1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series (Jayverse)

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 Winston Western 500 on February 18, 1981 and ended with the Los Angeles Times 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway on November 22, 1981. Jody Ridley enters the season as the Defending Champion

Teams and Drivers for 1981
Arrington Racing - Dodge


 * 1) 67 Buddy Arrington - Landmark Dodge

Benfield Racing - Pontiac


 * 1) 98 Johnny Rutherford - Levi Garrett

Bud Moore Engineering - Ford


 * 1) 15 Benny Parsons - Melling

Cliff Stewart Racing - Pontiac


 * 1) 5 Joe Millikan - Performance Connection

DiGard Motorsports - Chevrolet


 * 1) 88 Ricky Rudd - Gatorade

Donlavey Racing - Ford


 * 1) 90 Jody Ridley - Truxmore/Sunny King

Ellington Racing - Chevrolet


 * 1) 1 Bobby Allison - UNO

Gordon Racing - Buick


 * 1) 24 Cecil Gordon - Washington Freightliner

Hagan Racing - Buick


 * 1) 44 Terry Labonte - JD Stacy/Stratagraph

Howard & Egerton Racing - Buick


 * 1) 86 Elliott Forbes-Racing - Howard & Egerton

Hylton Racing - Pontiac


 * 1) 48 James Hylton - Palatine Auto Parts

Junior Johnson & Assoociates - Buick


 * 1) 11 Darrell Waltrip - Mountain Dew

Langley Racing - Ford


 * 1) 64 Tommy Gale - Sunny King Ford

Lennie Pond Racing - Buick


 * 1) 68 Lennie Pond - Bekaert

Mach 1 Racing - Pontiac


 * 1) 22 Stan Barrett - Skoal Bandit


 * 1) 33 Harry Gant - Skoal

MC Anderson Racing - Buick


 * 1) 27 Cale Yarborough - Valvoline

McDuffie Racing - Pontiac


 * 1) 70 JD McDuffie - Bailey Excavating

Means Racing - Pontiac


 * 1) 52 Jimmy Means - Broadway Motor Company

Osterlund Racing - Pontiac


 * 1) 2 Dale Earnhardt - Wrangler Jeans

Petty Enterprises - Buick


 * 1) 42 Kyle Petty - STP


 * 1) 43 Richard Petty - STP

Race Hill Farm Team - Buick


 * 1) 47 Ron Bouchard - Race Hill Farms/JD Stacy

RahMoc Enterprises - Buick


 * 1) 75 Gary Balough - Rahmoc Enterprises

Ranier-Lundy Racing - Buick


 * 1) 28 Buddy Baker - Hardee's/Tuflon

Richard Childress Racing - Chevrolet


 * 1) 3 Richard Childress - Ronnie Steele

Rogers Racing - Buick


 * 1) 37 Mike Alexander/Tim Richmond - Rogers Auto Leasing

Ronnie Thomas Racing - Pontiac


 * 1) 25 Ronnie Thomas - Falls Radiator

Ulrich Racing - Buick


 * 1) 99 DK Ulrich - Price Racing

Bobby Wawak Racing


 * 1) 94 Bobby Wawak - Louise Smith Special

Wood Brothers - Ford


 * 1) 21 Neil Bonnett - Purolator/Hodgdon

Season Schedule & Race Winners
January 11, 1981: The California Clash (Riverside International Raceway - Riverside, CA) - UBC

Pole: Buddy Baker (Determined by a Random Draw), Winner: Terry Labonte

January 18, 1981: Winston Western 500 (Riverside International Raceway - Riverside, CA) - UBC

Pole: Ron Bouchard, Race Winner: Darrell Waltrip

February 15, 1981: Daytona 500 (Daytona International Speedway - Daytona, FL) - UBC

Pole: Lake Speed, Race Winner: Richard Petty

February 22, 1981: Richmond 400 (Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway - Richmond, VA) - UBC

Pole: Cale Yarborough, Race Winner: Dale Earnhardt

March 1, 1981: Carolina 500 (North Carolina Motor Speedway - Rockingham, NC) - ESPN

Pole: Ricky Rudd, Race Winner: Dave Marcis

March 15, 1981: Atlanta 500 (Atlanta International Raceway - Hampton, GA) - ABC

Pole: Cale Yarborough, Race Winner: Buddy Baker

March 29, 1981: Valleydale 500 (Bristol International Raceway - Bristol, TN) - UBC

Pole: Jody Ridley, Race Winner: Jody Ridley

April 5, 1981: Northwestern Bank 400 (North Wilkesboro Speedway - North Wilkesboro, NC) - NO TV

Pole: Jody Ridley, Race Winner: Terry Labonte

April 12, 1981: CRC Rebel 500 (Darlington International Raceway - Darlington, SC) - ABC

Pole: Darrell Waltrip, Race Winner: Jody Ridley

April 26, 1981: Virginia 500 (Martinsville Speedway - Ridgeway, VA) - ESPN

Pole: Darrell Waltrip, Race Winner: Richard Childress

May 3, 1981: Alabama 500 (Alabama International Motor Speedway - Talladega, AL) - ESPN

Pole: Bill Elliott, Race Winner: Elliott Forbes-Robinson

May 9, 1981: Melling Tool 420 (Nashville Speedway - Nashville, TN) - NO TV

Pole: Darrell Waltrip, Race Winner: Cale Yarborough

May 17, 1981: The Charlotte All-Star Clash (Charlotte Motor Speedway - Concord, NC) - UBC

Pole: Darrell Waltrip (Determined by a Blind Draw), Race Winner: Darrell Waltrip

May 24, 1981: World 600 (Charlotte Motor Speedway - Concord, NC) - UBC

Pole: Jody Ridley, Race Winner: Harry Gant

May 31, 1981: Mason-Dixon 500 (Dover Downs International Speedway - Dover, DE) - ESPN

Pole: Darrell Waltrip, Race Winner: Benny Parsons

June 7, 1981: NASCAR Texas 400 (Texas World Speedway - College Station, TX) - UBC

Pole: Darrell Waltrip, Race Winner: Richard Petty

June 14, 1981: Gabriel 400 (Michigan International Speedway - Brooklyn, MI) - NO TV

Pole: Cale Yarborough, Race Winner: Cale Yarborough

June 21, 1981: Warner W. Hodgdon 400 (Riverside International Raceway - Riverside, CA) - UBC

Pole: Darrell Waltrip, Race Winner: Jody Ridley

June 28, 1981: Sonoma 300 (Golden State International Raceway - Sonoma, CA) - UBC

Pole: Richard Petty, Race Winner: Richard Petty

July 4, 1981: Firecracker 400 (Daytona International Speedway - Daytona, FL) - ABC

Pole: Buddy Baker, Race Winner: Dale Earnhardt

July 11, 1981: Busch Nashville 420 (Nashville Speedway - Nashville, TN) - UBC

Pole: Buddy Arrington, Race Winner: Jody Ridley

July 26, 1981: Mountain Dew 500 (Pocono Raceway - Long Pond, PA) - NBC

Pole: Kyle Petty, Race Winner: Cale Yarborough

August 2, 1981: Talladega 500 (Alabama International Motor Speedway - Talladega, AL) - UBC

Pole: Jody Ridley, Race Winner: Dale Earnhardt

August 16, 1981: Champion Spark Plug 400 (Michigan International Speedway - Brooklyn, MI) - NO TV

Pole: Terry Labonte, Race Winner: Darrell Waltrip

August 22, 1981: Busch 500 (Bristol International Raceway - Bristol, TN) - UBC

Pole: Dale Earnhardt, Race Winner: Darrell Waltrip

Final 8: Dale Earnhardt, Jody Ridley, Richard Petty, Dave Marcis, Cale Yarborough, Buddy Arrington, Benny Parsons & Harry Gant

September 7, 1981: Southern 500 (Darlington International Raceway - Darlington, SC) - UBC

Pole: Dale Earnhardt, Race Winner: Richard Petty

September 13, 1981: Wrangler Sanfor-Set 400 (Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway - RIchmond, VA) - NO TV

Pole: Darrell Waltrip, Race Winner: Cale Yarborough

September 20, 1981: CRC Chemicals 500 (Dover Downs International Speedway - Dover, DE) - ESPN

Pole: Darrell Waltrip, Race Winner: Darrell Waltrip

September 27, 1981: Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville Speedway - Ridgeway, VA) - NO TV

Pole: Neil Bonnett, Race Winner: Darrell Waltrip

October 4, 1981: Holly Farms 400 (North Wilkesboro Speedway - North Wilkesboro, NC) - NO TV

Pole: Darrell Waltrip, Race Winner: Jody Ridley

October 11, 1981: National 500 (Charlotte Motor Speedway - Concord, NC) - NBC

Pole: Dale Earnhardt, Race Winner: Jody Ridley

October 18, 1981: American 500 (North Carolina Motor Speedway - Rockingham, NC) - UBC

Pole: Dale Earnhardt, Race Winner: Dale Earnhardt

November 1, 1981: Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta International Raceway - Hampton, GA) - UBC

Pole: Richard Petty, Race Winner: Harry Gant

November 8, 1981: Arizona 500 (Phoenix International Raceway - Avondale, AZ) - UBC

Pole: Bobby Allison, Race Winner: Dale Earnhardt

The Final 4: Jody Ridley, Benny Parsons, Harry Gant & Cale Yarborough

November 15, 1981: Los Angeles Times 500 (Ontario Motor Speedway - Ontario, CA) - UBC

Pole: Ricky Rudd, Race Winner: Cale Yarborough

Final Standings

 * 1) Cale Yarborough - 4917 (+1 for winning the race despite of being on the Final for being tied)
 * 2) Jody Ridley - 4916
 * 3) Harry Gant - 4891
 * 4) Benny Parsons - 4865
 * 5) Dale Earnhardt - 4744
 * 6) Richard Petty - 4513
 * 7) Dave Marcis - 4494
 * 8) Buddy Arrington - 4334
 * 9) Darrell Waltrip - 4098
 * 10) Terry Labonte - 3821
 * 11) Richard Childress - 3745
 * 12) Bobby Allison - 3700
 * 13) James Hylton - 3656
 * 14) Kyle Petty - 3581
 * 15) Ron Bouchard - 3548
 * 16) Morgan Shepherd - 3527
 * 17) Lake Speed - 3479
 * 18) Ricky Rudd - 3460
 * 19) Buddy Baker - 3424
 * 20) Tim Richmond - 3371
 * 21) Bill Elliott - 3359
 * 22) Geoff Bodine - 3348
 * 23) Neil Bonnett - 3317
 * 24) Jimmy Means - 3183
 * 25) Tommy Gale - 3127
 * 26) Joe Millikan - 3033
 * 27) JD McDuffie - 3014
 * 28) DK Ulrich - 2961
 * 29) Ronnie Thomas - 2906
 * 30) Joe Ruttman - 2800
 * 31) Cecil Gordon - 2789
 * 32) Mark Martin - 2743
 * 33) Lennie Pond - 2608
 * 34) Gary Balough - 2427
 * 35) Dick May - 2714
 * 36) Donnie Allisin - 2726
 * 37) Dick Brooks - 2023
 * 38) Bobby Wawak - 1928
 * 39) Elliott Forbes-Robinson - 1775
 * 40) Mike Alexander - 1395