A great finish not the only thing that made this Talladega race special
The 1981 Talladega 500 at what is now known as Talladega Superspeedway ranks as one of the most exciting races in the track’s history, with one of its most improbable winners ever.
On the last lap, rookie Ron Bouchard made a daring move underneath leaders Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonte to win the speedway’s second race of the season.
But the race was noteworthy for other reasons, including the fact a journeyman driver/team owner decided to give up on double duty and concentrate on team ownership. That decision would put him on the path to making NASCAR history.
Bouchard, a 32-year-old rookie from Massachusetts, was the longest of longshots heading into that Aug. 2 race. Bouchard drove a car fielded by another Northeasterner, Jack Beebe.
Bouchard joined Beebe’s team after the departure of Harry Gant, who hooked up earlier in the year with owner Hal Needham. Gant won the pole for the 1981 Talladega 500, finished fourth, and went on to fashion a hall of fame career.
The Talladega race was only the 11th career start for Bouchard, who was one of the best on NASCAR’s Modified circuit, which had a strong presence in the Northeast.
At Talladega, Waltrip, Junior Johnson’s driver, held the lead as the white flag flew. As the lead pack came off the fourth turn, Labonte, racing for Billy Hagan, went to the high side in an effort to pass.
Waltrip made a blocking move. Bouchard, completely unnoticed, saw that the low side of the track was open. He dove in and made it to the finish line just inches ahead of his foes.
“Where did he come from, anyway?” asked Waltrip.
In 1981, Bouchard was locked in a battle with Morgan Shepherd for rookie-of-the-year honors.
At Talladega a couple of days before the race, the tempestuous Shepherd got into a most improbable fistfight with Darrell Bryant, the crew chief for his Cliff Stewart-owned team.
Prior to the incident Shepherd had beaten Bouchard to the punch – no pun intended. He won at Martinsville in April and seemed well on his way to top rookie honors.
But after Talladega, where he finished 36th, Shepherd was fired.
Bouchard won the rookie title by 14 points despite the fact he entered only 22 races to Shepherd’s 29 – several with other teams after his dismissal by Stewart.
In 1981, Bouchard’s star was on the rise. On the other hand, after being fired, Shepherd foundered.
Bouchard left Beebe after the 1985 season. The man who replaced him for 1986 was, ironically, Shepherd.
Bouchard flamed out after 1987 and was gone. The 1981 Talladega 500 was the only race he ever won.
Shepherd, meanwhile, continued to persevere. In fact, he raced with such quality teams as Rahmoc Enterprises, Bud Moore and Wood Brothers Racing from 1989-96.
His last career victory came in the spring of 1993 at Atlanta with Wood Brothers Racing. Long after he lost the rookie title to Bouchard in 1981, Shepherd, 68, continues
to race in the Nationwide Series.
As noted earlier, Bouchard’s upset victory was the big news at the time. In retrospect, that 1981 Talladega 500 is much more notable for something that went completely unnoticed at the time. Journeyman driver Richard Childress, who’d made 284 NASCAR Cup starts from 1969-1981, drove his last race as an owner/driver, finishing 26th in his Pontiac. In the next race, at Michigan, Childress’ No. 3 Chevrolet had a new sponsor, Wrangler, and a new driver – Dale Earnhardt.
At the end of 1981 Earnhardt moved on to join owner Bud Moore. That pairing lasted two seasons before he returned to Childress. The two went on to win six NASCAR Winston Cup championships together, a journey that began following that 1981 race at Talladega.
Bouchard is long-since retired, but Shepherd, the other rookie in that race, is still competing today at age 68. So, too, is Childress, albeit as a team owner. He’ll field four cars in the Nov. 1 Amp Energy 500. NS
