1981 Daytona 500
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1981 Daytona 500
The 1981 Daytona 500, the 23rd running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was held on Sunday, February 15, 1981. Race report Contested over 200 laps and over the course of 2 hours and 56 minutes, the race was won by Richard Petty for his record seventh at the Daytona 500, beating Bobby Allison to the line by 3.5 seconds and bringing about Buick's first win in NASCAR since 1956. Ricky Rudd, Buddy Baker, and Dale Earnhardt rounded out the Top 5.Official results of 1981 Daytona 500
on Racing-Reference.info
A new generation of smaller cars, with a wheelbase of , down from the previously used , made their debut in this race. David Pearson had the only Chevrolet in the field. He started 9th in his new Monte Carlo aft ...
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Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three held in Florida, with the annual fall showdown Dixie Vodka 400 being held at Homestead south of Miami. From 1988 to 2019, it was one of the four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule. The inaugural Daytona 500 was held in 1959 coinciding with the opening of the speedway and since 1982, it has been the season-opening race of the Cup series. The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar, carrying by far the largest purse. Championship points awarded are equal to that of any other NASCAR Cup Series race. It is also the series' first race of the year; this phenomenon is unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. F ...
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1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the thirty-third season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 10th modern-era Cup Season. It was the first year of the Gen 3 car. Because of the energy crisis, manufacturers were downsizing their cars to be more fuel-efficient, which NASCAR reflected by mandating a 110-inch wheelbase that still exists today. The season began at Riverside International Raceway with the first Winston Western 500 on January 11, 1981 and ended with the same event on November 22. Darrell Waltrip won his first championship with point margin of fifty-three points over Bobby Allison. Ron Bouchard was named Rookie of the Year. Teams and drivers Season schedule and recap Season summary Race reports * Western 500 – The final race where 115-inch wheelbase cars were eligible to run, the field was a mix of 1977 racecars and 1981 models. Dale Earnhardt drove a 1981 Pontiac while race winner Bobby Allison drove a 1977 Monte Carlo. This race ...
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Dale Earnhardt
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably driving the No.3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. His aggressive driving style earned him the nicknames "The Intimidator", "The Man in Black", and "Ironhead". He is regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. The third child of racing driver Ralph Earnhardt and Martha Earnhardt, he began his career in 1975 in the World 600. Earnhardt won a total of 76 Winston Cup races over the course of his 26-year career, including four Winston 500s (1990, 1994, 1999, and 2000) and the 1998 Daytona 500. Along with his 76 career points wins, he has also won 24 non-points exhibition events, bringing his overall Winston Cup win total to 100, one of only 4 drivers in NASCAR history to do so. He is the only driver in NASCAR history to s ...
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Johnny Rutherford
John Sherman "Johnny" Rutherford III (born March 12, 1938), also known as "Lone Star JR", is an American former automobile racing driver. During an Indy Car career that spanned more than three decades, he scored 27 wins and 23 pole positions in 314 starts. He became one of ten drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 at least three times, winning in 1974, 1976, and 1980. He also won the CART championship in 1980. Rutherford began racing modified stock cars in 1959 and he also dabbled in stock car racing, making 35 NASCAR Cup Series starts from 1963 to 1988. Rutherford won in his first start, at Daytona International Speedway driving for Smokey Yunick. This made him one of the youngest drivers ever to win in NASCAR history, in a full points-paying NASCAR race. Racing career In 1959, Rutherford started driving modified stock cars in Dallas. He joined the International Motor Contest Association sprint car circuit in 1961 leading it for most of 1962. Rutherford later joined the Uni ...
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Joe Millikan
Joseph "Joe" Milikan (born April 30, 1950 in Randleman, North Carolina) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup race car driver who competed from the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season to the 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Career The majority of Millikan's races were done in Chevrolet vehicles (either Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Chevrolet Laguna, or Chevrolet Impala). However, other races in Joe Milikan's career were done in Pontiac (Pontiac Grand Prix) and Oldsmobile (Oldsmobile Cutlass) vehicles but rarely in Ford (Ford Thunderbird The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 1997 and 2002 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was pro ...) vehicles. His highest amount of winnings earned was at the 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series with $199,460 ($ adjusted for inflation). References External links * ESPN SportsDriver Averages - NASCAR ...
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Cale Yarborough
William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough (born March 27, 1939) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, and farmer. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in 1976, 1977, and 1978. He was one of the preeminent stock car drivers from the 1960s to the 1980s and also competed in IndyCar events. His fame was such that a special model of the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II was named after him. His 83 wins tie him with Jimmie Johnson for sixth on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series winner's list (behind Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip, who are tied for fourth with 84). His 14.82% winning percentage is the ninth best of all-time and third among those with 500 or more starts. Yarborough won the Daytona 500 four times; his first win coming in 1968 for the Wood Brothers, the second in 1977 for Junior Johnson, and back-to-back wins in 1983 and 1984 for Ranier-Lundy Racing. Yarborough is a three-time winner of the ...
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Jody Ridley
Jody Ridley (born May 19, 1942) is a former NASCAR driver. He won the 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award and one race at Dover International Speedway the next year, the only Cup victory for Donlavey Racing. His career statistics include 140 career starts, one win, seven top fives, 56 top tens, and two top ten points finishes (fifth in 1981, and seventh in 1980). In the 1989 Daytona 500, Ridley took over for an injured Bill Elliott, but he would have a hard crash later in the race. He now resides in Chatsworth, Georgia. He was inducted in the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in 2007. Motorsports career results NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) Winston Cup Series =Daytona 500= Busch Series References External links * Biography at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame(PDF) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridley, Jody Living peo ...
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Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and luxury cars under its Lincoln luxury brand. Ford also owns Brazilian SUV manufacturer Troller, an 8% stake in Aston Martin of the United Kingdom and a 32% stake in China's Jiangling Motors. It also has joint ventures in China (Changan Ford), Taiwan (Ford Lio Ho), Thailand ( AutoAlliance Thailand), and Turkey ( Ford Otosan). The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family; they have minority ownership but the majority of the voting power. Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines; by ...
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Bill Elliott
William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing Experience. He won the 1988 Winston Cup Championship and garnered 44 wins in that series, including two Daytona 500 victories in 1985 and 1987, three Southern 500 victories in 1985, 1988, and 1994, one Winston 500 victory in 1985, one Brickyard 400 victory in 2002, one "The Winston All-Star Race" (non-points race) win in 1986, and a record four consecutive wins at Michigan International Speedway between 1985 and 1986 (7 wins overall at Michigan, the most at any one racetrack in his career). He holds the track record for fastest qualifying speed at Talladega at and Daytona International Speedway at , both of which were set in 1987; the mark at Talladega is the fastest qualifying speed for any NASCAR race ever. With the current u ...
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Blackie Wangerin
Blackie Wangerin (born April 4, 1935) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver from Bloomington, Minnesota. In 1971 he attempted to qualify for the Daytona 500 but did not make it past the qualifying race. He returned to the series in 1977 and made at least one start every season thereafter until 1984. In 1978 he made 10 starts with a best finish of 15th at Pocono Raceway and finished 37th in points. The following year he made 7 starts with another best finish of 15th, this time at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and despite making three fewer starts, finished two places better in 35th. Wangerin never drove in more than 3 races in a season after that and made his final Cup start in the 1984 Warner W. Hodgdon Carolina 500 at Rockingham. His son Troy Wangerin is also a stock car driver who as of 2009 participated part-time in the ARCA RE/MAX series. Motorsports career results NASCAR ( key) () Grand National Series Winston Cup Series =Daytona 500= ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series ( k ...
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Dale Inman
Dale Inman (born August 19, 1936) is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup Series crew chief from Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is best known for being the crew chief of Richard Petty at Petty Enterprises during three decades. They won 188 races and seven championships together (1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, and 1979). Inman spent most of his career working for Petty Enterprises. He also was the crew chief for Terry Labonte's 1984 championship with Hagan Racing. NASCAR.com contributor Rick Houston said that if the best crew chief was "settled on statistics and statistics alone, Dale Inman is the greatest crew chief of all time." He is credited for starting the main duties of the position including preparation, and driver-pit communication. Inman has the most victories as a NASCAR crew chief at 193, 188 of which were with Richard Petty. Inman won five additional races from 1982 to 1984 with Tim Richmond and Terry Labonte. Career Inman grew up playi ...
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Ford Thunderbird
The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 1997 and 2002 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was produced in a variety of body configurations. These included a four-seat hardtop coupe, four-seat convertible, five-seat convertible and hardtop, four-door pillared hardtop sedan, six-passenger hardtop coupe, and five-passenger pillared coupe, with the final generation designed again as a two-seat convertible. Ford targeted the two-seat Thunderbird as an upscale model, but the 1958 model year design introduced a rear seat and arguably marked the expansion of a market segment eventually known as personal luxury cars. This class of cars was positioned to emphasize driving comfort and convenience features over handling and high-speed performance. From 1968 through 1998, Lincoln-Mercury marketed rebadged variants of the Thunderbird as the Contin ...
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