1981 in NASCAR

The 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season was the thirty-third season of professional in the United States and the 10th modern-era Cup Season. 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.