1981 Mason-Dixon 500

The 1981 Mason-Dixon 500 was a Nextel Cup (then Winston Cup) event held at Dover International Speedway on May 17, 1981. Neil Bonnett dominated the afternoon, leading 404 miles, just over 80% of the race. On lap 459, Bonnett was holding a two-lap lead over second-place Cale Yarborough when his day ended with engine failure, giving the lead to Yarborough. Yarborough was five laps ahead of Jody Ridley when he retired from the race with engine trouble with 20 laps remaining, and Ridley went on to win won his only career event as well as the only win in the fifty-year history of Donlavey Racing. Bobby Allison finished second and held a 168-point championship lead on Ricky Rudd, who came home fifth.

1981 Mason-Dixon 500
General info
Series	Winston Cup Series
Location	Dover Downs International Speedway
Date	May 17, 1981
Qualifying
Pole Sitter	David Pearson
Pole Speed	138.425 mph
Race Data
Winner	Jody Ridley
Margin of Victory	22 seconds
Average Speed	116.595 mph
Cautions	2 for 24 laps
Points Leader	Bobby Allison (+168)

Qualifying notes

Part-time racer David Pearson won the pole for this race at 138 mph. Rookie driver Morgan Shepherd qualified on the outside pole, and points leader Bobby Allison qualified eighth.

Additional race data

• Leaders: 5

• Time of race: 4:17:18

• Average Speed: 116.595 mph

• Margin of Victory: 22 sec

• Most Spots Improved: D.K. Ulrich (+14)

• Not only was the only win for Ridley, it was also the only win for Ridley's team owner Junie Donlavey.

• D.K. Ulrich posted his only career top-five in this race.

• Elmo Langley made his final start as a driver on this day.

Results

Finish	Start	No.	Name	Sponsor	Make	Laps	Laps Lead	Status
1	11	90	Jody Ridley	Truxmore/Sunny King	Ford	500	20	running
2	8	28	Bobby Allison	The 5 Racers	Buick	500	0	running
3	14	2	Dale Earnhardt	Wrangler	Pontiac	499	0	running
4	18	99	D.K. Ulrich	UNO	Buick	491	0	running
5	4	88	Ricky Rudd	Garorade	Buick	490	0	running
6	2	5	Morgan Shepherd	Performance Connection	Pontiac	489	0	running
7	19	67	Buddy Arrington	Hills Racing	Dodge	488	0	running
8	7	44	Terry Labonte	Stratagraph	Buick	486	0	running
9	22	52	Jimmy Means	Broadway Motors	Pontiac	481	0	running
10	6	27	Cale Yarborough	Valvoline	Buick	480	32	engine
11	17	77	Donnie Allison	Warren Fabricating	Oldsmobile	480	0	running
12	5	11	Darrell Waltrip	Mountain Dew	Buick	476	0	running
13	3	21	Neil Bonnett	Purolator	Ford	459	404	engine
14	30	40	Tommy Gale	Ulrich Racing	Buick	459	0	running
15	23	24	Cecil Gordon	Buffalo Stampede	Buick	458	0	running
16	10	33	Harry Gant	Skoal Bandit	Chevrolet	448	0	engine
17	24	3	Richard Childress	Nichols	Pontiac	412	0	engine
18	25	48	James Hylton	Palatine Auto Parts	Pontiac	379	0	wheel
19	9	43	Richard Petty	STP	Buick	368	3	rear end
20	16	42	Kyle Petty	STP	Buick	342	0	engine
21	20	37	Mike Alexander	Rogers Auto Leasing	Oldsmobile	297	0	engine
22	32	64	Joe Fields	Richmond Printing	Buick	254	0	overheating
23	28	70	J.D. McDuffie	Golden Corral	Pontiac	161	0	engine
24	27	25	Ronnie Thomas	Drummond Racing	Pontiac	90	0	oil leak
25	1	12	David Pearson	Kencoal Mining	Oldsmobile	57	41	engine
26	31	79	Junior Miller	Miller Roofing	Oldsmobile	46	0	oil pressure
27	12	47	Ron Bouchard	Race Hill Farm	Oldsmobile	22	0	crash
28	21	17	Lowell Cowell	Kings Inn Daytona	Chevrolet	11	0	steering
29	29	66	Elmo Langley	Speed Racing	Oldsmobile	6	0	driveshaft
30	26	94	Bob Riley	Atlanta International Messenger	Buick	6	0	steering
31	13	71	Dave Marcis	Hudson/Transmissions Unlimited	Chevrolet	1	0	crash
32	15	15	Benny Parsons	Melling Tool	Ford	1	0	crash

Points

1. Bobby Allison +168
2. Ricky Rudd -168
3. Darrell Waltrip -207
4. Harry Gant -325
5. Jody Ridley -342
6. Dale Earnhardt -347
7. Terry Labonte -371
8. Richard Petty -446
9. Benny Parsons -499
10. Buddy Arrington -528

External links

• Stats