Official NASCAR Race Results
Darrell Waltrip won the 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Valleydale 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
03-29-1981 | Valleydale 500 | Bristol Motor Speedway
Table initially ordered on Finish Position. Click a column header to re-sort by that value.
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Make | Sponsor | Pts | Laps | Led | Status | Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 11 | Darrell Waltrip | Buick | Mountain Dew | 185 | 500 | 323 | Running | 22,450 |
| 2 | 5 | 88 | Ricky Rudd | Oldsmobile | Gatorade | 170 | 500 | 0 | Running | 14,375 |
| 3 | 11 | 28 | Bobby Allison | Pontiac | Tuf-Lon | 165 | 500 | 0 | Running | 10,450 |
| 4 | 7 | 5 | Morgan Shepherd | Pontiac | Performance Connection | 165 | 500 | 18 | Running | 4,600 |
| 5 | 8 | 15 | Benny Parsons | Ford | Melling Tool | 160 | 499 | 57 | Running | 7,375 |
| 6 | 6 | 90 | Jody Ridley | Ford | Truxmore / Sunny King | 150 | 497 | 0 | Running | 5,920 |
| 7 | 4 | 44 | Terry Labonte | Buick | Stratagraph | 151 | 495 | 1 | Running | 6,550 |
| 8 | 14 | 48 | Harry Gant | Pontiac | Palatine Auto Parts | 147 | 493 | 1 | Running | 4,270 |
| 9 | 21 | 66 | Lake Speed | Oldsmobile | Speed Racing | 138 | 491 | 0 | Running | 3,800 |
| 10 | 13 | 99 | Tim Richmond | Buick | UNO | 134 | 491 | 0 | Running | 3,590 |
| 11 | 23 | 42 | Kyle Petty | Buick | STP | 130 | 487 | 0 | Running | 1,400 |
| 12 | 12 | 37 | Mike Alexander | Oldsmobile | Rogers Auto Leasing | 127 | 486 | 0 | Running | 1,300 |
| 13 | 19 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Dodge | Hills Racing | 124 | 485 | 0 | Running | 3,020 |
| 14 | 26 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Chevrolet | Broadway Motors | 121 | 480 | 0 | Running | 2,810 |
| 15 | 24 | 64 | Tommy Gale | Ford | Sunny King Ford & Honda | 118 | 479 | 0 | Running | 2,600 |
| 16 | 20 | 3 | Richard Childress | Pontiac | Nichols | 115 | 476 | 0 | Running | 2,415 |
| 17 | 18 | 75 | Joe Millikan | Buick | RahMoc Enterprises | 117 | 474 | 1 | Running | 2,230 |
| 18 | 10 | 25 | Ronnie Thomas | Pontiac | Thomas Racing | 109 | 473 | 0 | Running | 2,020 |
| 19 | 17 | 45 | D.K. Ulrich | Buick | McWhirter Grading | 106 | 473 | 0 | Running | 850 |
| 20 | 31 | 17 | Steve Spencer | Chevrolet | Slick 50 | 103 | 468 | 0 | Running | 1,625 |
| 21 | 25 | 24 | Cecil Gordon | Buick | Brian's Steakhouse | 100 | 461 | 0 | Running | 1,600 |
| 22 | 22 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Pontiac | Bailey Excavating | 97 | 377 | 0 | Valve | 925 |
| 23 | 30 | 20 | Rick Newsom | Chevrolet | City | 94 | 356 | 0 | Engine | 650 |
| 24 | 3 | 47 | Ron Bouchard | Buick | Race Hill Farm | 96 | 349 | 6 | Engine | 875 |
| 25 | 15 | 26 | Butch Lindley | Chevrolet | Lindley Racing | 93 | 194 | 9 | Engine | 600 |
| 26 | 27 | 50 | Bruce Hill | Buick | Hill Racing | 85 | 184 | 0 | Wheel | 590 |
| 27 | 28 | 86 | Elliott Forbes-Robinson | Oldsmobile | Howard & Egerton | 82 | 164 | 0 | Sway bar | 580 |
| 28 | 2 | 2 | Dale Earnhardt | Pontiac | Wrangler | 84 | 140 | 65 | Crash | 7,270 |
| 29 | 9 | 43 | Richard Petty | Buick | STP | 81 | 116 | 1 | Engine | 5,010 |
| 30 | 29 | 06 | Ernie Cline | Pontiac | Bush Inc. | 73 | 77 | 0 | Brakes | 550 |
| 31 | 16 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Chevrolet | Bowlin Coal / Hudson | 75 | 60 | 18 | Rear end | 1,100 |
Race Recap
- Date: 03-29-1981
- Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
- Race: Valleydale 500
- Race #: 6
- Cars: 31
- Winner: Darrell Waltrip
- Start Position: 1st
- Car Make: Buick
- Avg Speed: 89.530 mph
- Distance: 267 miles
- Purse: $123,400
- Cautions: 8
- Caution Laps: 44
- Lead Changes: 21
- Pole: 112.125 mph
