| Official Race Results | |||||||||
| Talladega 500 | Alabama International Motor Speedway | |||||||||
| August 02, 1981 | Race 20 of 31 | |||||||||
| Average Speed: 156.737 mph | |||||||||
| Margin of Victory: 2 feet | Time of Race: 03:11:26 | ||||||||
| Lead Changes: 39 | |||||||||
| Cautions: 8 for 36 laps. | |||||||||
| Fin | St | Car | Driver | Make | Sponsor | Pts / Bonus | Laps | Status | Winnings |
| 1 | 10 | #47 | Ron Bouchard * | Buick | Race Hill Farm | 180/5 | 188 | Running | $38,905 |
| 2 | 13 | #11 | Darrell Waltrip | Buick | Mountain Dew | 175/5 | 188 | Running | $23,000 |
| 3 | 4 | #44 | Terry Labonte | Buick | Stratagraph | 170/5 | 188 | Running | $18,500 |
| 4 | 1 | #33 | Harry Gant | Buick | Skoal Bandit | 165/5 | 188 | Running | $10,000 |
| 5 | 2 | #28 | Bobby Allison | Buick | Hardee's | 165/10 | 188 | Running | $17,825 |
| 6 | 35 | #66 | Lake Speed | Buick | Speed Racing Team | 155/5 | 187 | Running | $9,345 |
| 7 | 31 | #42 | Kyle Petty | Buick | STP | 146/0 | 187 | Running | $6,800 |
| 8 | 27 | #90 | Jody Ridley | Ford | Trux./Sunny King Ford/Honda | 142/0 | 187 | Running | $7,665 |
| 9 | 16 | #22 | Stan Barrett | Pontiac | Skoal Bandit | 138/0 | 186 | Running | $3,575 |
| 10 | 14 | #71 | Dave Marcis | Buick | Paul Young Leasing | 134/0 | 185 | Running | $6,305 |
| 11 | 18 | #9 | Bill Elliott | Ford | Mell-Gear Tuning Components | 130/0 | 185 | Running | $3,200 |
| 12 | 26 | #86 | Elliott Forbes-Robinson | Buick | Cal-Tex | 127/0 | 184 | Running | $3,175 |
| 13 | 22 | #15 | Benny Parsons | Ford | Melling Tool Company | 124/0 | 184 | Running | $8,450 |
| 14 | 40 | #99 | Terry Herman | Buick | Kargas Sports/Jim Davis | PE | 183 | Running | $5,535 |
| 15 | 32 | #19 | Dick May | Buick | Belden Asphalt | 118/0 | 181 | Running | $2,800 |
| 16 | 28 | #52 | Jimmy Means | Pontiac | Broadway Motors | 115/0 | 180 | Running | $5,200 |
| 17 | 34 | #24 | Cecil Gordon | Buick | Gordon Racing | 112/0 | 180 | Running | $4,865 |
| 18 | 37 | #64 | Tommy Gale | Ford | Sunny King Ford & Honda | 109/0 | 177 | Running | $4,605 |
| 19 | 39 | #94 | Bobby Wawak | Buick | Louise Smith Special | 106/0 | 175 | Running | $2,550 |
| 20 | 9 | #62 | Rick Wilson | Oldsmobile | Florida Equipment & Service | 103/0 | 148 | Accident | $2,625 |
| 21 | 19 | #98 | Rusty Wallace | Pontiac | Levi Garrett | 100/0 | 147 | Engine Failure | $2,225 |
| 22 | 8 | #6 | Joe Ruttman | Buick | 5 Racers Corp. | 97/0 | 134 | No Brakes | $2,175 |
| 23 | 12 | #88 | Ricky Rudd | Buick | Gatorade | 94/0 | 133 | Running | $7,575 |
| 24 | 11 | #68 | Lennie Pond | Buick | 5 Racers Corp. | 91/0 | 113 | Rear End | $2,075 |
| 25 | 41 | #75 | Gary Balough | Buick | 5 Racers Corp. | PE | 113 | Engine Failure | $3,570 |
| 26 | 17 | #3 | Richard Childress | Pontiac | Ronnie Steele | 85/0 | 111 | Engine Failure | $3,550 |
| 27 | 36 | #17 | Mike Potter | Buick | Kings Inn Daytona | PE | 100 | Transmission | $3,490 |
| 28 | 5 | #27 | Cale Yarborough | Buick | Valvoline | 84/5 | 83 | Accident | $2,725 |
| 29 | 3 | #2 | Dale Earnhardt | Pontiac | Wrangler Jeans | 81/5 | 83 | Transmission | $9,375 |
| 30 | 30 | #50 | Bruce Hill | Buick | Native Tan | 73/0 | 75 | Engine Failure | $1,700 |
| 31 | 38 | #38 | Sandy Satullo | Buick | Copper Kettle Marina | 70/0 | 68 | Engine Failure | $1,500 |
| 32 | 7 | #1 | Buddy Baker | Buick | Uno | 67/0 | 64 | Engine Failure | $1,475 |
| 33 | 29 | #4 | Connie Saylor | Oldsmobile | Ball Equipment Company | 64/0 | 64 | Broken Rocker Arm | $1,450 |
| 34 | 33 | #12 | Tim Richmond | Buick | Uno | 61/0 | 58 | Engine Failure | $1,425 |
| 35 | 24 | #37 | Mike Alexander | Buick | Roger's Auto Leasing | 58/0 | 55 | Engine Failure | $1,700 |
| 36 | 15 | #5 | Morgan Shepherd | Pontiac | Performance Connection | 55/0 | 55 | Engine Failure | $6,325 |
| 37 | 6 | #21 | Neil Bonnett | Ford | Purolator | 57/5 | 41 | Ignition | $2,150 |
| 38 | 23 | #13 | Jack Ingram | Ford | Carolina Tool & Equipment | 49/0 | 29 | Broken Valve Spring | $1,325 |
| 39 | 25 | #48 | James Hylton | Buick | STP | 46/0 | 29 | Vibration | $3,005 |
| 40 | 20 | #43 | Richard Petty | Buick | STP | 43/0 | 12 | Oil Pan | $6,650 |
| 41 | 21 | #67 | Buddy Arrington | Chrysler | Hill's Racing | 40/0 | 10 | Broken Valve | $2,735 |
| 42 | 42 | #25 | Joe Booher | Pontiac | Thomas Racing | PE | 4 | Engine Failure | $1,700 |
| * Denotes Rookie | |||||||||