1981 Budweiser NASCAR 400

Coordinates: 30°32′13″N 96°13′16″W / 30.537°N 96.221°W

1981 Budweiser NASCAR 400

Race details[1]
Race 14 of 31 in the 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Texas World Speedway
Date	June 7, 1981
Official name	Texas 400
Location	Texas World Speedway, College Station, Texas
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.000 mi (3.218 km)
Distance	250 laps, 400 mi (404 km)
Weather	Hot with temperatures approaching 91 °F (33 °C); wind speeds up to 12.8 miles per hour (20.6 km/h)
Average speed	132.475 miles per hour (213.198 km/h)
Attendance	18,000[2]
Pole position
Driver	Terry Labonte	Hagan Enterprises
Most laps led
Driver	Dale Earnhardt	Osterlund Motorsports
Laps	96
Winner
No. 15	Benny Parsons	Bud Moore Engineering
Television in the United States
Network	untelevised
Announcers	none

The 1981 Budweiser NASCAR 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on June 7, 1981, at Texas World Speedway in the American community of College Station, Texas.

Summary

During the preceding season, NASCAR had completely stopped tracking the year model of all the vehicles and most teams did not take stock cars to the track under their own power anymore.

34 drivers qualified for this 200-lap race; with Baxter Price, Kirk Shelmerdine and D.K. Ulrich quitting the race early on in this three-hour-long session. Benny Parsons and Dale Earnhardt would dominate the later portion of the race. Parsons would end up beating the Intimidator by slightly more than half a second. All of the drivers were born in the United States of America. Only three drivers remained on the lead lap at the end of the race: Benny Parsons, Dale Earnhardt, and Bobby Allison. Eighteen thousand people would come to see 35 different lead changes.

Other notable participants at the race were: Richard Petty, J.D. McDuffie, Richard Childress, Terry Labonte, Ricky Rudd, and Kyle Petty. Crashes and engine problems also made up the bulk of the drivers who failed to finish the race. The winner received $22,750 in total winnings ($59,314.88 when considering inflation) while last-place finisher Baxter Price received a meager $900 ($2,346.52 when considering inflation).^[2] The total purse for this event was $179,075 ($466,892.83 when considering inflation).^[3]

Top ten finishers

Pos[2]	Grid	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Winnings	Laps led
1	4	15	Benny Parsons	Ford	200	$22,750	58
2	3	2	Dale Earnhardt	Pontiac	200	$18,650	96
3	2	28	Bobby Allison	Buick	200	$14,650	17
4	5	43	Richard Petty	Buick	199	$12,550	0
5	13	71	Dave Marcis	Buick	198	$8,935	0
6	6	90	Jody Ridley	Ford	198	$8,610	1
7	16	99	Tim Richmond	Oldsmobile	196	$6,840	0
8	14	66	Lake Speed	Oldsmobile	196	$5,630	4
9	12	6	Joe Ruttman	Buick	195	$3,100	3
10	7	33	Harry Gant	Pontiac	193	$2,700	4

Standings after the race

Pos	Driver	Points[2]	Differential
1	Bobby Allison	2256	0
2	Ricky Rudd	1984	-272
3	Darrell Waltrip	1915	-341
4	Harry Gant	1890	-366
5	Dale Earnhardt	1848	-408
6	Jody Ridley	1817	-439
7	Terry Labonte	1750	-506
8	Richard Petty	1711	-545
9	Benny Parsons	1634	-622
10	Buddy Arrington	1615	-641

References

1. Weather information for the 1981 Budweiser NASCAR 400 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
2. 1981 Budweiser NASCAR 400 racing information at Racing Reference
3. 1981 Budweiser NASCAR 400 racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet