Dale Earnhardt Jr.: It sucks to lose like that

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Mountain Dew Kickstart Chevrolet, crosses the finish line in second place after running out of gas on the last lap during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 9, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Mountain Dew Kickstart Chevrolet, crosses the finish line in second place after running out of gas on the last lap during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 9, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 09: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Mountain Dew Kickstart Chevrolet, crosses the finish line in second place after running out of gas on the last lap during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 9, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. came within a half a lap of winning his second NASCAR Sprint Cup series win of 2014 Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Earnhardt’s Hendrick Motorsports crew took a chance by leaving him out during a late pit stop hoping that the No. 88 Chevy would have enough fuel to make it to the end.

It turned out there wasn’t. But it was oh so close.

The No. 88 Chevy sputtered on the backstretch on the final lap, just enough to allow Brad Keselowski past. The engine did re-fire but Earnhardt didn’t have enough speed to catch Keselowski and had to settle for second.  MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.