1981 National 500 - NASCAR Race
| Name of Race: | 1981 National 500 |
| Name of Track: | Lowe's Motor Speedway |
| Date: | October 11th |
Lowe's Motor Speedway
Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway) is a superspeedway in Concord, North Carolina, a few miles north of Charlotte.
First NASCAR Night RaceIt features a 1.5 mile long quad-oval track that seats 167,000 people, with room for 50,000 more spectators in the infield. Constructed in 1959, it was the first speedway to host nighttime racing (in 1992) and to offer year-round residences (in 1984) with 52 condominiums now available over turn one. It is presently owned by, and is the main facility of, Speedway Motorsports, Inc.,/p> The Center Of NASCAR
The speedway is considered the center of NASCAR, with 90% of NASCAR teams being based within 50 miles.
Along with the main oval, the speedway also has a 2.25 mile road course in the infield, an 0.6 mile kart course in the infield, a quarter-mile oval using part of the front stretch and pit road, and an 0.2 mile oval outside turn three. Also, across U.S. Highway 29 from the speedway is a 0.4 mile dirt track, opened in May 2000.
LevigationThe surface of the circuit had started to wear from its last paving in mid-1994, resulting in the track's treatment in a diamond-grinding process to smooth out bumps in 2005 and caused major tire problems during both NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events there, with a record 22 cautions at the showcase Coca-Cola 600, making it the first Nextel Cup Series event to go more than five hours (excluding red flags) in 25 years. Speed increases were also a result of the repaving. After the problem with the tires, speedway officials promptly announced that they plan to repave with a new generation asphalt.
Lowes Motor Speedway The Busiest VenueThe facility is considered one of the busiest sports venues in the country, with typically over 380 events a year. Along with many races, the speedway also hosts the Food Lion Auto Fair twice a year, one of the nation's largest car shows. Movies and commercials are filmed there, like Days of Thunder, and it is a popular tourist stop and testing grounds.
Courtesy of Wikipedia.1981 National 500 NASCAR Race Results
Below are the race results for 1981 National 500, in order of finishing place.
| Fin | Driver | Num | Start | Money | Laps | Pts | Status | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darrell Waltrip | 11 | 1 | $51,600 | 334 | 0 | running | Mountain Dew |
| 2 | Bobby Allison | 28 | 17 | $27,400 | 334 | 0 | running | Hardee's |
| 3 | Ricky Rudd | 88 | 8 | $29,925 | 334 | 0 | running | Gatorade |
| 4 | Tommy Ellis | 55 | 22 | $11,400 | 333 | 0 | running | Industrial Boiler |
| 5 | Ron Bouchard | 47 | 30 | $12,180 | 332 | 0 | running | J.D. Stacy |
| 6 | Rusty Wallace | 72 | 19 | $6,750 | 331 | 0 | running | Childs Tire |
| 7 | Geoffrey Bodine | 1 | 14 | $7,050 | 331 | 0 | running | Zervakis Racing |
| 8 | Morgan Shepherd | 24 | 34 | $8,195 | 331 | 0 | running | Washington Freightliner |
| 9 | Jack Ingram | 13 | 18 | $4,400 | 329 | 0 | running | Carolina Tool |
| 10 | Buddy Arrington | 67 | 33 | $7,175 | 328 | 0 | running | Kyle Petty's Boot Barn |
| 13 | Rick Wilson | 62 | 25 | $3,650 | 326 | 0 | running | Florida Equipment & Service |
| 15 | Jody Ridley | 90 | 13 | $7,805 | 326 | 0 | running | Truxmore / Sunny King |
| 16 | H.B. Bailey | 36 | 36 | $3,250 | 324 | 0 | running | Almeda Auto Parts |
| 18 | Tim Richmond | 37 | 5 | $5,650 | 317 | 0 | engine | Rogers Auto Leasing |
| 19 | Joe Ruttman | 2 | 10 | $10,050 | 276 | 0 | engine | J.D. Stacy |
| 20 | Kyle Petty | 42 | 15 | $6,475 | 259 | 0 | crash | STP |
| 22 | Tommy Gale | 64 | 28 | $3,890 | 246 | 0 | clutch | Sunny King Ford & Honda |
| 23 | Terry Labonte | 44 | 6 | $8,375 | 234 | 0 | engine | J.D. Stacy |
| 24 | Gary Balough | 75 | 11 | $4,880 | 226 | 0 | crash | Chaparral Trailers |
| 25 | Dale Earnhardt | 3 | 24 | $4,920 | 220 | 0 | ignition | Wrangler |
| 26 | Charlie Glotzbach | 23 | 26 | $1,275 | 218 | 0 | handling | Oxford Speedway |
| 27 | Johnny Rutherford | 98 | 27 | $1,250 | 216 | 0 | engine | Levi Garrett |
| 28 | Sterling Marlin | 14 | 29 | $1,225 | 193 | 0 | clutch | Coors |
| 29 | Neil Bonnett | 21 | 7 | $12,450 | 190 | 0 | engine | Warner Hodgdon / Natl. Eng. |
| 30 | Richard Petty | 43 | 9 | $9,125 | 180 | 0 | engine | STP |
| 31 | Cale Yarborough | 27 | 3 | $2,100 | 153 | 0 | engine | Valvoline |
| 32 | Ronnie Thomas | 40 | 32 | $1,075 | 137 | 0 | ignition | McWhirter Grading |
| 33 | Bill Elliott | 9 | 16 | $1,050 | 130 | 0 | t chain | Mell-Gear |
| 34 | Lake Speed | 66 | 38 | $2,600 | 118 | 0 | engine | Ronnie Steele |
| 37 | Buddy Baker | 1 | 4 | $1,480 | 63 | 0 | tie rod | UNO |
| 38 | Benny Parsons | 15 | 12 | $6,925 | 50 | 0 | clutch | Melling Tool |
| 39 | John Anderson | 38 | 39 | $965 | 41 | 0 | engine | Copper Kettle Marina |
| 40 | Dave Marcis | 71 | 20 | $2,515 | 19 | 0 | engine | Norton Company |
| 41 | Harry Gant | 33 | 2 | $8,505 | 4 | 0 | crank | Skoal Bandit |
