| 1981 Southern 500 NASCAR Cup Series Race 23 of 31 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race Information | Track Information | ||||
| Total Purse: | $251,575 | Race Date: | Sep 6, 1981 | Darlington Raceway | |
| Margin of Victory: | 36 Car Length | Race Duration: | 3h 57m 57s | Darlington, South Carolina | |
| Lead Changes: | 23 | Average Speed: | 126.410 MPH | 1.366 Mile Oval | |
| No. of Cars: | 40 | No. of Cautions: | 8 For 45 Laps | darlingtonraceway.com | |
| Winner, Pole and Manufacturer Information | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner Information | Pole Information | Manufacturer Points | ||||||
| Driver: | Neil Bonnett N. Bonnett | Driver: | Harry Gant H. Gant | Ford: | 9 | |||
| Car No.: | #21 Ford | Car No.: | #33 Pontiac | Buick: | 0 | |||
| Team: | Wood Brothers Racing | Team: | Mach 1 Racing | Pontiac: | 0 | |||
| Crew Chief: | Leonard Wood | Crew Chief: | Chevrolet: | 0 | ||||
| Laps Led: | 216 of 367 | Pole Speed: | 152.693 MPH | |||||
| Official 1981 Southern 500 Results |
|---|
| Finish | Start | Num | Driver | Sponsor | Status | Mfg | Points | Laps | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Warner W. Hodgdon | Running |  | 185 | 367 | 216 |
| 2 | 11 | 11 | Darrell Waltrip | Mountain Dew | Running |  | 175 | 367 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 | 71 | Dave Marcis | U.S. Army | Running | | 170 | 367 | 9 |
| 4 | 6 | 44 | Terry Labonte | J.D. Stacy Racing | Running | | 165 | 367 | 3 |
| 5 | 9 | 1 | Buddy Baker | Uno | Running | | 160 | 367 | 3 |
| 6 | 10 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Wrangler Jeans | Running |  | 150 | 366 | 0 |
| 7 | 14 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Mell-Gear Tuning Components | Running | | 146 | 366 | 0 |
| 8 | 13 | 1 | David Pearson | Ronnie Steele | Running | | 142 | 365 | 0 |
| 9 | 17 | 28 | Bobby Allison | Hardee's | Running |  | 143 | 365 | 1 |
| 10 | 2 | 27 | Cale Yarborough | Valvoline | Running | | 139 | 363 | 24 |
| 11 | 5 | 47 | Ron Bouchard (R) | J.D. Stacy | Running | | 130 | 363 | 0 |
| 12 | 23 | 90 | Jody Ridley | Truxmore Industries / Sunny Ki | Running | | 127 | 362 | 0 |
| 13 | 22 | 66 | Lake Speed | Lake Speed Racing | Running | | 124 | 362 | 0 |
| 14 | 1 | 33 | Harry Gant | Skoal Bandit | Running | | 126 | 360 | 78 |
| 15 | 16 | 2 | Joe Ruttman (R) | Neo-Life | Running | | 118 | 358 | 0 |
| 16 | 12 | 24 | Morgan Shepherd (R) | Gordon Racing | Running | | 115 | 358 | 0 |
| 17 | 21 | 68 | Lennie Pond | The 5 Racers Corporation | Running | | 112 | 356 | 0 |
| 18 | 19 | 5 | Joe Millikan | Performance Connection | Running | | 109 | 353 | 0 |
| 19 | 33 | 8 | Dick May | Dick Brooks Honda | Running |  | 106 | 353 | 0 |
| 20 | 29 | 37 | Mike Alexander (R) | Rogers Auto Leasing | Running |  | 103 | 352 | 0 |
| 21 | 34 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Bailey Excavating | Running | | 100 | 351 | 0 |
| 22 | 27 | 12 | Tim Richmond (R) | Uno | Running | | 97 | 349 | 0 |
| 23 | 7 | 88 | Ricky Rudd | Gatorade | Accident | | 94 | 343 | 0 |
| 24 | 40 | 94 | Bobby Wawak | Louise Smith Special | Running | | 91 | 334 | 0 |
| 25 | 20 | 75 | Gary Balough (R) | Chaparral Trailers | Engine | | 88 | 333 | 0 |
| 26 | 38 | 48 | James Hylton | Palatine Automotive | Running | | 85 | 331 | 0 |
| 27 | 37 | 25 | Ronnie Thomas | Thomas Racing | Running | | 82 | 311 | 0 |
| 28 | 36 | 17 | Mike Potter | Kings Inn Daytona | Running | | 79 | 309 | 0 |
| 29 | 30 | 64 | Tommy Gale | Sunny King Ford | Running | | 76 | 294 | 0 |
| 30 | 8 | 43 | Richard Petty | STP | Engine | | 78 | 278 | 31 |
| 31 | 26 | 99 | D.K. Ulrich | Ulrich Racing | Engine | | 70 | 269 | 0 |
| 32 | 32 | 13 | Jack Ingram | Carolina Tool & Equipment | Engine | | 67 | 253 | 0 |
| 33 | 25 | 98 | Johnny Rutherford (R) | Levi Garrett | Water Pump | | 0 | 190 | 0 |
| 34 | 18 | 42 | Kyle Petty | STP | Engine | | 61 | 130 | 0 |
| 35 | 24 | 40 | Slick Johnson | Ulrich Racing | Engine | | 0 | 110 | 0 |
| 36 | 39 | 36 | H.B. Bailey | Almeda Auto Parts | Accident | | 55 | 93 | 0 |
| 37 | 28 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Hill's Racing | Wheel Stud | | 52 | 85 | 0 |
| 38 | 35 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Broadway Motors | Engine | | 49 | 64 | 0 |
| 39 | 15 | 15 | Benny Parsons | Melling Tool Company | Valves | | 46 | 62 | 0 |
| 40 | 31 | 4 | Connie Saylor (R) | Spencer Racing | Engine | | 43 | 6 | 0 |
