1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the thirty-third season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 10th modern-era Cup Season. The season began at Riverside International Raceway with the first Winston Western 500 on January 11, 1981 and ended with the same event on November 22. Darrell Waltrip won his first championship with point margin of fifty-three points over Bobby Allison. Ron Bouchard was named Rookie of the Year.

1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Previous:	1980	Next:	1982
Champions | Seasons

Waltrip, the Winston Cup Series champion in 1981

Teams and drivers

Team	Make	No.	Driver	Car Owner	Crew Chief
Arrington Racing	Dodge Mirada	67	Buddy Arrington	Buddy Arrington
Benfield Racing	Pontiac Grand Prix Buick Regal	98	Johnny Rutherford (R)	Ron Benfield	Buddy Parrott
Bud Moore Engineering	Ford Thunderbird	15	Benny Parsons	Bud Moore	Bud Moore
Cliff Stewart Racing	Pontiac Grand Prix	5	Joe Millikan	Cliff Stewart	Darrell Bryant
DiGard Motorsports	Chevrolet Monte Carlo	88	Ricky Rudd	Bill Elliog	Gary Nelson
Donlavey Racing	Ford Thunderbird	90	Jody Ridley	Junie Donlavey
Ellington Racing	Oldsmobile Cutlass Buick Regal	1	Buddy Baker	Hoss Ellington	Runt Pittman
Gordon Racing	Buick Regal	24	Cecil Gordon	Cecil Gordon
			Morgan Shepherd (R)
Hagan Racing	Buick Regal	44	Terry Labonte	Billy Hagan	Jake Elder
Howard & Egerton Racing	Buick Regal	86	Elliott Forbes-Robinson (R)	Richard Howard
Hylton Racing	Pontiac Grand Prix	48	James Hylton	James Hylton
Osterlund Racing16	Pontiac Grand Prix	2	Dale Earnhardt 20	Rod Osterlund	Doug Richert
Jim Stacy Racing15	Buick Regal			Jim Stacy
			Joe Ruttman (R) 11		Dale Inman
Junior Johnson & Associates	Buick Regal	11	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson	Tim Brewer
		41	Richard Childress 1
Langley Racing	Ford Thunderbird	64	Tommy Gale	Elmo Langley
Lennie Pond Racing	Buick Regal	68	Lennie Pond	Lennie Pond
M. C. Anderson Racing	Buick Regal	27	Cale Yarborough	M. C. Anderson	David Anderson
Mach 1 Racing	Pontiac Grand Prix	22	Stan Barrett (R)	Hal Needham
		33	Harry Gant		Travis Carter
Marcis Auto Racing	Buick Regal	71	Dave Marcis	Dave Marcis	Claude Queen
McDuffie Racing	Pontiac Grand Prix	70	J. D. McDuffie	J. D. McDuffie
Means Racing	Pontiac Grand Prix	52	Jimmy Means	Jimmy Means
Elliott Racing	Ford Thunderbird	9	Bill Elliott 13	George Elliott	Ernie Elliott
Petty Enterprises	Buick Regal	42	Richard Petty 1	Richard Petty	Mike Beam
			Kyle Petty 30
		43	Kyle Petty 1		Steve Hmiel
			Richard Petty 30
Race Hill Farm Team	Buick Regal	47	Ron Bouchard	Jack Beebe	Bob Johnson
RahMoc Enterprises	Buick Regal	75	Gary Balough (R)	Bob Rahilly	Bob Rahilly
Ranier-Lundy Racing	Pontiac LeMans Buick Regal	28	Bobby Allison	Harry Ranier	Waddell Wilson
Richard Childress Racing	Pontiac Grand Prix	3	Richard Childress 20	Richard Childress	Kirk Shelmerdine
			Dale Earnhardt 11
		8	Kirk Shelmerdine 1
Rogers Racing	Buick Regal	37	Mike Alexander (R)	Bob Rogers	Raymond Kelly
			Tim Richmond (R)
Speed Racing	Oldsmobile Cutlass	66	Lake Speed	Lake Speed
Thomas Racing	Pontiac Grand Prix	25	Ronnie Thomas	Ronnie Thomas
Ulrich Racing	Buick Regal	99	D. K. Ulrich	D. K. Ulrich
Wawak Racing	Buick Regal	94	Bobby Wawak	Bobby Wawak
Wood Brothers Racing	Ford Thunderbird	21	Neil Bonnett	Glen Wood	Leonard Wood

Season schedule and recap

Round	Date	Event	Track	Winner
1	January 11	Winston Western 500	Riverside International Raceway	Bobby Allison
	February 8	Busch Clash	Daytona International Speedway	Darrell Waltrip
	February 12	UNO Twin 125 Qualifier		Bobby Allison
				Darrell Waltrip
	February 13	Daytona 500 Consolation Race		Lake Speed
2	February 15	Daytona 500		Richard Petty
3	February 22	Richmond 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway	Darrell Waltrip
4	March 1	Carolina 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway	Darrell Waltrip
5	March 15	Coca-Cola 500	Atlanta International Raceway	Cale Yarborough
6	March 29	Valleydale 500	Bristol International Raceway	Darrell Waltrip
7	April 5	Northwestern Bank 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway	Richard Petty
8	April 12	CRC Rebel 500	Darlington International Raceway	Darrell Waltrip
9	April 26	Virginia 500	Martinsville Speedway	Morgan Shepherd
10	May 3	Winston 500	Alabama International Motor Speedway	Bobby Allison
11	May 9	Melling Tool 420	Nashville Speedway	Benny Parsons
12	May 17	Mason-Dixon 500	Dover Downs International Speedway	Jody Ridley
13	May 24	World 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Bobby Allison
14	June 7	Budweiser 400	Texas World Speedway	Benny Parsons
15	June 14	Hodgdon 400	Riverside International Raceway	Darrell Waltrip
16	June 21	Gabriel 400	Michigan International Speedway	Bobby Allison
17	July 4	Firecracker 400	Daytona International Speedway	Cale Yarborough
18	July 11	Busch Nashville 420	Nashville Speedway	Darrell Waltrip
19	July 26	Mt. Dew 500	Pocono Raceway	Darrell Waltrip
20	August 2	Talladega 500	Alabama International Motor Speedway	Ron Bouchard
21	August 16	Champion Spark Plug 400	Michigan International Speedway	Richard Petty
22	August 22	Busch 500	Bristol International Raceway	Darrell Waltrip
23	September 7	Southern 500	Darlington International Raceway	Neil Bonnett
24	September 13	Wrangler SanforSet 400	Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway	Benny Parsons
25	September 20	CRC Chemicals 500	Dover Downs International Speedway	Neil Bonnett
26	September 27	Old Dominion 500	Martinsville Speedway	Darrell Waltrip
27	October 4	Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway	Darrell Waltrip
28	October 11	National 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Darrell Waltrip
29	November 1	American 500	North Carolina Motor Speedway	Darrell Waltrip
30	November 8	Atlanta Journal 500	Atlanta International Raceway	Neil Bonnett
31	November 22	Winston Western 500	Riverside International Raceway	Bobby Allison

Season summary

Race reports

• Western 500 – The final race where 115-inch wheelbase cars were eligible to run, the field was a mix of 1977 racecars and 1981 models. Dale Earnhardt drove a 1981 Pontiac while race winner Bobby Allison drove a 1977 Monte Carlo. This race was also the first of what would be 788 consecutive Cup series starts for Ricky Rudd.
• Busch Clash - Seven drivers were invited to the 3rd annual Busch Clash for pole winners from 1980. Darrell Waltrip led 13 of 20 laps to win the event, pocketing $71,500 for his 15-minute, 52 second run.
• UNO Twin 125's– The new cars proved to be disturbingly ill-handling and there were several airborne crashes in testing and preliminary events. In the first 125 John Anderson and Connie Saylor flew off the ground and tumbled. Bobby Allison drove a Pontiac LeMans, which unlike the other makes sported a sloped tear glass and was notably more stable. He won the pole and his 125 under yellow for the Saylor crash. Darrell Waltrip in a notch backed Buick engaged in a very spirited duel. Following rookie Tim Richmond’s crash the race ended in a one lap sprint; Benny Parsons stormed from third to the lead but Waltrip re-passed him on the tri-oval apron for the win.
• 1981 Daytona 500 Consolation Race - The 12 cars that failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 were allowed to run in a consolation race for 30 laps (75 mi (121 km)). This was the first time there was a consolation race since 1962. Lake Speed led all 30 laps to win and take home $5,000.
• Daytona 500- NASCAR increased spoiler size twice during the week to keep the cars on the ground. The ensuing 500 saw only four minor cautions and 49 lead changes. Bobby Allison’s 1981 Pontiac LeMans was as expected from Thursday more stable and faster, but Richard Petty got out to the lead after his last pitstop by not changing tires; once in the lead he was uncatchable by Allison as he took his seventh and final Daytona 500 win.
• Richmond 400– Darrell Waltrip drove Junior Johnson's Buick to his first win of the season, edging Ricky Rudd, driving Waltrip's former car, the DiGard Oldsmobile. Bobby Allison wrecked his Pontiac LeMans and drove Butch Lindley's car rather than run a backup Oldsmobile in the team's shop for fear NASCAR would use the existence of the backup to justify banning the LeMans altogether.
• Carolina 500 - Cale Yarborough won the pole and led 320 laps but ran dry in the final 25 laps. Richard Petty led until three laps to go as Darrell Waltrip outlasted the field to win. The lead changed a track-record 36 times. This was the last race that Richard Petty would lead the Winston Cup points standings in his career.
• Atlanta 500 – Team owner Harry Ranier protested NASCAR-mandated spoiler reduction to the Pontiac LeMans the team was running but got no support from rival teams. Cale Yarborough edged Harry Gant for the win while Dave Marcis flipped violently after sliding hard into a mammoth truck tire shielding the pit wall abutment.
• Southeastern 500 - Waltrip led 323 laps and edged Ricky Rudd for the win, his third of the season. There were eight caution flags, one of them involving a hard set-to between Benny Parsons and Joe Millikan. "I admit I lost my cool," Millikan said, to which team owner Bud Moore replied, "I'll straighten out Millikan's cool."
• Rebel 500 – Waltrip edged Gant, who was making his debut in a Pontiac Grand Prix owned by Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham. Bobby Allison debuted a new Buick as the team gave up on the LeMans because of NASCAR spoiler reduction on the car.
• Virginia 500– Rookie Morgan Shepherd dominated en route to his first career Grand National win.
• Winston 500 – Allison slugged it out with Waltrip, Rudd, and Buddy Baker en route to a wild last-lap win.
• Melling Tool 420 - Ricky Rudd in the DiGard No. 88 and Benny Parsons in the Bud Moore No. 15 bearing the race sponsor's colors led 419 of 420 laps; only Darrell Waltrip broke this duopoly. Waltrip futilely chased Parsons over the final 84 laps as Parsons grabbed his first win with Bud Moore.
• Mason-Dixon 500 - David Pearson won the pole in the Kenny Childers No. 12 and led the first 41 laps before falling out with engine failure. Neil Bonnett in the Wood Brothers No. 21 led 404 laps but blew up with 41 laps to go; twenty laps later Cale Yarborough blew his engine and this left Jody Ridley effectively alone to the checkered. It was Ridley's only Winston Cup win, coming in his 55th start, and it was the only Cup win for team owner Junie Donlavey.
• World 600 – Allison won in a crash-torn race in which his brother Donnie suffered a serious leg injury.
• Budweiser 400 - Benny Parsons and Dale Earnhardt squared off in a hard-fought race as the lead changed 35 official times, the most in Texas World Speedway's history. Parsons edged Earnhardt after five lead changes between them in the final eleven laps. The 1981 race proved to be the final major stock car race at the troubled Texas superspeedway until Ishin Speed Sport took it over ten years later.
• Warner W. Hodgdon 400 - Waltrip got back to victory in a four-car scramble with Earnhardt, Petty, and Bonnett. Crashes eliminated Bobby Allison, rookies Tim Richmond and Morgan Shepherd, and James Hylton.
• Gabriel 400 – After 50 lead changes Bobby Allison was running seventh when Kyle Petty's blown engine sent four of the top six in the field into the Turn Two guardrail, while race leaders Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip crashed before Turn Three. The win put Allison nearly 300 points ahead of Waltrip in the standings. Following the race Earnhardt's team owner Rod Osterlund sold the team to J. D. Stacy.
• Firecracker 400 - Bobby Allison has taken a 256-point lead over Darrell Waltrip but after burning a valve and finishing 28th his point lead fell to 206. Cale Yarborough won the pole and led 78 laps while Harry Gant led 43 laps; Gant took the lead on Lap 138 but Cale stormed past for the win on the final lap. Dale Earnhardt led the opening lap in the first race with J. D. Stacy as new owner of the former Rod Osterlund Pontiac, but fell out with a vibration after 71 laps.
• Busch Nashville 420 - Waltrip led 303 laps and edged Allison for the win, with May winner Benny Parsons third. Rookie Mark Martin, a star in American Speed Association stockers, won the pole and led the opening 36 laps.
• Mountain Dew 500 - Six years after the 1975 Purolator 500 and the controversial win by a Purolator-sponsored car, Darrell Waltrip's Buick with the race's sponsor took the win amid controversy. Cale Yarborough fell a lap down but got it back, but he pitted too early on a late yellow and lost the lap again. He stormed past Richard Petty on a last-lap restart thinking he was the leader, and Waltrip took the lead from Petty for the win. Yarborough initially protested the outcome thinking he was on the lead lap, but NASCAR score cards showed Waltrip indeed was the leader.
• Talladega 500 – Bobby Allison led the most laps but slipped back in the final laps, leaving Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, and rookie Ron Bouchard in contention for the win. On the final lap in Talladega's trioval, Labonte swung high on Waltrip and as the two jostled, Bouchard dove to the bottom and beat them to the stripe by inches. Bouchard's victory is considered by many to be the biggest upset in NASCAR history.
• Yankee 400 – Richard Petty stormed past five cars with five laps to go and held off Waltrip and Ricky Rudd in the most competitive race of the season (65 lead changes among 14 drivers).
• Southern 500 - Neil Bonnett led 216 laps and edged Darrell Waltrip by one car length; Waltrip's runner-up finish pulled him to within 18 points of Bobby Allison.
• Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400 - Benny Parsons scores his 20th and penultimate victory in the Cup Series. Bobby Allison finishes fifth leading 95 laps but Darrell Waltrip finishes third leading the most laps at 149 which cuts Allison's lead down to 3 points.
• Delaware 500 - Neil Bonnett put the entire field a lap down as he led 185 laps en route to his second win in three races. Darrell Waltrip beat Bobby Allison for second and thus took the point lead by 2 points over Allison.
• Old Dominion 500 - Harry Gant led the most laps at 253 but faltered as Darrell Waltrip grabbed the lead with 36 laps to go; Waltrip's win was the first of four straight. Waltrip padded his lead by 41 points to lead Allison by 43 points.
• Holly Farms 400 - Darrell Waltrip wins his second straight race while leading the most laps at 318. Bobby Allison finished second leading seventy six laps. Waltrip padded his lead by 10 points to lead Allison by 53 points.
• National 500 - Neil Bonnett dominates leading 135 of the races first 190 laps but then before he can complete lap 191 his engine expires, leaving Darrell Waltrip to battle with Bobby Allison for the rest of the race in which Waltrip prevails, winning his third straight race while padding his points lead by 5 to lead over Allison by 58 points.
• American 500 - Waltrip and Allison fought for the win as the lead changed between them during the final 19 laps; with his fourth straight win Waltrip increased his point lead by 10 points to lead Allison by 68 points.
• Atlanta Journal 500 - ESPN broadcast the race live, the first such NASCAR broadcast for the third-year cable network, with Mike Joy, Larry Nuber, and Ned Jarrett handling the broadcast duty. The race was a hard-fought affair as Neil Bonnett battled Richard Petty, Joe Ruttman, and Harry Gant; Waltrip cut a tire in mid-race but battled and got his lap back; he rallied and took the lead at the white flag, but Bonnett stormed to the win while Waltrip padded his points lead by 15 points to lead Allison headed to the season finale at Riverside by 83 points.
• Winston Western 500 - For the first time in the modern era the series visited the same track three times in a season. This would not happen again until the 2020 coronavirus pandemic occurred and forced NASCAR to make schedule changes due to a combination of local, state, and federal travel restrictions and limits on social gatherings. This race featured a great battle for the win between Allison and Ruttman for the last 20 laps. Bobby passed Joe with 9 laps to go and Ruttman got back alongside Allison several times but was never able to complete the pass. Allison did what he needed to do by winning the race and leading the most laps at 49. It was however not enough as Darrell Waltrip won his first championship by leading 1 lap & finishing in 6th place to beat Allison by 53 points.

Final point standings

Further information: List of NASCAR points scoring systems

Pos.	#	Driver	Make	RSD	DAY	RCH	RCK	ATL	BRI	NWB	DAR	MAR	TAL	NSH	DOV	CLT	COL	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSH	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWB	CLT	RCK	ATL	RSD	Pts
1	11	Darrell Waltrip	Buick Chevrolet	17	36	1	1	36	1	3	1	26	3	2	12	9	30	1	7	10	1	1	2	2	1	2	3	2	1	1	1	1	2	6	4,880
2	28	Bobby Allison	Buick Chevrolet Pontiac	1	2	23	6	4	3	2	9	13	1	3	2	1	3	29	1	28	2	25	5	7	4	9	5	3	10	2	2	2	4	1	4,827
3	17 47 48 12 33	Harry Gant	Chevrolet Buick Pontiac Oldsmobile	15	23	6	18	2	8	5	2	4	34	22	16	2	10	31	2	2	8	4	4	4	11	14	2	23	2	24	41	3	20	8	4,210
4	44	Terry Labonte	Buick Chevrolet	2	40	26	21	19	7	7	14	5	7	6	8	14	23	22	11	8	5	13	3	14	3	4	4	29	9	30	23	7	7	3	4,052
5	90 79	Jody Ridley	Ford Oldsmobile	7	7	8	17	6	6	28	7	6	31	25	1	20	6	7	4	38	10	15	8	12	20	12	9	11	21	7	15	10	5	9	4,002
6	88	Ricky Rudd	Buick Oldsmobile Chevrolet	19	3	2	31	22	2	6	11	3	4	5	5	4	24	5	30	40	4	6	23	3	2	23	12	5	8	25	3	18	38	40	3,988
7	2	Dale Earnhardt	Pontiac	3	5	7	26	3	28	10	17	25	8	20	3	18	2	2	5	35	7	11	29	9	27	6	6	15	26	4	25	9	24	4	3,975
8	42 43	Richard Petty	Chevrolet Buick	5	1	3	3	38	29	1	33	28	39	4	19	24	4	3	6	3	9	2	40	1	24	30	11	10	18	21	30	4	26	7	3,880
9	71	Dave Marcis	Chevrolet Oldsmobile Dodge Buick Chrysler Pontiac	28	15	22	15	27	31	4	3	11	14	10	31	35	5	9	29	13	25	33	10	11	9	3	19	8	14	16	40	12	28	25	3,507
10	15	Benny Parsons	Ford	16	31	5	24	5	5	21	5	23	36	1	32	37	1	20	3	39	3	3	13	26	6	39	1	34	24	29	38	6	36	27	3,449
11	67	Buddy Arrington	Dodge	9	26	16	37	14	13	29	13	8	17	9	7	15	13	26	12	17	28	16	41	35	10	37	13	14	11	10	10	14	17	24	3,381
12	42	Kyle Petty	Buick Chevrolet	20	32	24	8	41	11	22	25	15	30	7	20	5	29	6	21	6	6	8	7	19	28	34	22	7	19	18	20	37	8	37	3,335
13	5 02 24 98 96	Morgan Shepherd	Pontiac Buick			4	28	8	4	9	34	1	23	8	6	6	31	21	15	20	13	29	36	34	19	16	29	12	28	6	8	27	31	13	3,261
14	52 8	Jimmy Means	Chevrolet Pontiac Dodge	18	21	14	29	21	14	14	23	12	27	14	9	23	19	28	28	18	15	19	16	25	12	38	16	19	15	9	12	20	35		3,142
15	64 79 40	Tommy Gale	Ford Oldsmobile Buick		17	18	19	18	15	19	18	18	11	17	14	17	12	30	36	19	21	31	18	21	15	29	17	24	13	14	22	13	22	26	3,140
16	99 12 75	Tim Richmond	Chevrolet Buick Oldsmobile	29	30	17	16	26	10	18	12	14	6	12			7	33	14	15	12	9	34	30	8	22	14	9	20	13	18	22	21	20	3,091
17	70	J. D. McDuffie	Chevrolet Pontiac	23	24	10	33	11	22	16	16	30	22	16	23	13	11	12	22	12	20	18		16	13	21	21		28		12	17	23	11	2,996
18	66 17	Lake Speed	Chevrolet Oldsmobile Buick Pontiac	34	DNQ	12	9	35	9	23		7	18	24		28	8		16	33	22	27	6	15	7	13	20	27	22	27	34	31	14	16	2,817
19	48	James Hylton	Chevrolet Pontiac Buick	11	34	29	20	25		15	19	17	19	21	18	16	25	19	23	22	16	22	39	27	16	26	18	32		15		26	19	17	2,753
20	75 5	Joe Millikan	Chevrolet Buick Oldsmobile Pontiac	13	9	9	7	15	17	26	10	29	38		DNS	8			31					23	17	18	8	21	5	3	35	19	10	5	2,682
21	47	Ron Bouchard	Buick Pontiac						24	8	27	9	20		27	26			10	9		10	1	29	5	11	25	4	6	5	5	11	39	10	2,594
22	21	Neil Bonnett	Ford	27	33		4	28			29	2	32		13	29		4	9	30		34	37	28		1		1	4		29	35	1	33	2,449
23	24 19 94 40	Cecil Gordon	Oldsmobile Buick Pontiac Chevrolet	36	37	19	23	37	21	31	21	24	15	19	15		18	13	27	25	29	21	17	24	30		23	26		19		15			2,320
24	27	Cale Yarborough	Oldsmobile Buick		8		2	1			26	21	24		10	3			8	1		5	28	17		10		13			31	25	3		2,201
25	3 41	Richard Childress	Chevrolet Pontiac Buick	4	38	13	22	17	16	17	31	22	13	13	17	19	14	18	19	21	17	23	26											39	2,144
26	25 40	Ronnie Thomas	Pontiac Buick Chevrolet		28	21	11	31	18	12	20	31	26		24	22	20	34	25		14	35			18	27	24	20	27	17	32				2,138
27	1	Buddy Baker	Oldsmobile Buick		4		5	40			6		2			33			13	4		7	32	5		5			29		37	16	9		1,904
28	6 2	Joe Ruttman	Buick Pontiac					10					29			7	9			29			22	6	21	15	30	6	17	26	19	5	25	2	1,851
29	37 24	Mike Alexander	Oldsmobile Buick				13	33	12	11	36	10	21	11	21	27			32	7	27	17	35	10	25	20	32						DNQ		1,784
30	9	Bill Elliott	Ford		6			9			4		40			40			35	34			11	8		7					33	8	6		1,442
31	94	Bobby Wawak	Buick Pontiac		DNQ		14	42		30	24	19	10	18		31	26		33				19	31		24					36		DNQ		1,212
32	45 40 99 98 64	D. K. Ulrich	Buick Oldsmobile						19	13	22			23	4		32	27	20		23					31	21	18			14	17	27		1,191
33	98	Johnny Rutherford	Pontiac Buick		10		12	12			28								17	5				13		33	31				27	29	37		1,140
34	68 24	Lennie Pond	Buick		27	11										11				11			24		14	17	27	16	25	23		36			1,100
35	86 99	Elliott Forbes-Robinson	Buick Oldsmobile	8	25		10	39	27				16			10		35		23			12		23										1,020
36	22	Stan Barrett	Pontiac		13		36	16					35			32		11	18	26		14	9												842
37	20	Rick Newsom	Chevrolet			27	32	20	23				33			DNQ	28					26			22					22					768
38	79 25 40 75 19 8	Dick May	Oldsmobile Dodge Buick		DNQ			24				9			25	16			31			15	36		19		25						DNQ		754
39	4	Connie Saylor	Oldsmobile		DNQ								37			12				14			33			40					11		12		664
40	75	Gary Balough	Chevrolet Buick																			12	25	18	DNS	25	10	17	DNS		24	32	34	19	656
41	62	Rick Wilson	Oldsmobile		DNQ		35						25			42			37	42			20								13		11		639
42	02	Mark Martin	Pontiac							27				27							11						7		3						615
43	7 50	Bruce Hill	Buick		39			23	26				28			41				16			30	33									DNQ		596
44	12 77	Donnie Allison	Oldsmobile		12		34	29					5		11	38																			527
45	23 01	Geoffrey Bodine	Pontiac Buick		22						30																		23		7		30		420
46	92 64	Joe Fields	Pontiac Buick			28				25		16			22												15		DNQ			23			418
47	13	Jack Ingram	Ford													34				37			38			32					13				377
48	18	Randy Ogden	Oldsmobile													DNQ	22	15	34		24														367
49	38	Don Waterman	Oldsmobile Buick	10														23																15	351
50	78	Jim Robinson	Chevrolet Oldsmobile	6														10																32	351
51	98 72	Rusty Wallace	Pontiac Buick													30							21								6		29		323
52	17	Tommy Houston	Buick Chevrolet Oldsmobile							20		20	12			DNQ				27	19								12	11					315
53	73	Bill Schmitt	Buick	22														24																14	314
53	93	Don Whittington	Chevrolet Oldsmobile	14	14																													35	300
55	41 13	Dick Brooks	Buick Ford		16						15					36																21	13		294
56	36	H. B. Bailey	Pontiac		DNQ												15									36					16		40		288
57	17	Lowell Cowell	Chevrolet Oldsmobile												28		17					28						22							288
58	45 0	Roy Smith	Oldsmobile Buick	31														8																30	285
59	13	Don Puskarich	Chevrolet Oldsmobile	32														17																21	279
60	17	Glenn Jarrett	Buick Chevrolet		19	25	27																												276
61	51	A. J. Foyt	Oldsmobile		35			7												32															271
62	26	Butch Lindley	Chevrolet						25	24		27																							271
63	55	Tommy Ellis	Chevrolet																								26		30		4		33		224
64	37	Don Sprouse	Oldsmobile	DNQ	20	15																													221
65	53 40	Slick Johnson	Chevrolet Buick				25	34			32															35									216
66	01	Hershel McGriff	Dodge Buick	33														25																38	206
67	99 16	Chuck Bown	Buick													39																28	15		197
68	79	Junior Miller	Oldsmobile												26	DNQ														20					188
69	16 12 01	David Pearson	Chevrolet Oldsmobile Buick		29		30	32			8				25											8									154
70	97	Bob Schacht	Oldsmobile																					32				30					DNQ		140
71	94 60	Bob Riley	Buick Pontiac												30							32						33							131
72	81	John Borneman	Chevrolet	12																															127
73	74	Gary Kershaw	Buick																															12	127
74	16	Jim Bown	Oldsmobile Buick															32																36	122
75	8	Rick O'Dell	Buick															16																	115
76	19	Ronnie Sanders	Buick		19																												DNQ		109
77	0	Delma Cowart	Buick																														18		106
78	17 24	Steve Spencer	Buick Chevrolet					30	20												18														103
79	94 74	Henry Jones	Buick Pontiac		DNQ	20							DNQ																						103
80	03 69	Bob Bondurant	Oldsmobile Pontiac	21																														18	100
81	19	Bill Dennis	Buick													21																			100
82	40 25	Joe Booher	Buick Pontiac																24			20	42	22											97
83	07	Gene Thonesen	Buick																															22	97
84	85	Mark Stahl	Ford																															23	94
85	57 75	Bill Elswick	Oldsmobile Buick		11			13												24															91
86	94 17	Steve Pfeifer	Chevrolet	24														14																	91
87	64	John Gunn	Chevrolet	25																															88
88	23	Charlie Glotzbach	Buick																												26				85
88	08	Rick McCray	Chevrolet	26																															85
90	17	Roger Hamby	Chevrolet														27																		82
91	31	Billie Harvey	Pontiac		41															41			DNQ										DNQ		80
92	17	Mike Potter	Chevrolet Buick								35			15					26				27		26	28									79
93	99 14	Sterling Marlin	Buick Chevrolet																		26										28				79
94	29	Dave Dion	Ford																								28								79
95	51	Scott Miller	Pontiac																															29	76
96	66	Elmo Langley	Oldsmobile												29																				76
97	45 50	Baxter Price	Buick Chevrolet		DNQ	30											34																		73
98	9 1	Jimmy Insolo	Buick	30														36																	73
99	06	Ernie Cline	Pontiac						30																										73
100	63	Jocko Maggiacomo	Oldsmobile																									31							70
101	38	Sandy Satullo II	Buick																				31												70
102	46	Travis Tiller	Chevrolet													DNQ																	32		64
103	35	Pat Mintey	Chevrolet																															34	61
104	2W	Robert Tartaglia	Chevrolet	35																															58
105	99	Kevin Housby	Oldsmobile																	36															55
106	39	Blackie Wangerin	Ford		42											DNQ																			37
Ineligible for NASCAR Cup driver points
Pos.	#	Driver	Make	RSD	DAY	RCH	RCK	ATL	BRI	NWB	DAR	MAR	TAL	NSH	DOV	CLT	COL	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSH	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWB	CLT	RCK	ATL	RSD	Pts
107	38 17 77	John Anderson	Buick Oldsmobile		DNQ																										39	24	16
108	99	Bob McElwee	Buick																										16	8
109	99	Terry Herman	Buick																				14											31
110	77	Dean Combs	Buick																											28		34
111	24	Jimmy Hensley	Buick																										7
112	99	Rick Knoop	Buick																					20
113	40	Rick Baldwin	Oldsmobile														21
114	6	Bob Senneker	Pontiac																												21
115	99	Al Loquasto	Buick																			24
116	25	Charlie Chamblee	Pontiac											26
117	1	Chuck Pittenger	Buick																															28
118	08	Joel Stowe	Pontiac																						29
119	08	Bruce Jacobi	Buick																			30
120	08	Don Satterfield	Chevrolet																		30
121	40	Don Hume	Buick																													33
122	8	Kirk Shelmerdine	Pontiac														33
Pos.	#	Driver	Make	RSD	DAY	RCH	RCK	ATL	BRI	NWB	DAR	MAR	TAL	NSH	DOV	CLT	COL	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSH	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWB	CLT	RCK	ATL	RSD	Pts

Source: [1]

• Earnhardt drove races 1–20 in the No. 2 Rod Osterlund Wrangler Jeans Pontiac Grand Prix but left the team when Osterlund sold it to J. D. Stacy. He finished the season driving for Richard Childress in the No. 3 Wrangler Pontiac Grand Prix.

References

1. https://www.racing-reference.info/yeardet/1981/W

External links

• Racing-Reference.info (links to race results)