| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 31 of 31 in the 1981 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season | |||
| Date | November 22, 1981 | ||
| Location | Riverside International Raceway (Riverside, California) | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.700 mi (4.345 km) |
||
| Distance | 119 laps, 311.8 mi (501.7 km) | ||
| Avg Speed | 95.288 miles per hour (153.351 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Darrell Waltrip | Junior Johnson | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bobby Allison | Harry Ranier | |
| Laps | 49 | ||
| Winner | |||
| 28 |
Bobby Allison |
Harry Ranier | |
| Television | |||
| Network | Untelevised | ||
| Announcers | None | ||
The 1981 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on November 22, 1981 at Riverside International Raceway in the American community of Riverside, California.[1]
It took three hours and sixteen seconds for Bobby Allison to defeat Joe Ruttman by a time of 0.24 seconds in front of 46000 live spectators while driving Harry Ranier’s No. 28 Hardee’s Buick.[1][2] Richard Childress would make his final racing appearance here before devoting his career to running Richard Childress Racing.[1] Former Formula One racer Bob Bondurant would retire from the NASCAR Cup Series after this race.[1] Seven cautions were given out for 33 laps on this road course that spanned 2.620 miles (4.216 km) per lap; for a grand total of 311.8 miles (501.8 km).[1] Darrell Waltrip qualified for the pole position with a speed of 114.981 miles per hour (185.044 km/h) while the average race speed was 95.288 miles per hour (153.351 km/h).[1] Out of the entire 40-driver grid, 38 drivers were American while Roy Smith and Gary Kershaw were Canadians.[1][3]
Ricky Rudd would receive the last-place finish with an engine problem on the second lap in his Buick vehicle; earning only $6,150 in prize winnings ($14,851.21 when inflation is taken into effect).[1][4][5] J.D. McDuffie would finish in 11th place;[1] a rarity for a driver with the most last-place finishes in NASCAR history. Joe Millikan would make his final "top five" finish in this race.[1]
| Preceded by 1981 Atlanta Journal 500 |
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 1981-82 |
Succeeded by 1982 Daytona 500 |