| 1981 American 500 NASCAR Cup Series Race 29 of 31 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race Information | Track Information | ||||
| Total Purse: | $164,610 | Race Date: | Nov 1, 1981 | Rockingham Speedway | |
| Margin of Victory: | 49 Car Lengths | Race Duration: | 4h 39m 32s | Rockingham, North Carolina | |
| Lead Changes: | 33 | Average Speed: | 107.399 MPH | 1.017 Mile Paved | |
| No. of Cars: | 37 | No. of Cautions: | 12 For 97 Laps | rockingham-speedway.com/ | |
| Winner, Pole and Manufacturer Information | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner Information | Pole Information | Manufacturer Points | ||||||
| Driver: | Darrell Waltrip D. Waltrip | Driver: | Darrell Waltrip D. Waltrip | Buick: | 9 | |||
| Car No.: | #11 Buick | Car No.: | #11 Buick | Pontiac: | 0 | |||
| Team: | Junior Johnson and Associates | Team: | Junior Johnson and Associates | Ford: | 0 | |||
| Crew Chief: | Tim Brewer | Crew Chief: | Tim Brewer | Chevrolet: | 0 | |||
| Laps Led: | 163 of 492 | Pole Speed: | 138.164 MPH | |||||
| Official 1981 American 500 Results |
|---|
| Finish | Start | Num | Driver | Sponsor | Status | Mfg | Points | Laps | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 11 | Darrell Waltrip | Mountain Dew | Running |  | 185 | 492 | 163 |
| 2 | 14 | 28 | Bobby Allison | Hardee's | Running | | 175 | 492 | 31 |
| 3 | 2 | 33 | Harry Gant | Skoal Bandit | Running |  | 170 | 492 | 125 |
| 4 | 12 | 43 | Richard Petty | STP | Running | | 165 | 492 | 92 |
| 5 | 16 | 2 | Joe Ruttman (R) | J.D. Stacy | Running | | 160 | 492 | 3 |
| 6 | 24 | 15 | Benny Parsons | Melling Tool Company | Running |  | 150 | 491 | 0 |
| 7 | 10 | 44 | Terry Labonte | J.D. Stacy Racing | Running | | 146 | 490 | 0 |
| 8 | 22 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Mell-Gear Tuning Components | Running | | 147 | 490 | 17 |
| 9 | 5 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Wrangler Jeans | Running | | 143 | 489 | 16 |
| 10 | 19 | 90 | Jody Ridley | Truxmore Industries / Sunny Ki | Running | | 134 | 487 | 0 |
| 11 | 37 | 47 | Ron Bouchard (R) | J.D. Stacy | Running | | 130 | 485 | 0 |
| 12 | 26 | 71 | Dave Marcis | J.D. Stacy Racing | Running |  | 132 | 483 | 2 |
| 13 | 27 | 64 | Tommy Gale | Sunny King Ford | Running | | 124 | 475 | 0 |
| 14 | 31 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Petty's Boot Barn | Running |  | 121 | 470 | 0 |
| 15 | 34 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Washington Freightliner | Running | | 118 | 457 | 0 |
| 16 | 4 | 1 | Buddy Baker | Uno | Rear Gear | | 120 | 445 | 2 |
| 17 | 32 | 99 | D.K. Ulrich | Ulrich Racing | Engine | | 112 | 435 | 0 |
| 18 | 3 | 88 | Ricky Rudd | Gatorade | Running | | 114 | 434 | 16 |
| 19 | 17 | 5 | Joe Millikan | Performance Connection | Running | | 106 | 425 | 0 |
| 20 | 36 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Broadway Motors | Running | | 103 | 404 | 0 |
| 21 | 23 | 13 | Dick Brooks | Carolina Tool & Equipment | Valves | | 0 | 379 | 0 |
| 22 | 13 | 37 | Tim Richmond (R) | Roger's Auto Leasing | Accident | | 97 | 334 | 0 |
| 23 | 35 | 92 | Joe Fields | Richmond Printing | Accident | | 0 | 262 | 0 |
| 24 | 29 | 17 | John Anderson | Kings Inn Daytona | Track Bar | | 0 | 226 | 0 |
| 25 | 8 | 27 | Cale Yarborough | Valvoline | Accident | | 88 | 214 | 0 |
| 26 | 25 | 48 | James Hylton | Palatine Automotive | Push Rod | | 85 | 214 | 0 |
| 27 | 15 | 96 | Morgan Shepherd (R) | Levi Garrett | Accident | | 87 | 205 | 25 |
| 28 | 28 | 16 | Chuck Bown | Rose Auto Wrecking | Engine | | 79 | 193 | 0 |
| 29 | 11 | 98 | Johnny Rutherford (R) | Levi Garrett | Accident | | 76 | 172 | 0 |
| 30 | 30 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Bailey Excavating | Engine | | 73 | 165 | 0 |
| 31 | 18 | 66 | Lake Speed | Lake Speed Racing | Engine |  | 70 | 162 | 0 |
| 32 | 21 | 75 | Gary Balough (R) | A. Ferraiuolo & Sons | Accident | | 67 | 117 | 0 |
| 33 | 33 | 40 | Don Hume | Newton Oil & Gas | Accident | | 0 | 101 | 0 |
| 34 | 7 | 77 | Dean Combs | Captains Table | Accident | | 0 | 89 | 0 |
| 35 | 9 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Hodgdon / National Engineering | Accident | | 58 | 55 | 0 |
| 36 | 20 | 68 | Lennie Pond | J.D. Stacy Racing | Accident | | 55 | 54 | 0 |
| 37 | 6 | 42 | Kyle Petty | STP | Engine | | 52 | 19 | 0 |
