| Official Race Results | |||||||||
| FireCracker 400 | Daytona International Speedway | |||||||||
| July 04, 1981 | Race 17 of 31 | |||||||||
| Average Speed: 142.588 mph | |||||||||
| Margin of Victory: 1/2 car length | Time of Race: 02:48:19 | ||||||||
| Lead Changes: 36 | |||||||||
| Cautions: 6 for 37 laps. | |||||||||
| Fin | St | Car | Driver | Make | Sponsor | Pts / Bonus | Laps | Status | Winnings |
| 1 | 1 | #27 | Cale Yarborough | Buick | Valvoline | 185/10 | 160 | Running | $24,625 |
| 2 | 2 | #33 | Harry Gant | Buick | Skoal Bandit | 175/5 | 160 | Running | $15,350 |
| 3 | 14 | #43 | Richard Petty | Buick | STP | 170/5 | 160 | Running | $17,200 |
| 4 | 21 | #1 | Buddy Baker | Oldsmobile | Uno | 165/5 | 160 | Running | $8,765 |
| 5 | 9 | #98 | Johnny Rutherford | Pontiac | Levi Garrett | 155/0 | 160 | Running | $7,075 |
| 6 | 10 | #42 | Kyle Petty | Buick | STP | 150/0 | 160 | Running | $8,915 |
| 7 | 15 | #37 | Mike Alexander | Buick | Roger's Auto Leasing | 151/5 | 160 | Running | $6,200 |
| 8 | 5 | #44 | Terry Labonte | Buick | Stratagraph | 142/0 | 159 | Running | $10,040 |
| 9 | 7 | #47 | Ron Bouchard * | Buick | Race Hill Farm | 138/0 | 159 | Running | $7,775 |
| 10 | 19 | #11 | Darrell Waltrip | Buick | Mountain Dew | 134/0 | 159 | Running | $9,610 |
| 11 | 16 | #68 | Lennie Pond | Buick | The 5 Racers Corp. | 130/0 | 159 | Running | $3,550 |
| 12 | 40 | #70 | J.D. McDuffie | Pontiac | Bailey Excavating | 132/5 | 159 | Running | $6,495 |
| 13 | 37 | #71 | Dave Marcis | Buick | Hudson Transmission | 124/0 | 157 | Running | $6,155 |
| 14 | 35 | #4 | Connie Saylor | Oldsmobile | Spencer Racing | 121/0 | 157 | Running | $3,160 |
| 15 | 18 | #12 | Tim Richmond | Buick | Uno | 118/0 | 156 | Engine Failure | $2,920 |
| 16 | 32 | #50 | Bruce Hill | Buick | Native Tan | 115/0 | 155 | Running | $2,530 |
| 17 | 33 | #67 | Buddy Arrington | Dodge | Jim Peacock | 112/0 | 155 | Running | $5,175 |
| 18 | 30 | #52 | Jimmy Means | Pontiac | Broadway Motors | 109/0 | 155 | Running | $4,870 |
| 19 | 34 | #64 | Tommy Gale | Ford | Sunny King Ford & Honda | 106/0 | 155 | Running | $4,475 |
| 20 | 39 | #5 | Morgan Shepherd | Pontiac | Performance Connection | 103/0 | 155 | Running | $6,870 |
| 21 | 6 | #3 | Richard Childress | Pontiac | Ronnie Steele | 100/0 | 154 | Running | $3,785 |
| 22 | 41 | #48 | James Hylton | Pontiac | Palatine Automotive | 97/0 | 154 | Running | $3,225 |
| 23 | 24 | #86 | Elliott Forbes-Robinson | Buick | Cal-Tex | 94/0 | 153 | Running | $1,470 |
| 24 | 17 | #75 | Bill Elswick | Buick | Rahmoc Racing | 91/0 | 150 | Running | $3,290 |
| 25 | 29 | #24 | Cecil Gordon | Buick | Daytona Inn | 88/0 | 146 | Engine Failure | $2,995 |
| 26 | 27 | #22 | Stan Barrett | Pontiac | Skoal Bandit | 90/5 | 138 | Engine Failure | $1,470 |
| 27 | 42 | #17 | Tommy Houston | Oldsmobile | Kings Inn Daytona | 82/0 | 127 | Running | $2,610 |
| 28 | 4 | #28 | Bobby Allison | Buick | Hardee's | 84/5 | 111 | Broken Valve | $7,020 |
| 29 | 22 | #6 | Joe Ruttman | Buick | The 5 Racers Corp. | 76/0 | 99 | Ignition | $1,295 |
| 30 | 11 | #21 | Neil Bonnett | Ford | Purolator | 78/5 | 93 | Engine Failure | $1,820 |
| 31 | 38 | #19 | Dick May | Buick | Gray Racing | 70/0 | 89 | Engine Failure | $1,060 |
| 32 | 13 | #51 | AJ Foyt | Oldsmobile | Gilmore/Valvoline | 67/0 | 85 | Rear End | $1,035 |
| 33 | 20 | #66 | Lake Speed | Buick | Native Tan | 64/0 | 76 | Engine Failure | $2,565 |
| 34 | 25 | #9 | Bill Elliott | Ford | Mell-Gear Tuning Components | 61/0 | 72 | Engine Failure | $985 |
| 35 | 3 | #2 | Dale Earnhardt | Pontiac | Wrangler Jeans | 63/5 | 71 | Vibration | $8,360 |
| 36 | 36 | #99 | Kevin Housby | Oldsmobile | Taylor & Martin | 55/0 | 53 | Accident | $2,480 |
| 37 | 28 | #13 | Jack Ingram | Ford | Carolina Tool & Equipment | 52/0 | 52 | Clutch | $940 |
| 38 | 31 | #90 | Jody Ridley | Ford | Truxmore/Sunny King | 49/0 | 34 | Engine Failure | $2,735 |
| 39 | 26 | #15 | Benny Parsons | Ford | Melling Tool Company | 46/0 | 16 | Accident | $6,380 |
| 40 | 12 | #88 | Ricky Rudd | Oldsmobile | Gatorade/Digard | 43/0 | 16 | Accident | $6,625 |
| 41 | 23 | #31 | Billie Harvey | Pontiac | Junior Johnson/Pistone | 40/0 | 15 | Accident | $1,000 |
| 42 | 8 | #62 | Rick Wilson | Oldsmobile | Florida Equipment & Service | 37/0 | 8 | Engine Failure | $925 |
| * Denotes Rookie | |||||||||