Ragan passes Newman at finish for 1st NASCAR victory

Ragan wins 1st race with late pass at Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala. — David Ragan has earned his first NASCAR victory by passing Ryan Newman right before the finish line in the Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

It is Ragan’s first win in any of NASCAR’s top three series.

Newman started from the pole and led the field on a final restart for a two-lap sprint to the finish. He had his hands full with Dale Earnhardt Jr., who followed him bumper-to-bumper as he looked for a chance to pass.

But Newman and Earnhardt made contact as Earnhardt tried to dart around him on the final lap. Ragan then squeezed by Newman for the win.

Earnhardt, who was shuffled back to fifth, waited for Ragan on pit road to congratulate him on the win.

Newman finished second, Joey Logano was third.