- 1981 Winston 500 Results Stock Car Online Results Reference
- 1981 Winston 500 Results Stock Car Online Results Reference
| fin | qual | driver | team | laps led | car | sponsor | pts | laps | status | earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Bobby Allison | 69 | #28 Buick | The 5 Racers | 180 | 188 | Finish | $41,500 | |
| 2 | 2 | Buddy Baker | 78 | #1 Buick | UNO | 180 | 188 | Finish | $34,450 | |
| 3 | 11 | Darrell Waltrip | 11 | #11 Buick | Mountain Dew | 170 | 188 | Finish | $20,325 | |
| 4 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | 8 | #88 Oldsmobile | Gatorade | 165 | 188 | Finish | $18,750 | |
| 5 | 14 | Donnie Allison | 2 | #77 Oldsmobile | Warren Fabricating | 160 | 187 | Finish | $10,050 | |
| 6 | 23 | Tim Richmond | 0 | #99 Buick | UNO | 150 | 185 | Finish | $12,105 | |
| 7 | 7 | Terry Labonte | 1 | #44 Buick | Stratagraph | 151 | 185 | Finish | $13,125 | |
| 8 | 4 | Dale Earnhardt | 5 | #2 Pontiac | Wrangler | 147 | 183 | Finish | $14,775 | |
| 9 | 27 | Dick May | 0 | #25 Dodge | Thomas Racing | 138 | 183 | Finish | $8,745 | |
| 10 | 26 | Bobby Wawak | 0 | #94 Buick | Louise Smith | 134 | 183 | Finish | $5,375 | |
| 11 | 34 | Tommy Gale | 0 | #64 Ford | Sunny King Ford & Honda | 130 | 181 | Finish | $7,065 | |
| 12 | 35 | Tommy Houston | 0 | #17 Buick | Kings Inn Daytona | 0 | 181 | Finish | $6,745 | |
| 13 | 13 | Richard Childress | Richard Childress Racing | 4 | #3 Pontiac | Ronnie Steele / Nichols | 129 | 180 | Finish | $6,625 |
| 14 | 40 | Dave Marcis | 0 | #71 Buick | Hudson / Bowlin Coal | 121 | 178 | Finish | $11,145 | |
| 15 | 32 | Cecil Gordon | 0 | #24 Buick | Gordon Racing | 118 | 176 | Finish | $5,725 | |
| 16 | 12 | Elliott Forbes-Robinson | 0 | #86 Buick | Cal-Tex | 115 | 172 | Engine | $3,340 | |
| 17 | 17 | Buddy Arrington | 0 | #67 Dodge | Hills Racing | 112 | 171 | Finish | $5,145 | |
| 18 | 28 | Lake Speed | 0 | #66 Buick | Speed Racing | 109 | 170 | Finish | $4,825 | |
| 19 | 33 | James Hylton | 4 | #48 Pontiac | Palatine Auto Parts | 111 | 147 | Engine | $4,755 | |
| 20 | 22 | Ron Bouchard | 0 | #47 Buick | Race Hill Farm | 103 | 140 | Engine | $3,925 | |
| 21 | 3 | Mike Alexander | 0 | #37 Buick | Rogers Auto Leasing | 100 | 135 | Engine | $2,745 | |
| 22 | 37 | J.D. McDuffie | 0 | #70 Pontiac | Bailey Excavating | 97 | 121 | Finish | $3,705 | |
| 23 | 30 | Morgan Shepherd | 0 | #5 Pontiac | Performance Connection | 94 | 116 | Overheating | $7,260 | |
| 24 | 8 | Cale Yarborough | 0 | #27 Buick | Valvoline | 91 | 86 | Engine | $2,860 | |
| 25 | 5 | Rick Wilson | 6 | #62 Oldsmobile | Florida Equipment & Service | 93 | 76 | Engine | $2,500 | |
| 26 | 38 | Ronnie Thomas | 0 | #40 Buick | Price Racing | 85 | 75 | Oil Line | $1,805 | |
| 27 | 36 | Jimmy Means | 0 | #52 Pontiac | Broadway Motors | 82 | 68 | Engine | $3,005 | |
| 28 | 31 | Bruce Hill | 0 | #50 Buick | Hill Racing | 79 | 51 | Overheating | $1,695 | |
| 29 | 15 | Joe Ruttman | 0 | #6 Buick | The 5 Racers | 76 | 46 | Engine | $1,640 | |
| 30 | 25 | Kyle Petty | 0 | #42 Buick | STP | 73 | 38 | Ignition | $1,585 | |
| 31 | 29 | Jody Ridley | 0 | #90 Ford | Truxmore / Sunny King | 70 | 25 | Steering | $3,765 | |
| 32 | 6 | Neil Bonnett | 0 | #21 Ford | Purolator | 67 | 15 | Engine | $2,000 | |
| 33 | 39 | Rick Newsom | 0 | #20 Chevy | Superior Piping | 64 | 15 | Engine | $1,470 | |
| 34 | 9 | Harry Gant | 0 | #33 Pontiac | Skoal Bandit | 61 | 1 | Accident | $1,560 | |
| 35 | 16 | Stan Barrett | 0 | #22 Pontiac | Skoal Bandit | 58 | 1 | Accident | $1,405 | |
| 36 | 18 | Benny Parsons | 0 | #15 Ford | Melling Tool | 55 | 1 | Accident | $6,825 | |
| 37 | 19 | Connie Saylor | 0 | #4 Oldsmobile | Mitco | 52 | 1 | Accident | $1,345 | |
| 38 | 20 | Joe Millikan | 0 | #75 Oldsmobile | 49 | 1 | Accident | $1,815 | ||
| 39 | 21 | Richard Petty | 0 | #43 Buick | STP | 46 | 1 | Accident | $6,735 | |
| 40 | 24 | Bill Elliott | 0 | #9 Ford | Mell-Gear | 43 | 1 | Accident | $1,255 |