry Gant	Neil Bonnett	Ford
September 13	Winston Cup	Wrangler SanforSet 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway	Mark Martin	Benny Parsons	Ford
September 20	Winston Cup	CRC Chemicals 500	Dover International Speedway	Ricky Rudd	Neil Bonnett	Ford
September 27	Winston Cup	Old Dominion 500	Martinsville Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip	Buick
October 4	Winston Cup	Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip	Buick
October 11	Winston Cup	National 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway		Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip	Buick
November 1	Winston Cup	American 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Darrell Waltrip	Buick
November 8	Winston Cup	Atlanta Journal 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Harry Gant	Neil Bonnett	Ford
November 22	Winston Cup	Winston Western 500	Riverside International Raceway	Darrell Waltrip	Bobby Allison	Buick

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NASCAR Winston Cup Points Standings

Pos.	Driver	Points	Behind	Starts	Poles	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Winnings
1	Darrell Waltrip	4880	Leader	31	11	12	21	25	$539,050
2	Bobby Allison	4827	-53	31	2	5	21	26	$534,665
3	Harry Gant	4213	-667	31	3	0	13	18	$233,815
4	Terry Labonte	4052	-828	31	2	0	8	17	$276,970
5	Jody Ridley	4002	-878	31	0	1	3	18	$220,215
6	Ricky Rudd	3991	-889	31	3	0	14	17	$352,980
7	Dale Earnhardt	3978	-902	31	0	0	9	17	$324,290
8	Richard Petty	3882	-998	31	0	3	12	16	$369,505
9	Dave Marcis	3510	-1370	31	1	0	4	9	$143,325
10	Benny Parsons	3452	-1428	31	0	3	10	12	$273,705
11	Buddy Arrington	3384	-1496	31	0	0	0	7	$118,340
12	Kyle Petty	3335	-1545	31	0	0	1	10	$100,745
13	Morgan Shepherd	3264	-1616	29	1	1	3	10	$155,785
14	Jimmy Means	3145	-1735	30	0	0	0	2	$91,440
15	Tommy Gale	3143	-1737	30	0	0	0	0	$96,630
16	Tim Richmond	3094	-1786	29	0	0	0	6	$84,675
17	J.D. McDuffie	3000	-1880	28	0	0	0	1	$95,540
18	Lake Speed	2820	-2060	27	0	0	0	6	$84,210
19	James Hylton	2756	-2124	28	0	0	0	0	$80,975
20	Joe Millikan	2682	-2198	23	0	0	3	10	$140,470
21	Ron Bouchard	2597	-2283	22	1	1	5	12	$139,605
22	Neil Bonnett	2449	-2431	22	1	3	7	8	$180,920
23	Cecil Gordon	2320	-2560	25	0	0	0	0	$55,230
24	Cale Yarborough	2201	-2679	18	2	2	6	10	$150,090
25	Richard Childress	2144	-2736	21	0	0	1	1	$70,375
26	Ronnie Thomas	2138	-2742	23	0	0	0	0	$52,855
27	Buddy Baker	1904	-2976	16	0	0	6	9	$114,345
28	Joe Ruttman	1853	-3027	17	0	0	2	7	$110,125
29	Mike Alexander	1784	-3096	19	0	0	0	3	$33,305
30	Bill Elliott	1442	-3438	13	1	0	1	7	$68,570
31	Bobby Wawak	1212	-3668	14	0	0	0	1	$21,790
32	D.K. Ulrich	1193	-3687	15	0	0	1	1	$36,640
33	Johnny Rutherford	1143	-3737	12	0	0	1	2	$38,095
34	Lennie Pond	1100	-3780	12	0	0	0	0	$29,045
35	Elliott Forbes-Robinson	1020	-3860	11	0	0	0	3	$27,350
36	Stan Barrett	842	-4038	10	0	0	0	1	$28,540
37	Rick Newsom	768	-4112	9	0	0	0	0	$8,625
38	Dick May	754	-4126	9	0	0	0	1	$26,380
39	Connie Saylor	664	-4216	7	0	0	0	0	$18,780
40	Gary Balough	659	-4221	10	0	0	0	1	$34,430
41	Rick Wilson	639	-4241	8	0	0	0	0	$15,625
42	Mark Martin	615	-4265	5	2	0	1	2	$13,950
43	Bruce Hill	596	-4284	8	0	0	0	0	$15,485
44	Donnie Allison	527	-4353	6	0	0	1	1	$27,745
45	Geoff Bodine	420	-4460	5	0	0	0	1	$15,000
46	Joe Fields	418	-4462	6	0	0	0	0	$7,750
47	Jack Ingram	367	-4513	5	0	0	0	1	$9,965
48	Randy Ogden	367	-4513	4	0	0	0	0	$3,905
49	Jim Robinson	351	-4529	3	0	0	0	2	$9,505
50	Don Waterman	351	-4529	3	0	0	0	1	$8,570
51	Rusty Wallace	323	-4557	4	0	0	0	1	$12,895
52	Tommy Houston	315	-4565	7	0	0	0	0	$20,760
53	Bill Schmitt	314	-4566	3	0	0	0	0	$6,610
54	Don Whittington	300	-4580	3	0	0	0	0	$13,685
55	Dick Brooks	297	-4583	5	0	0	0	0	$14,845
56	H.B. Bailey	288	-4592	4	0	0	0	0	$7,125
57	Lowell Cowell	288	-4592	4	0	0	0	0	$8,055
58	Roy Smith	285	-4595	3	0	0	0	1	$8,695
59	Don Puskarich	279	-4601	3	0	0	0	0	$4,770
60	Glenn Jarrett	276	-4604	3	0	0	0	0	$12,650
61	AJ Foyt	271	-4609	3	0	0	0	1	$9,210
62	Butch Lindley	266	-4614	3	0	0	0	0	$2,375
63	Tommy Ellis	227	-4653	4	0	0	1	1	$13,475
64	Don Sprouse	221	-4659	2	0	0	0	0	$6,865
65	Slick Johnson	216	-4664	4	0	0	0	0	$4,150
66	Hershel McGriff	206	-4674	3	0	0	0	0	$2,170
67	Chuck Bown	197	-4683	3	0	0	0	0	$4,725
68	Junior Miller	188	-4692	2	0	0	0	0	$3,130
69	David Pearson	154	-4726	6	1	0	0	2	$17,150
70	Bob Schacht	140	-4740	2	0	0	0	0	$1,290
71	Bob Riley	131	-4749	3	0	0	0	0	$1,975
72	John Borneman	127	-4753	1	0	0	0	0	$3,140
73	Gary Kershaw	127	-4753	1	0	0	0	0	$1,800
74	Jim Bown	122	-4758	2	0	0	0	0	$1,415
75	Rick O'Dell	115	-4765	1	0	0	0	0	$2,145
76	Ronnie Sanders	109	-4771	1	0	0	0	0	$7,635
77	Delma Cowart	109	-4771	1	0	0	0	0	$1,940
78	Steve Spencer	103	-4777	3	0	0	0	0	$5,805
79	Henry Jones	103	-4777	1	0	0	0	0	$765
80	Bob Bondurant	100	-4780	2	0	0	0	0	$2,430
81	Bill Dennis	100	-4780	1	0	0	0	0	$3,200
82	Joe Booher	97	-4783	4	0	0	0	0	$4,995
83	Gene Thonesen	97	-4783	1	0	0	0	0	$2,125
84	Mark Stahl	94	-4786	1	0	0	0	0	$1,080
85	Bill Elswick	91	-4789	3	0	0	0	0	$20,100
86	Steve Pfeifer	91	-4789	2	0	0	0	0	$4,063
87	John Gunn	88	-4792	1	0	0	0	0	$2,225
88	Rick McCray	85	-4795	1	0	0	0	0	$1,655
89	Charlie Glotzbach	85	-4795	1	0	0	0	0	$1,275
90	Roger Hamby	82	-4798	1	0	0	0	0	$2,450
91	Billie Harvey	80	-4800	2	0	0	0	0	$3,915
92	Mike Potter	79	-4801	6	0	0	0	0	$14,500
93	Sterling Marlin	79	-4801	2	0	0	0	0	$1,955
94	Dave Dion	79	-4801	1	0	0	0	0	$615
95	Elmo Langley	76	-4804	1	0	0	0	0	$575
96	Scott Miller	76	-4804	1	0	0	0	0	$805
97	Baxter Price	73	-4807	2	0	0	0	0	$1,400
98	Jimmy Insolo	73	-4807	2	0	0	0	0	$755
99	Ernie Cline	73	-4807	1	0	0	0	0	$550
100	Sandy Satullo	70	-4810	1	0	0	0	0	$1,500
101	Jocko Maggiacomo	70	-4810	1	0	0	0	0	$540
102	Travis Tiller	67	-4813	1	0	0	0	0	$850
103	Pat Mintey	61	-4819	1	0	0	0	0	$850
104	Robert Tartaglia	58	-4822	1	0	0	0	0	$500
105	Kevin Housby	55	-4825	1	0	0	0	0	$2,480
106	Blackie Wangerin	37	-4843	1	0	0	0	0	$2,750
107	Jimmy Hensley	0	-4880	1	0	0	0	1	$4,650
108	Bob McElwee	0	-4880	2	0	0	0	1	$5,450
109	Terry Herman	0	-4880	2	0	0	0	0	$7,035
110	John Anderson	0	-4880	3	0	0	0	0	$7,800
111	Rick Knoop	0	-4880	1	0	0	0	0	$3,405
112	Rick Baldwin	0	-4880	1	0	0	0	0	$1,550
113	Bob Senneker	0	-4880	1	0	0	0	0	$1,975
114	Al Loquasto	0	-4880	1	0	0	0	0	$2,345
115	Charlie Chamblee	0	-4880	1	0	0	0	0	$830
116	Dean Combs	0	-4880	2	0	0	0	0	$1,155
117	Chuck Pittinger	0	-4880	1	0	0	0	0	$1,155
118	Joel Stowe	0	-4880	1	0	0	0	0	$540
119	Don Satterfield	0	-4880	1	0	0	0	0	$450
120	Bruce Jacobi	0	-4880	1	0	0	0	0	$955
121	Kirk Shelmerdine	0	-4880	1	0	0	0	0	$950
122	Don Hume	0	-4880	1	0	0	0	0	$590

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