NEWRY, ME -- Ex-factory driver Ramana Lagemann and co-driver Michael Fennel eked out a tight victory at the Maine Forest Rally to qualify for a starting position at the first-ever X Games Rally.

“I can’t even put it into words,” said Lagemann, accepting hugs of congratulations from his beaming crew after pulling his Ford Escort Cosworth across the finish line. “It was meant to be.”

Two top finishers who had not already been invited to compete were to be invited to start at the X Games Rally in Los Angeles in a week’s time. One of those positions remained in question after the race.

Early results had awarded Italian driver Alfredo “Dedo” DeDominicis the overall win and an X Games slot. But in an unusual turn of events, he dropped from first place to fifth — and out of X Games contention -- when race officials handed him a 24-second penalty for a late arrival to the Day 2 Parc Expose.

That meant Canadian Andrew Comrie-Picard earned the second X Games spot, although the decision was still under appeal on Monday.

After a careful and steady drive, Subaru Rally Team USA driver Travis Pastrana finished seven seconds off the lead in second place overall. It was an important podium finish for young rally driver. With rival Andrew Pinker unexpectedly absent from the entry list, the finish puts Pastrana in the series championship lead.

Third place went to Matt Iorio and co-driver Ole Holter, who finished just two seconds behind Pastrana and just a tenth of a second ahead of fourth-place finisher Comrie-Picard.

Comrie-Picard and co-driver Marc Goldfarb, who began the day third overall in their nine-year-old Mitsubishi Evo, dropped into sixth place mid-day Saturday after their hood flew open and smashed their windshield. Peering from behind shattered glass, Comrie-Picard drove hard to win both final stages outright and slide into the second qualifying position for the X Games.

It was a disappointing day for early race leader and fellow Canadian Antoine L’Estage. A mis-step on Stage 7 cost L’Estage and co-driver Mark Williams some 20 seconds and damaged their aging Hyundai Tiburon. Mechanical failure in the second-last stage forced the team to quit short of the finish line.

Tanner Foust finished first in the Production GT class, while Group N victory went to driver Jonathan Bottoms. Driver Daniel Cook was the fastest two-wheel drive competitor, in a Group 2 Datsun 510.

The Maine Forest Rally saw nearly 60 drivers take the start Friday. Now in its 12th year, attrition is typically high at this event. Course roads feature rough and treacherous conditions and this rally has developed a reputation as a car-breaker.

Next up on the U.S. rally calendar is the X Games Rally in Los Angeles. Top rally talent including WRC veteran Colin McRae, Subaru Rally Team USA drivers Pastrana and Ken Block, eight-time U.S. champion Paul Choiniere and 2005 Rally America champion Pat Richard will battle for gold in front of a live ESPN audience Aug. 5.

The Rally America national championship is a challenging, all-season series comprised of nine events across the country, beginning with Sno*Drift in January and wrapping up 12 months later with the Reno Rally in Reno, Nevada.

The annual X Games is the premier action sports event in the world, featuring athletes from across the globe competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, Surfing and Rally. X Games 12 will be telecast live on ESPN and ABC.

Rally America, a Minneapolis, MN, based corporation, holds the sanctioning and marketing rights to the Rally America Championship. The company was founded in 2002 by rally driver and CPD Rally Team owner Doug Havir.