1981 Daytona 500

Last updated

1981 Daytona 500
Race details [1]
Race 2 of 31 in the 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
1981 Daytona 500 program cover and logo.jpg
1981 Daytona 500 program cover
Date February 15, 1981 (1981-02-15)
Location Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.02336 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Temperatures of 69.1 °F (20.6 °C); wind speeds of 15.9 miles per hour (25.6 km/h)
Average speed 169.651 miles per hour (273.027 km/h)
Attendance 130,000 [2]
Pole position
Driver Harry Ranier
Most laps led
Driver Bobby Allison Harry Ranier
Laps 117
Winner
No. 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier
David Hobbs
Ned Jarrett
Brock Yates

The 1981 Daytona 500, the 23rd running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. It was held on Sunday, February 15, 1981.

Contents

Race report

Contested over 200 laps and over the course of 2 hours and 56 minutes, the race was won by Richard Petty for his record seventh at the Daytona 500, beating Bobby Allison to the line by 3.5 seconds and bringing about Buick's first win in NASCAR since 1956. Ricky Rudd, Buddy Baker, and Dale Earnhardt rounded out the Top 5. [2] A new generation of smaller cars, with a wheelbase of 110 inches (280 cm), down from the previously used 115 inches (290 cm), made their debut in this race.

David Pearson had the only Chevrolet in the field. He started 9th in his new Monte Carlo after finishing 5th in the Twin 125 [2] before retiring with engine failure. [2] Steve Moore attempted to qualify in a Chevrolet Malibu but his #73 didn't make the race. [2]

Bobby Allison dominated Speedweeks from the beginning, winning the pole position, his 125-mile qualifying race, and was considered the prohibitive favorite for the 500. He was driving a 1981 Pontiac Le Mans, which was the only car in the race with a "fastback" sloped rear window, greatly improving aerodynamics and downforce on the rear spoiler over the "notchback" profiles of the Buick Regals, Pontiac Grand Prixs, Oldsmobile Cutlasses, and Ford Thunderbirds. The Le Mans was on the NASCAR approved-model list, but no other team thought to build one.

Allison led the most laps and was the car to beat. But Allison lost considerable time when he ran out of fuel and had to coast through most of a lap to make his final pit stop. Meanwhile, on Richard Petty's final planned pit stop, Petty's crew chief Dale Inman, who was working his final race with the team before leaving to become Dale Earnhardt's crew chief, opted not to change tires and only took on fuel. Petty then re-entered the track with a considerable lead that Allison rapidly closed, but could not overcome before the finish.

The race was contested in front of 130,000 spectators and featured 49 lead changes. 18 laps were run under the caution flag. It was one of the few Daytona 500s where the final caution flag occurred before the halfway point of the race. [2]

Petty earned $90,575 ($313,266 when adjusted for inflation) for winning, the largest purse of his entire career. Blackie Wangerin finished last after an accident on lap 17. [2]

First Daytona 500 starts for Ronnie Sanders, Tim Richmond, Kyle Petty, and Billie Harvey. [2] Only Daytona 500 starts for Glenn Jarrett and Don Sprouse. [2] Last Daytona 500 starts for Johnny Rutherford, Bill Elswick, Don Whittington, James Hylton, Cecil Gordon, Bruce Hill, and Blackie Wangerin. [2]

Dickie Boswell would make his only Cup Series attempt at this race. [2] [3]

Race results

PosGridNo.DriverTeamManufacturerLapsTime/RetiredLedPoints
1843 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Buick 2002:56:5027180
2128 Bobby Allison Ranier-Lundy Racing Pontiac 200+3.5 seconds117180
3588 Ricky Rudd DiGard Racing Oldsmobile 200Lead lap, under green flag8170
461 Buddy Baker Ellington Racing Oldsmobile 200Lead lap, under green flag10165
572 Dale Earnhardt Rod Osterlund Racing Pontiac 200Lead lap, under green flag4160
6169 Bill Elliott Elliott Racing Ford 199+1 Lap4155
72790 Jody Ridley Donlavey Racing Ford 198+2 Laps0146
82927 Cale Yarborough M. C. Anderson Racing Oldsmobile 197+3 Laps0142
93475 Joe Millikan RahMoc Enterprises Buick 197+3 Laps0138
103598 Johnny Rutherford Benfield Racing Pontiac 195+5 Laps0134
112157 Bill Elswick RahMoc Enterprises Oldsmobile 195+5 Laps0130
123312 Donnie Allison Kennie Childers Racing Oldsmobile 195+5 Laps0127
132222 Stan Barrett Mach 1 Racing Pontiac 195+5 Laps0124
141393 Don Whittington Smith Racing Oldsmobile 194+6 Laps0121
151571 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Oldsmobile 194+6 Laps0118
163841 Dick Brooks Billy Matthews Racing Buick 193+7 Laps1120
172864 Tommy Gale Langley Racing Ford 192+8 Laps0112
181719 Ronnie Sanders Gray Racing Buick 191+9 Laps0109
192317 Glenn Jarrett Hamby Motorsports Buick 186+14 Laps0106
203937 Don Sprouse Rogers Racing Oldsmobile 181+19 Laps0103
212652 Jimmy Means Jimmy Means Racing Pontiac 179+21 Laps0100
221423 Geoff Bodine Bahre Racing Pontiac 178+22 Laps097
233147 Harry Gant Race Hill Farm Team Buick 175+25 Laps094
244170 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing Pontiac 169+31 Laps091
253786 Elliott Forbes-Robinson Howard & Egerton Racing Buick 167Axle088
262067 Buddy Arrington Arrington Racing Dodge 159+41 Laps085
273268 Lennie Pond Testa Racing Buick 155Oil pump082
281925 Ronnie Thomas Ronnie Thomas Pontiac 151Clutch079
29916 David Pearson Halpern Enterprises Chevrolet 144Engine381
304099 Tim Richmond Ulrich Racing Buick 144Transmission073
31415 Benny Parsons Bud Moore Engineering Ford 135Overheating070
321142 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Buick 128Engine067
33321 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 123Clutch2669
342548 James Hylton Hylton Motorsports Pontiac 123Piston061
351051 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Enterprises Oldsmobile 120Valve058
36211 Darrell Waltrip Junior Johnson & Associates Buick 117Engine055
374224 Cecil Gordon Gordon Racing Buick 116+84 Laps052
38183 Richard Childress Richard Childress Racing Pontiac 110Valve049
39247 Bruce Hill Nelson Malloch Buick 54Crash046
401244 Terry Labonte Hagan Racing Buick 47Engine043
413631 Billie Harvey Billie Harvey Pontiac 45Engine040
423039 Blackie Wangerin Wangerin Racing Ford 17Crash037
Source: [4]

Post-race standings

PosDriverPoints [2] Differential
1 Bobby Allison 3650
2 Richard Petty 340-25
3 Dale Earnhardt 325-40
4 Jody Ridley 292-73
5 Ricky Rudd 281-84
6 Joe Millikan 267-98
7 Don Whittington 242-123
8 Elliott Forbes-Robinson 230-135
9 Buddy Arrington 223-142
10 Terry Labonte 218-147

References

  1. "Weather of the 1981 Daytona 500". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Official results of 1981 Daytona 500 on Racing-Reference.info
  3. Driver Dickie Boswell's NASCAR Xfinity Series races
  4. 1981 Daytona 500
Preceded by NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season
1981
Succeeded by