NASCAR Cup Series

Look back on the day Dale Earnhardt Jr. broke Junior Nation's heart in Vegas

Published Mar. 3, 2016 12:26 p.m. ET

foxsports

Sometimes it pays to roll the dice in Sin City, and sometimes it comes back to bite you in the butt.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his now-former crew chief, Steve Letarte, learned this lesson the hard way two years ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Gambling by trying to stretch the final tank of fuel in his No. 88 Chevy to the checkered flag, Earnhardt ultimately came up half a lap short of victory when he began to sputter and Brad Keselowski whizzed by.

As the Sprint Cup Series returns to LVMS for Sunday's Kobalt 400 (FOX, 3 p.m. ET), and in recognition of Throwback Thursday, look back on this heartbreaking day for Junior Nation.