One year after earning rookie-of-the-year honors in the NASCAR Cup Series, Dale Earnhardt drove California businessman Rod Osterlund’s No. 2 car to the series championship.
It was the first time a sophomore driver earned the NASCAR Cup Series title.
However, prior to the 1981 Firecracker 500 at Daytona Int’l Speedway, Osterlund informed Earnhardt he had sold his race team to Kentucky coal miner J.D. Stacy. The driver from Kannapolis, N.C., wasn’t happy with Osterlund’s decision and sought a way out of his contract.
Meanwhile, NASCAR threw teams for a loop by transitioning to a smaller wheelbase car beginning in 1981. The standard became 110 inches as opposed to the previous 115-inch wheelbase.
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