1981 CART Series Drivers Championship Standings
| # | Driver | Country | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Rick Mears |
 | 304 |  |
| 2. | Bill Alsup |
| 175 | |
| 3. | Pancho Carter |
| 168 | |
| 4. | Gordon Johncock |
| 142 | |
| 5. | Johnny Rutherford |
| 120 | |
| 6. | Tony Bettenhausen Jr. |
| 107 | |
| 7. | Bobby Unser |
| 99 | |
| 8. | Tom Sneva |
| 96 | |
| 9. | Bob Lazier |
| 92 | |
| 10. | Al Unser |
| 90 | |
| 11. | Mario Andretti |
| 81 | |
| 12. | Tom Bigelow |
| 60 | |
| 13. | Scott Brayton |
| 57 | |
| 14. | Larry Dickson |
| 49 | |
| 15. | Gary Bettenhausen |
| 42 | |
| 16. | Dick Simon |
| 38 | |
| = | Herm Johnson |
| 38 | |
| 18. | Mike Chandler |
| 37 | |
| 19. | Mike Mosley |
| 32 | |
| 20. | Steve Chassey |
| 31 | |
| 21. | Josele Garza |
 | 30 | |
| 22. | Phil Caliva |
| 27 | |
| 23. | Kevin Cogan |
| 23 | |
| 24. | Dick Ferguson |
| 20 | |
| 25. | Steve Krisiloff |
| 18 | |
| 26. | Rocky Moran Sr. |
| 16 | |
| 27. | Geoff Brabham |
 | 14 | |
| 28. | Jerry Karl |
| 13 | |
| 29. | Billy Engelhart |
| 11 | |
| 30. | Roger Rager |
| 10 | |
| = | Larry Cannon |
| 10 | |
| 32. | Bill Tempero |
| 7 | |
| 33. | Phil Krueger |
| 6 | |
| = | Bill Vukovich Jr. |
| 6 | |
| 35. | Gordon Smiley |
| 5 | |
| 36. | Jim Buick |
| 4 | |
| = | Ross Davis |
| 4 | |
| = | Vern Schuppan |
| 4 | |
| = | Jim McElreath |
| 4 | |
| 40. | Hurley Haywood |
| 3 | |
| 41. | Bob Frey |
| 2 | |
| = | John Mahler |
| 2 | |
| = | Spike Gehlhausen |
| 2 | |
| 44. | Jerry Sneva |
| 1 | |
| = | Dennis Firestone |
| 1 | |
| = | Chip Mead |
| 1 | |
| = | Phil Threshie |
| 1 | |