| 1981 American 500 | 
|
| Held on November 1, 1981 at Rockingham Speedway in Rockingham, NC | |
| 492 L, 507.744 M, 817.212 KM - Scheduled Distance |
| RESULTS |
|---|
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Sponsor | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 11 | Darrell Waltrip | Mountain Dew | Buick | 492 | 163 | running | 185 |
| 2 | 14 | 28 | Bobby Allison | Hardee's | Buick | 492 | 31 | running | 175 |
| 3 | 2 | 33 | Harry Gant | Skoal Bandit | Pontiac | 492 | 125 | running | 170 |
| 4 | 12 | 43 | Richard Petty | STP | Buick | 492 | 92 | running | 165 |
| 5 | 16 | 2 | Joe Ruttman | J.D. Stacy | Pontiac | 492 | 3 | running | 160 |
| 6 | 24 | 15 | Benny Parsons | Melling Tool | Ford | 491 | 0 | running | 150 |
| 7 | 10 | 44 | Terry Labonte | J.D. Stacy | Buick | 490 | 0 | running | 146 |
| 8 | 22 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Mell-Gear | Ford | 490 | 17 | running | 147 |
| 9 | 5 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Wrangler | Pontiac | 489 | 16 | running | 143 |
| 10 | 19 | 90 | Jody Ridley | Truxmore, Sunny King | Ford | 487 | 0 | running | 134 |
| 11 | 37 | 47 | Ron Bouchard | J.D. Stacy | Buick | 485 | 0 | running | 130 |
| 12 | 26 | 71 | Dave Marcis | J.D. Stacy | Chevy | 483 | 2 | running | 132 |
| 13 | 27 | 64 | Tommy Gale | Sunny King Ford & Honda | Ford | 475 | 0 | running | 124 |
| 14 | 31 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Kyle Petty's Boot Barn | Dodge | 470 | 0 | running | 121 |
| 15 | 34 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Washington Freightliner | Buick | 457 | 0 | running | 118 |
| 16 | 4 | 1 | Buddy Baker | UNO | Buick | 445 | 2 | rear end | 120 |
| 17 | 32 | 99 | D.K. Ulrich | Ulrich Racing | Buick | 435 | 0 | engine | 112 |
| 18 | 3 | 88 | Ricky Rudd | Gatorade | Chevy | 434 | 16 | running | 114 |
| 19 | 17 | 5 | Joe Millikan | Performance Connection | Pontiac | 425 | 0 | running | 106 |
| 20 | 36 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Broadway Motors | Pontiac | 404 | 0 | running | 103 |
| 21 | 23 | 13 | Dick Brooks | Carolina Tool | Ford | 379 | 0 | valve | 100 |
| 22 | 13 | 37 | Tim Richmond | Rogers Auto Leasing | Buick | 334 | 0 | crash | 97 |
| 23 | 35 | 92 | Joe Fields | Richmond Printing | Buick | 262 | 0 | crash | 94 |
| 24 | 29 | 17 | John Anderson | Kings Inn Daytona | Buick | 226 | 0 | suspension | 91 |
| 25 | 8 | 27 | Cale Yarborough | Valvoline | Buick | 214 | 0 | crash | 88 |
| 26 | 25 | 48 | James Hylton | Palatine Auto Parts | Pontiac | 214 | 0 | push rod | 85 |
| 27 | 15 | 96 | Morgan Shepherd | Levi Garrett | Buick | 205 | 25 | crash | 87 |
| 28 | 28 | 16 | Chuck Bown | Rose Auto Wrecking | Buick | 193 | 0 | engine | 79 |
| 29 | 11 | 98 | Johnny Rutherford | Levi Garrett | Buick | 172 | 0 | crash | 76 |
| 30 | 30 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Bailey Excavating | Pontiac | 165 | 0 | engine | 73 |
| 31 | 18 | 66 | Lake Speed | Speed Racing | Oldsmobile | 162 | 0 | engine | 70 |
| 32 | 21 | 75 | Gary Balough | Ferrailuolo & Sons Excavating | Buick | 117 | 0 | crash | 67 |
| 33 | 33 | 40 | Don Hume | Newton Oil & Gas | Buick | 101 | 0 | crash | 64 |
| 34 | 7 | 77 | Dean Combs | Captains Table | Buick | 89 | 0 | crash | 61 |
| 35 | 9 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Warner Hodgdon, National Eng. | Ford | 55 | 0 | crash | 58 |
| 36 | 20 | 68 | Lennie Pond | J.D. Stacy | Buick | 54 | 0 | crash | 55 |
| 37 | 6 | 42 | Kyle Petty | STP | Buick | 19 | 0 | engine | 52 |
| RACE DATA | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Failed to Qualify: | |||||||||
| Time of Race: ??? | |||||||||
| Fast Qualifier: | |||||||||
| Margin of Victory: | |||||||||
| Average Speed: ??? mph | |||||||||
| Cautions: ?? for ?? laps - not available | |||||||||
| Lead Changes: ?? among ?? drivers - not available |
