The ''1981

Winston Western 500 The Winston Western 500 was an annual NASCAR Winston Cup race held at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California, United States, in January, and then in later years, November. From 1963 to 1981, the race was held in January and was ...

'' was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and fro ...

race that was held on November 22, 1981, at

Riverside International Raceway Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as Riverside, RIR, or Riverside Raceway) was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Riversid ...

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

. NASCAR ran three Cup Series races at Riverside in 1981. Richard Childress decided to run a second Junior Johnson car if Darrell Waltrip were to have trouble or if he needed a car to win the championship. However, this was not needed because

Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports Color analyst, analyst, author as well as a former national television broadcaster and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NAS ...

would clinch his first

Winston Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

series championship at this race over

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant ...

. He would become the first champion not from the Carolinas since Virginia's

Joe Weatherly Joseph Herbert Weatherly (May 29, 1922 – January 19, 1964) was an American stock car racing driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Grand National Series championships i ...

in 1963. Dave Marcis finished the 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season at Riverside in a Pontiac, after racing in a Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Dodge, and Chrysler throughout the year.

Race report

This race at Riverside during the

1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series 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 do ...

season was used to make up for the loss of the season-ending race at

Ontario Motor Speedway Ontario Motor Speedway was a motorsport venue located in Ontario, California. It was the first and only automobile racing facility built to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant racing sanctioning bodies: United States Au ...

. In previous years Riverside had the opening date in January and a race in June. Then they changed it leaving the June Riverside race and putting the second race as the finale from 1982 to 1986 before Atlanta got the finale until 2000. Riverside kept its two races until its last race in June 1988 and the dates went to Sonoma and Phoenix. Then they added a second Pocono race in 1982 but then lost

Texas World Speedway Texas World Speedway (TWS) was a motorsport venue located in College Station, Texas. The track was one of only eight superspeedways of or greater in the United States used for racing, the others being Indianapolis, Daytona, Pocono, Talladega ...

. It would be the last time a circuit would have three Cup Series races in a single season until

Darlington Raceway Darlington Raceway is a egg-shaped oval track in Darlington, South Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1950; primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The venue has a capacity of 47,00 ...

earned three dates in the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. It took three hours and sixteen seconds for

to defeat

Joe Ruttman Raymond Joseph Ruttman (born October 28, 1944) is an American former stock car racing driver who competed in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series. With 13 career wins in the Truck Series he is currently t ...

by 0.24 seconds in front of 46000 spectators driving Harry Ranier’s No. 28

Hardee's Hardee's Restaurants LLC is an American Fast food restaurant, fast-food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurants, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. ("CKE") with locations primarily in the Southern and Midwestern United States. The company has ...

Buick. There was a battle between Allison and Ruttman for the last 20 laps. Bobby passed Joe with nine laps to go and Ruttman got back alongside Allison several times but was never able to complete the pass. Ruttman got his first of three 2nd-place finishes. Bobby Allison would get his sixth and final NASCAR road course win. All of his victories on the twisty circuits came here at Riverside during a 10-year period from 1971 to 1981. He had 25 top-10s here in 43 starts overall.

Richard Childress Richard Reed Childress (born September 21, 1945) is an American former race car driver in NASCAR. Childress is the owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR). In 2004, he opened a vineyard in the Yadkin Valley AVA near Lexington, North Carolina, Le ...

would make his final racing appearance here before devoting his career to running

Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard C ...

. Former

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

racer

Bob Bondurant Robert Lewis Bondurant (April 27, 1933 – November 12, 2021) was an American racecar driver who raced for the Shelby American, Ferrari, and Eagle teams. Bondurant was one of the most famous drivers to emerge from the Southern California road ...

would retire from the NASCAR Cup Series after this race with his best career finish of 18th place. Seven cautions slowed the race for 33 laps on this road course that spanned per lap; for a grand total of .

qualified for the pole position with a speed of while the average race speed was . This would be the first time in 14 races that Waltrip failed to finish in the top three. Out of the entire 40-driver grid, 38 drivers were American while Roy Smith and Gary Kershaw were

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Ricky Rudd Richard Lee Rudd (born September 12, 1956), nicknamed "the Rooster", is an American former racing driver and racing team owner. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Jason Rudd. He retired in 2007 with 23 ...

would finish last with an

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

problem on the second lap in his Buick; earning $6,150 in prize winnings ($ when inflation is taken into effect).

J.D. McDuffie John Delphus McDuffie Jr. (December 5, 1938 – August 11, 1991) was an American racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1963 to 1991, collecting 106 top-10 finishes during his career, despite never finishing on the lead ...

would finish in 11th place; a rarity for a driver with the most last-place finishes in NASCAR history.

Joe Millikan Joseph "Joe" Milikan (born April 30, 1950 in Randleman, North Carolina) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup race car driver who competed from the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season to the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Career T ...

would make his final "top five" finish in this race. Notable crew chiefs for the race included Junie Donlavey, Joey Arrington, Elmo Langley,

Jake Elder J. C. "Jake" Elder (November 22, 1936 – February 24, 2010) was a NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief. He was the championship crew chief for two years and for part of a third season. Elder had these successes despite never pas ...

Travis Carter Travis Carter (November 21, 1949 – June 10, 2025) was a car owner and crew chief in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He served as crew chief for two decades, winning a championship with Benny Parsons Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 � ...

Waddell Wilson Waddell Wilson (born December 29, 1936) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup Series crew chief and engine builder. He was the winning crew chief for the Daytona 500 in 1980, 1983, and 1984. He was crew chief or engine builder for Holman-Moody, ...

, Bud Moore,

Tim Brewer Timothy Ivan "Tim" Brewer (born February 4, 1955) is an American former stock car racing crew chief and television analyst for ''NASCAR on ESPN''. He was part of '' NASCAR Countdown'', the pre-race show, with host Brent Musburger and fellow analy ...

Kirk Shelmerdine Edward Kirk Shelmerdine V (born March 8, 1958) is an American former stock car racing driver and former championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt. Crew chief After spending his early NASCAR career as an engineer for Hylton Engineering, ...

, and

Dale Inman Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/ Winston Cup Series crew chief. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three decades. They won 188 races and seven championsh ...

Qualifying

Failed to qualify:

Ferrel Harris Ferrel Harris (October 8, 1940 – May 7, 2000) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1975 to 1982. Career Harris acquired no wins, no finishes in the top-five, and five finishes in the top ten. Out of the 8975 laps th ...

(#64), Don Stanley (#61)Qualifying information for the ''1981 Winston Western 500''
at Racing Reference

Finishing order

Section reference: # Bobby Allison (No. 28) # Joe Ruttman (No. 2) #

Terry Labonte Terrance Lee Labonte (born November 16, 1956), nicknamed "Texas Terry" or "the Iceman", is an American former stock car racing, stock car driver. He raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series (now called the NAS ...

(No. 44) #

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional Stock car racing, stock car driver and racing team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Serie ...

(No. 3) #

(No. 5) #

(No. 11) #

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "the King", is an American former stock car racing driver who competed from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most nota ...

(No. 43) #

Harry Gant Harold Phil Gant"Harry P. Gant"
(born January 10, 1940) is an American former

Jody Ridley Murphy Jody Ridley (born May 19, 1942) is a former NASCAR driver. He won the 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award and one race at Dover International Speedway the next year, the only Cup victory for Donlavey Racing. His career sta ...

(No. 90) #

Ron Bouchard Ronald Rodgers Bouchard (November 23, 1948December 10, 2015) was an American NASCAR driver who was the 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year. His brother Ken Bouchard was the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year. His father-in-law, E ...

(No. 47) #

(No. 70) # Gary Kershaw (No. 74) #

Morgan Shepherd Clay Morgan Shepherd (born October 12, 1941) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 89 Chevrolet Camaro for Shepherd Racing Vent ...

(No. 24) #

Bill Schmitt Bill Schmitt (born February 13, 1936 – November 8, 2014) was an American professional stock car racing driver who competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the NASCAR Winston West Series. Schmitt was a multiple time champion of the West Se ...

(No. 73) # Don Waterman (No. 38) #

Lake Speed Lake Chambers Speed (born January 17, 1948) is an American retired stock car racing driver. He formerly competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, scoring one career win in 402 starts. Background Lake was named after the best friend of his fathe ...

(No. 17) #

James Hylton James Harvey Hylton (August 26, 1934 – April 28, 2018) was an American stock car racing driver. He was a two-time winner in NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition and was a long-time competitor in the ARCA Racing Series. Hylton finished secon ...

(No. 48) #

(No. 69) #

Gary Balough Gary Balough (born September 16, 1947) is a retired American stock car racing driver who competed from 1962 to 2001. Balough has won more than 1000 races throughout his short-track career and has accumulated more than 20 wins in the All-Pro divis ...

(No. 75) #

Tim Richmond Timothy Lee Richmond (June 7, 1955 – August 13, 1989) was an American race car driver from Ashland, Ohio. He competed in American Championship Car Racing, IndyCar racing before transferring to NASCAR's Winston Cup Series. Richmond was one o ...

(No. 37) #

Don Puskarich Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a village and hill station in Dang district, Gu ...

(No. 13) # Gene Thonesen (No. 7) # Mark Stahl (No. 85) #

Buddy Arrington Buddy Rogers Arrington (July 26, 1938 – August 2, 2022) was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. Racing career Arrington has the second-most starts without a win, and finished in the top 10 of NASCAR points twice; in 1 ...

(No. 67) #

Dave Marcis David Alan Marcis (born March 1, 1941) is an American former professional stock car racing driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit whose career spanned five decades. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his final ...

* (No. 71) # Tommy Gale* (No. 64) #

Benny Parsons Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, an ...

* (No. 15) # Chuck Pettinger* (No. 1) # Scott Miller* (No. 51) # Roy Smith* (No. 0) # Terry Herman* (No. 99) # Jim Robinson* (No. 78) #

Neil Bonnett Lawrence Neil Bonnett (July 30, 1946 – February 11, 1994) was an American NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career. Bonnett was a member of the Alabama Gang, and started his career with the help of Bobby a ...

* (No. 21) # Pat Mintey* (No. 35) # Don Whittington* (No. 93) #

Jim Bown Jim Bown (born June 24, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver. He has run a total of 23 Winston Cup Series races. He scored one top-ten result, a tenth-place finish at Riverside International Raceway in 1982. In the NASCAR Busch Seri ...

* (No. 16) #

Kyle Petty Kyle Eugene Petty (born June 2, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash duri ...

* (No. 42) #

Hershel McGriff Hershel Eldridge McGriff Sr. (born December 14, 1927) is an American professional stock car racing driver. A long-time competitor in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, formerly known as the Winston West Series, he won the series' 1986 championship, a ...

* (No. 1) #

* (No. 41) #

* (No. 88) ''* Driver failed to finish race''

Standings after the race

References

{{authority control Winston Western 500 (November) Winston Western 500 (November) NASCAR races at Riverside International Raceway