33rd Little 500 Qualifying Results
Anderson Speedway
Saturday, May 23, 1981
Fast Qualifier: Greg Leffler – 48.554 seconds (New Track Record)
| POS | # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | ENTRANT | TIME | MARGIN |
| 1 | 43 | Greg Leffler | Winchester, IN | Armstrong Mould | 48.554 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 72 | Marvin Carman | Union City, MI | Bellairs-Smith | 49.156 | 0.602 |
| 3 | 47 | Jeff Bloom | Kalamazoo, MI | Lyle Roberts | 49.498 | 0.944 |
| 4 | 66 | Ed Angle | Flora, IN | Jack French | 49.525 | 0.971 |
| 5 | 18 | Ed Lute | Columbus, OH | Rice/Kasperak | 49.827 | 1.273 |
| 6 | 68 | Bill Roynon | Tampa, FL | Altfater-Conroy | 49.953 | 1.399 |
| 7 | 3 | Robert Smith | Gibsonton, FL | Robert Smith | 50.071 | 1.517 |
| 8 | 65 | Bob Kinser | Bedford, IN | Jerry Shields | 50.131 | 1.577 |
| 9 | 21 | Jimmy Alvis | Tampa, FL | Jimmy Alvis | 50.278 | 1.724 |
| 10 | 96 | Mike Shaw | Marshall, MI | Jean Shaw | 50.402 | 1.848 |
| 11 | 80 | David Smith | Gibsonton, FL | Buster Wiliams | 50.451 | 1.897 |
| 12 | 1 | Bernie Graybeal | Shelbyville, KY | D.W. Miller | 50.505 | 1.951 |
| 13 | 74 | Bob Seelman | Lansing, MI | Bob Seelman | 50.550 | 1.996 |
| 14 | 38 | Brent Whited | Richmond, IN | Dave Hodson | 50.627 | 2.073 |
| 15 | 8 | Ken Price | North Olmstead, OH | Charles Haendiges | 50.661 | 2.107 |
| 16 | 82 | Jack Calabrase | Lansing, MI | Fred Seltenright | 50.788 | 2.234 |
| 17 | 2 | Hardy Maddox | Seffner, FL | Sharon Maddox | 50.800 | 2.246 |
| 18 | 92 | Bob Frey | Elyria, OH | Urbie Durnwald | 51.127 | 2.573 |
| 19 | 71 | Danny Johnson | Kalamazoo, MI | E.M. Wilson | 51.179 | 2.625 |
| 20 | 23 | Gary Olson | Gladstone, MI | Rick Schmidt | 51.277 | 2.723 |
| 21 | 6 | Gary Schlafer | Anderson, IN | Gerry Olson | 51.299 | 2.745 |
| 22 | 30 | Jim Moulis | Fox Lake, IL | Jim Moulis | 51.354 | 2.800 |
| 23 | 61 | King Kramer | Lansing, MI | Brian Bowens | 49.321 | 0.767 |
| 24 | 5 | Lennie Waldo | Columbus, OH | Clarence Miller | 50.030 | 1.476 |
| 25 | 56 | Kelly Kinser | Bloomington, IN | Jerry Shields | 50.333 | 1.779 |
| 26 | 98 | Stan Butler | Tampa, FL | Billy McGee | 51.448 | 2.894 |
| 27 | 31 | Tim Boyd | Avon, IN | Casey Jones | 51.478 | 2.924 |
| 28 | 27 | Allen Barr | Seymout, IN | Rocky Sullivan | 51.478 | 2.924 |
| 29 | 59 | Danny Milburn | Indianapolis, IN | Danny Milburn | 51.605 | 3.051 |
| 30 | 97 | Chuck Mynett | Fort Wayne, IN | Greg Krantz | 51.636 | 3.082 |
| 31 | 86 | Don Heckman | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Cal Krusen | 51.815 | 3.261 |
| 32 | 7 | Jim Slade | Hillsdale, MI | Arthur Braithwaite | 51.891 | 3.337 |
| 33 | 36 | Bob Kolacki | Elwood, IN | Dartis Plake | 52.114 | 3.560 |
