1981 Talladega 500

Last updated
1981 Talladega 500
Race details [1]
Race 20 of 31 in the 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Talladega Superspeedway.png
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Date August 2, 1981 (1981-August-02)
Official name Talladega 500
Location Alabama International Motor Speedway, Talladega, Alabama
Course Permanent racing facility
2.660 mi (4.280 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.8 km)
Weather 84 °F (29 °C); wind speeds of 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h)
Average speed 156.737 miles per hour (252.244 km/h)
Attendance 75,000 [2]
Pole position
Driver
 Mach 1 Racing
Most laps led
Driver Bobby Allison Ranier Racing
Laps 105
Winner
No. 47 Ron Bouchard Race Hill Farm Team
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier
Ned Jarrett

The 1981 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on August 2, 1981, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.

Contents

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a Tri-oval and was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in the 1960s. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 miles (4.28 km), and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators. [3]

Race report

42 drivers would appear at this race; Joe Booher would receive credit for the last-place finish due to an engine issue on the fourth lap. [2] It took more than three hours to resolve the 188 lap race. [2] [4] There were eight caution periods for 36 laps with 39 lead changes. [2] [4] Harry Gant would win the pole position with a speed of 195.897 miles per hour (315.266 km/h). Rick Wilson crashed at least four times in this race before finally finishing his Oldsmobile off on lap 148. [2] [4]

This race marked the end for an iconic sponsorship as the Wood Brothers' #21 Ford hit the track in its famous Purolator colors for the final time, ending a partnership that dated back to 1971. Neil Bonnett qualified well and led early before a mechanical gremlin put the #21 out. [2] [4] Morgan Shepherd and his crew chief Darrell Bryant and a few of his own crew members got into a fight before this race. That led to Shepherd being released and Joe Millikan being hired for the rest of the season. Shepherd would qualify for the race in 15th place. [2] [4] He would drop out of the race on lap 55 due to engine problems and finish 36th. [2] [4]

Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, and Ron Bouchard were nose-to-tail going into the final lap. Coming through the trioval to the finish line, Labonte tried to pass Waltrip on the outside, Waltrip forcing him high, up against the wall. Bouchard, in third place, slipped by on the inside and won by 2 feet or 0.61 metres in a spectacular 3-wide photo finish in front of 75,000 spectators. [2] [4] [5] [6] It would be the only Cup victory of his career. The thrilling win would propel him to that year's NASCAR Rookie of the Year award. Bouchard and Pete Hamilton are the only NASCAR Cup Series winners from Massachusetts to date.

Terry Herman would make his first NASCAR Cup start in this race while Sandy Satullo, II would make his last. [4] Stan Barrett would make the best finish of his career in this race; [2] [4] he would go on to father independent driver Stanton Barrett. Richard Childress would make one of his final driving appearances before becoming a full-time owner of Richard Childress Racing.

The finish of the race was shown on the CBS Evening News that night, due to the technical problems that happened during the race.

Qualifying

GridNo.DriverManufacturerOwner
133Harry GantBuick Hal Needham
228Bobby AllisonBuick Harry Ranier
32Dale EarnhardtPontiac Jim Stacy
444Terry LabonteBuick Bill Hagan
527Cale YarboroughBuick M.C. Anderson
621Neil BonnettFord Wood Brothers
71Buddy BakerBuick Hoss Ellington
86Joe RuttmanBuick Jim Stacy
962Rick WilsonOldsmobile Rick Wilson
1047Ron BouchardBuick Jack Beebe

Finishing order

  1. Ron Bouchard†
  2. Darrell Waltrip
  3. Terry Labonte
  4. Harry Gant
  5. Bobby Allison
  6. Lake Speed
  7. Kyle Petty
  8. Jody Ridley
  9. Stan Barrett
  10. Dave Marcis
  11. Bill Elliott
  12. Elliott Forbes-Robinson
  13. Benny Parsons†
  14. Terry Herman
  15. Dick May†
  16. Jimmy Means
  17. Cecil Gordon†
  18. Tommy Gale†
  19. Bobby Wawak†
  20. Rick Wilson*
  21. Rusty Wallace*
  22. Joe Ruttman*
  23. Ricky Rudd
  24. Lennie Pond*
  25. Gary Balough*
  26. Richard Childress*
  27. Mike Potter*
  28. Cale Yarborough*
  29. Dale Earnhardt*†
  30. Bruce Hill*
  31. Sandy Satullo, II*
  32. Buddy Baker*†
  33. Connie Saylor*†
  34. Tim Richmond*†
  35. Mike Alexander*
  36. Morgan Shepherd*
  37. Neil Bonnett*†
  38. Jack Ingram*
  39. James Hylton*†
  40. Richard Petty*
  41. Buddy Arrington*
  42. Joe Booher*

† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased
* Driver failed to finish race

Standings after the race

PosDriverPoints [2] Differential
1 1rightarrow.png Bobby Allison 30290
2 1rightarrow.png Darrell Waltrip 2935-94
3 1rightarrow.png Harry Gant 2782-247
4 1rightarrow.png Ricky Rudd 2664-365
5 1rightarrow.png Dale Earnhardt 2608-421
6 Increase2.svg Terry Labonte 2573-456
7 1rightarrow.png Jody Ridley 2566-463
8 Decrease2.svg Richard Petty 2562-467
9 1rightarrow.png Benny Parsons 2417-612
10 Increase2.svg Kyle Petty 2272-757

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">YellaWood 500</span> Auto race held at Talladega, United States

The YellaWood 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama, hosting an event in the NASCAR playoffs. The race is one of four NASCAR Cup Series races currently run with tapered spacers, the others being the GEICO 500 in May, the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and the Daytona 500. Through 1996, this race was normally held in early August or late July. In 1997, it was moved to early October due to the uncomfortably hot summer temperatures, and sometimes unpredictable summertime thunderstorms in the Alabama area. In 2009, the race moved again, this time to November 1 as part of a realignment agreement with Atlanta and Fontana.

The 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 42nd season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 19th modern-era Cup Series. It began on Sunday, February 11, and ended on Sunday, November 18. Because of a highly controversial penalty to Mark Martin early in the season, Dale Earnhardt with Richard Childress Racing was crowned the Winston Cup champion for the fourth time, edging out Martin by 26 points.

The 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 41st season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 18th modern-era Cup season. It began February 12 and ended November 19. Rusty Wallace of Blue Max Racing won the championship. This was the first year that every Winston Cup race had flag to flag coverage, with almost all of them being televised live.

The 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 40th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 17th modern-era Cup series. The season began on February 7 at Daytona International Speedway and ended on November 20 at the Atlanta International Speedway. Bill Elliott of Melling Racing won the championship.

The 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 39th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 16th modern-era cup series. The season began on February 8 and ended on November 22. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing won the championship for the third time.

The 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 38th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 15th modern-era Cup series season. The season began on February 16 and ended November 16. Dale Earnhardt of RCR Enterprises won his second championship this year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span> 37th season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 37th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 14th modern-era Cup series season. The season began on Sunday, February 10 and ended on Sunday, November 17. Darrell Waltrip, driving for Junior Johnson, was crowned champion at the end of the season. Bill Elliott, driving for Harry Melling, had won 11 races in 1985, but lost the title by 101 points to three-time race winner Waltrip. This was the first season where all races were televised in some form.

The 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 36th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 13th modern-era Cup series season. It began on Sunday, February 19 and ended on Sunday, November 18. Terry Labonte was crowned champion at the end of the season. This was the final year for Chrysler until Dodge returned in 2001.

The 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 31st season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 8th modern-era Cup series. It began on Sunday, January 14, and ended on Sunday, November 18. Richard Petty won his seventh and final Winston Cup championship, winning by 11 points over Darrell Waltrip. Dale Earnhardt was crowned NASCAR Rookie of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span> 34th season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 34th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 11th modern-era Cup series. The season began on February 14 at the Daytona International Speedway and concluded on November 21 at Riverside International Raceway. Darrell Waltrip took his second straight championship driving for Junior Johnson by 72 points over Bobby Allison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span> 33rd season of NASCAR stock-car racing

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. It was the first year of the Gen 3 car. Because of the energy crisis, manufacturers were downsizing their cars to be more fuel-efficient, which NASCAR reflected by mandating a 110-inch wheelbase that still exists today. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 Talladega 500</span> Auto race held at Alabama International Motor Speedway in 1980

The 1980 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on August 3, 1980, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 Winston Western 500 (November)</span> Auto race held at Riverside International Raceway in 1981

The 1981 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that was held on November 22, 1981, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. NASCAR ran three Cup Series races at Riverside in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1982 Winston 500</span> Auto race held at Talladega Superspeedway in 1982

The 1982 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place May 2, 1982, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 Coca-Cola 500</span> Auto race held at Pocono International Raceway in 1980

The 1980 Coca-Cola 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on July 27, 1980, at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 Winston 500</span> Auto race held at Alabama International Motor Speedway in 1986

The 1986 Winston 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on May 4, 1986, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1985 Winston Western 500</span> Auto race held at Riverside International Raceway in 1985

The 1985 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on November 17, 1985, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1983 Talladega 500</span> Motor car race

The 1983 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event on July 31, 1983, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1979 Talladega 500</span> Auto race held at Alabama International Motor Speedway in 1979

The 1979 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on August 5, 1979, at Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 Talladega 500</span> Auto race held at Talladega Superspeedway in 1984

The 1984 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held at Talladega Superspeedway on July 29, 1984.

References

  1. ↑ Weather information for the 1981 Talladega 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1981 Talladega 500 at Racing Reference
  3. ↑ "Track Facts". talladegasuperspeedway.com. Talladega Superspeedway. November 1, 2012. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1981 Talladega 500 racing information at Race Database
  5. ↑ 1981 Talladega 500 Archived 2010-04-16 at the Wayback Machine results at Talladega Superspeedway
  6. ↑ 1981 Talladega 500 Finish at YouTube
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1981		Succeeded by
Preceded by Talladega 500 races
1981		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.