The 1981 Virginia 500 was a Winston Cup (now Nextel Cup) event held at Martinsville on April 26, 1981. Morgan Shepherd, driving for an underfunded team, leading 203 of the 500 laps in route to an surprising fifteen-second victory on Neil Bonnett. It was Shepherd's first career win. With a 13th place effort, points leader Bobby Allison maintained an 83-point edge on Harry Gant (4th).