Busch 500 1981 var ett stockcarlopp ingående i Nascar Winston Cup Series (nuvarande Nascar Cup Series) som kördes 22 augusti 1981 på den 0,533 mile (857.78 m) långa ovalbanan Bristol International Speedway i Bristol i Tennessee i USA. Totalt avverkades 222,794 miles (358,552 km) fördelat på 419 varv. Initialt skulle sträcken 266,5 miles (428,89 km) fördelat på 500 varv körts, men loppet kortades på grund av regn. Banunderlaget var asfalt. Loppet vanns av Darrell Waltrip i en Chevrolet på tiden 2:29.50 körande för Junior Johnson & Associates. Waltrips snitthastighet uppgick till 89,43 mph. Det var Waltrips 35:e seger av totalt 84 i cup-serien. Prispotten uppgick till 151 645 dollar, varav 30 400 dollar gick till segraren.
| Plc | Nr | Förare | Team/ bilägare |
Konstruktör | Start | Varv | Ledda varv | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Darrell Waltrip | Junior Johnson & Associates | Chevrolet | 2 | 419 | 215 | |
| 2 | 15 | Dale Earnhardt | Bud Moore Engineering | Ford | 6 | 419 | 197 | |
| 3 | 22 | Bobby Allison | DiGard Motorsports | Buick | 13 | 419 | 0 | |
| 4 | 88 | Geoff Bodine | Cliff Stewart Racing | Pontiac | 9 | 418 | 0 | |
| 5 | 44 | Terry Labonte | Hagan Enterprises | Chevrolet | 5 | 418 | 1 | |
| 6 | 33 | Harry Gant | Mach 1 Racing | Buick | 8 | 418 | 1 | |
| 7 | 47 | Ron Bouchard | Race Hill Farm Team | Buick | 7 | 418 | 2 | |
| 8 | 2 | Morgan Shepherd | Jim Stacy Racing | Buick | 11 | 410 | 0 | |
| 9 | 43 | Richard Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 14 | 407 | 0 | |
| 10 | 75 | Neil Bonnett | RahMoc Enterprises | Chevrolet | 15 | 405 | 0 | |
| 11 | 7 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 19 | 405 | 0 | |
| 12 | 41 | Ronnie Thomas | Ronnie Thomas Racing | Pontiac | 28 | 402 | 0 | |
| 13 | 67 | Buddy Arrington | Arrington Racing | Chrysler | 20 | 399 | 0 | |
| 14 | 3 | Ricky Rudd | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 | 396 | 0 | |
| 15 | 17 | Sterling Marlin | Hamby Racing | Pontiac | 23 | 394 | 0 | |
| 16 | 6 | Al Elmore | Ulrich Racing | Buick | 24 | 393 | 0 | |
| 17 | 48 | Trevor Boys | Hylton Engineering | Chevrolet | 18 | 389 | 0 | |
| 18 | 98 | Joe Ruttman | Benfield Racing | Pontiac | 1 | 380 | 0 | |
| 19 | 18 | Don Satterfield | Satterfield Racing | Buick | 27 | 368 | 0 | |
| 20 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 12 | 353 | 0 | |
| 21 | 90 | Dick Brooks | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 17 | 314 | 0 | |
| 22 | 27 | Tim Richmond | Blue Max Racing | Pontiac | 3 | 371 | 3 | |
| 23 | 64 | Tommy Gale | Langley-Woodfield Racing | Ford | 22 | 154 | 0 | |
| 24 | 02 | Mike Potter | Reeder Racing | Pontiac | 25 | 253 | 0 | |
| 25 | 70 | J.D. McDuffie | McDuffie Racing | Pontiac | 26 | 198 | 0 | |
| 26 | 52 | Jimmy Means | Jimmy Means Racing | Chevrolet | 21 | 147 | 0 | |
| 27 | 2 | Bill Elliott | Melling Racing | Ford | 10 | 135 | 0 | |
| 28 | 26 | Ronnie Hopkins | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 16 | 67 | 0 | |
| 29 | 45 | Johnny McFadden | Johnny McFadden | Buick | 29 | 44 | 0 | |
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