1981 NASCAR Cup Series Season

The 1981 NASCAR Cup Series season featured 31 races across 16 tracks, with 9 different drivers reaching victory lane. Darrell Waltrip captured the championship driving a Buick.

Total Races

Different Winners

Darrell Waltrip

Champion

Tracks Visited

Manufacturer wins: Buick: 22, Ford: 7, Chevrolet: 1, Pontiac: 1

Race-by-Race Results

#	Race	Track	Winner	Mfr	Entries
1	Winston Western 500	Riverside International Raceway	Bobby Allison	Chevrolet	36
2	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway	Richard Petty	Buick	42
3	Richmond 400	Richmond Raceway	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	30
4	Carolina 500	Rockingham Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	37
5	Coca-Cola 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Cale Yarborough	Buick	42
6	Valleydale 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	31
7	Northwestern Bank 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway	Richard Petty	Buick	31
8	CRC Chemical Rebel 500	Darlington Raceway	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	36
9	Virginia 500	Martinsville Speedway	Morgan Shepherd	Pontiac	31
10	Winston 500	Talladega Superspeedway	Bobby Allison	Buick	40
11	Melling Tool 420	Nashville Speedway	Benny Parsons	Ford	27
12	Mason-Dixon 500	Dover International Speedway	Jody Ridley	Ford	32
13	World 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Bobby Allison	Buick	42
14	Budweiser NASCAR 400	Texas World Speedway	Benny Parsons	Ford	34
15	Warner W. Hodgdon 400	Riverside International Raceway	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	36
16	Gabriel 400	Michigan International Speedway	Bobby Allison	Buick	37
17	Firecracker 400	Daytona International Speedway	Cale Yarborough	Buick	42
18	Busch Nashville 420	Nashville Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	30
19	Mountain Dew 500	Pocono Raceway	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	35
20	Talladega 500	Talladega Superspeedway	Ron Bouchard	Buick	42
21	Champion Spark Plug 400	Michigan International Speedway	Richard Petty	Buick	36
22	Busch 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	30
23	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	Neil Bonnett	Ford	40
24	Wrangler Sanforset 400	Richmond Raceway	Benny Parsons	Ford	32
25	CRC Chemicals 500	Dover International Speedway	Neil Bonnett	Ford	34
26	Old Dominion 500	Martinsville Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	30
27	Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	30
28	National 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	41
29	American 500	Rockingham Speedway	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	37
30	Atlanta Journal 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Neil Bonnett	Ford	40
31	Winston Western 500	Riverside International Raceway	Bobby Allison	Buick	40

Season Standings (Top 30)

Rank	Driver	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Races	Avg Finish
1	Darrell Waltrip ★	12	21	25	31	7.2
2	Bobby Allison	5	21	26	31	6.8
3	Richard Petty	3	12	16	31	15.4
4	Benny Parsons	3	10	12	31	19.0
5	Neil Bonnett	3	7	8	22	20.1
6	Cale Yarborough	2	6	10	18	13.1
7	Ron Bouchard	1	5	12	22	14.6
8	Jody Ridley	1	3	18	31	12.5
9	Morgan Shepherd	1	3	10	29	17.9
10	Ricky Rudd	0	14	17	31	13.7
11	Harry Gant	0	13	18	31	11.9
12	Dale Earnhardt	0	9	17	31	13.5
13	Terry Labonte	0	8	17	31	12.7
14	Buddy Baker	0	6	9	16	15.4
15	Dave Marcis	0	4	9	31	17.9
16	Joe Millikan	0	3	10	23	16.3
17	Joe Ruttman	0	2	7	17	16.4
18	Mark Martin	0	1	2	5	15.0
19	Bill Elliott	0	1	7	13	18.5
20	Kyle Petty	0	1	10	31	19.1
21	Richard Childress	0	1	1	21	20.0
22	D.K. Ulrich	0	1	1	15	20.7
23	Johnny Rutherford	0	1	2	12	21.2
24	Donnie Allison	0	1	1	6	21.5
25	Tommy Ellis	0	1	1	4	23.3
26	Jimmy Hensley	0	0	1	1	7.0
27	John Borneman	0	0	0	1	12.0
28	Bob McElwee	0	0	1	2	12.0
29	Gary Kershaw	0	0	0	1	12.0
30	Jim Robinson	0	0	2	3	16.0