07/05/2020 – For the second entry in the ‘Random Race‘ series, we go back to 1981 for the Winston Cup season opener at the storied Riverside International Raceway road course in Riverside, California, for the Winston Western 500 held on Sunday, January 11, 1981.
1981 was a landmark year for NASCAR as it introduced the new, downsized Gen-3 cars which was how Pontiac reentered Cup; not all race entries were Gen-3 of course, as many teams sought to stick with the tried and true (the Gen-2 Monte Carlo was still very popular with teams). As a result, there was only one Pontiac (Gen-3) entry in the 36 car field, a Pontiac Grand Prix owned by Rod Osterlund, sponsored by Wrangler, and driven by Dale Earnhardt Sr (there was one other Pontiac that entered but failed to qualify, driven by Harry Dinwiddie, also a Gen-3 car); Osterlund’s Grand Prix was one of four of the newer Gen-3 cars entered.
Earnhardt had a great race, finishing 3rd after starting 6th; interestingly, Earnhardt finished 1 spot ahead of a driver named Richard Childress who piloted a Chevrolet bearing McDonalds sponsorship and car number 3.
Here’s a picture of Dinwiddie’s unsponsored #41 Pontiac prior to the race in a TV spot as legendary commentator Ned Jarrett is explaining (and displaying) the difference in stance and size between the Gen-2 and Gen-3 racecars; Dinwiddie’s Grand Prix is supposedly the only GM Cup car ever built by Ford legends Holman and Moody.
…and since we’re on a Dinwiddie roll, here’s picture of him and his Pontiac at the next race on the schedule – the Daytona 500, where he got sponsorship, but failed to quality.
…and here’s also a great story about Dinwiddie and his journey into Cup racing.
http://archive.knoxnews.com/news/for-harry-dinwiddie-nascar-stint-was-surreal-ep-406242840-358084961.html/
For all statistics regarding Pontiac in NASCAR Cup racing please see –
Pontiac Stock Car Racing Factbook
Pontiac Racing 