| 1981 Winston Western 500 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||
| @ Riverside on November 22, 1981 | ||||||||
| Note: Winston West Drivers Denoted in Gold Rows |
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Sponsor | Make | Laps | Led | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 28 | Bobby Allison | Hardee's | Buick | 119 | 49 | running |
| 2 | 12 | 2 | Joe Ruttman | J.D. Stacy | Buick | 119 | 39 | running |
| 3 | 2 | 44 | Terry Labonte | J.D. Stacy | Buick | 119 | 15 | running |
| 4 | 3 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Wrangler | Pontiac | 119 | 0 | running |
| 5 | 9 | 5 | Joe Millikan | Performance Connection | Pontiac | 119 | 0 | running |
| 6 | 1 | 11 | Darrell Waltrip | Mountain Dew | Buick | 119 | 1 | running |
| 7 | 25 | 43 | Richard Petty | STP | Buick | 119 | 0 | running |
| 8 | 4 | 33 | Harry Gant | Skoal Bandit | Pontiac | 118 | 6 | running |
| 9 | 21 | 90 | Jody Ridley | Truxmore/Sunny King | Ford | 118 | 0 | running |
| 10 | 24 | 47 | Ron Bouchard | J.D. Stacy | Buick | 118 | 0 | running |
| 11 | 29 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | Bailey Excavating | Pontiac | 118 | 1 | running |
| 12 | 33 | 74 | Gary Kershaw | Edgett Racing | Buick | 117 | 0 | running |
| 13 | 8 | 24 | Morgan Shepherd | Washington Freightliner | Buick | 117 | 0 | running |
| 14 | 18 | 73 | Bill Schmitt | Shasta County | Buick | 116 | 1 | running |
| 15 | 35 | 38 | Don Waterman | St. John's Auto Parts | Buick | 116 | 0 | running |
| 16 | 34 | 17 | Lake Speed | Kings Inn Daytona | Buick | 115 | 0 | running |
| 17 | 28 | 48 | James Hylton | Palatine Auto Parts | Buick | 115 | 0 | running |
| 18 | 16 | 69 | Bob Bondurant | HFJ Racing | Pontiac | 114 | 0 | running |
| 19 | 20 | 75 | Gary Balough | Chaparral Trailers | Buick | 113 | 0 | running |
| 20 | 6 | 37 | Tim Richmond | Rogers Auto Leasing | Buick | 113 | 0 | running |
| 21 | 30 | 13 | Don Puskarich | Puskarich Racing | Olds | 111 | 0 | running |
| 22 | 40 | 07 | Gene Thonesen | Thonesen Racing | Buick | 110 | 0 | running |
| 23 | 39 | 85 | Mark Stahl | Stahl Racing | Ford | 109 | 0 | running |
| 24 | 36 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Hills Racing | Dodge | 106 | 0 | running |
| 25 | 19 | 71 | Dave Marcis | J.D. Stacy | Pontiac | 103 | 3 | engine |
| 26 | 37 | 64 | Tommy Gale | Sunny King | Ford | 95 | 0 | differential |
| 27 | 7 | 15 | Benny Parsons | Melling Tool | Ford | 90 | 4 | engine |
| 28 | 14 | 1 | Chuck Pittenger | Pitt's Performance | Buick | 80 | 0 | clutch |
| 29 | 23 | 51 | Scott Miller | J.D. Stacy | Pontiac | 69 | 0 | engine |
| 30 | 26 | 0 | Roy Smith | Aircraft Standards | Buick | 58 | 0 | cam |
| 31 | 12 | 99 | Terry Herman | Jim Davis | Buick | 55 | 0 | crash |
| 32 | 22 | 78 | Jim Robinson | Hammer Security | Olds | 53 | 0 | crash |
| 33 | 10 | 21 | Neil Bonnett | Warner Hodgdon | Ford | 49 | 0 | plugs |
| 34 | 38 | 35 | Pat Mintey | Marv's Chevy Only | Chevy | 40 | 0 | engine |
| 35 | 11 | 93 | Don Whittington | Scott Smith | Olds | 37 | 0 | crash |
| 36 | 32 | 16 | Jim Bown | Rose Auto Wrecking | Buick | 34 | 0 | piston |
| 37 | 27 | 42 | Kyle Petty | STP | Buick | 27 | 0 | brakes |
| 38 | 17 | 01 | Hershel McGriff | Howard Johnson's | Buick | 17 | 0 | engine |
| 39 | 31 | 41 | Richard Childress | Junior Johnson | Buick | 5 | 0 | quit |
| 40 | 13 | 88 | Ricky Rudd | Gatorade | Buick | 2 | 0 | engine |
The 1981 Winston Western 500 was a Winston Cup (now Nextel Cup)-Winston West Series combination event held at Track::Riverside International Raceway on November 22, 1981. It was the season finale for the Cup Series. Bobby Allison won his fifth race of the year, holding off Joe Ruttman by a quarter-second. But Allison was not celebrating. Points leader Darrell Waltrip finished 6th and claimed the Cup championship by 53 markers on Allison. Gary Kershaw was the highest placed West Series regular in 12th and eventual West Series champ Roy Smith was 30th.
Race Data[]
Cautions: Laps: 3-5, 28-32, 35-38, 43-49, 57-61, 69-73, 105-108
Lap leaders: D. Waltrip 1, H. Gant 2-7, B. Allison 8-26, T. Labonte 27-29, B. Allison 30-34, J. Ruttman 35-43, D. Marcis 44-46, T. Labonte 47-50, B. Allison 51-52, J. Ruttman 53-55, B. Allison 56-58, B. Schmitt 59, B. Parsons 60-63, B. Allison 64-70, J. McDuffie 71, T. Labonte 72-79, J. Ruttman 80-102, B. Allison 103-105, J. Ruttman 106-109, B. Allison 110-119