Thanks for joining me Mark Smith for today's coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race from Michigan International Speedway on VAVEL USA. Onto next week at Road America and I hope you can join me again for all the coverage you need on the NASCAR Nationwide Series
Next week the NASCAR Nationwide Series rolls onto Road America for the first road course race of the season in what is always an action packed, crash filled and fun time race for fans and drivers alike
Post-race: Larson who came home in eigth place says he was disappointed to not have the right strategy to get the win after leading the most laps today. Earnhardt. Jr says he is satisfied with a top five finish and can take momentum of the past few weeks to get another win tomorrow in the Sprint Cup Series
Post-race: Regan Smith who was the Nationwide Series points leader before the race came home seventh and extends his lead to 14 points and now has thirteen top ten finishes but says he isn't happy with seventh but happy with having the points lead
Post-race: Hornish Jr who finished in second says the car felt really good on sort runs but on the long runs would go away and just glad to be out here to get another top five finish
Post-race: Logano says he felt like he might have run over something for the tire to go down but that's racing sometimes your the bug and sometimes your the wind shield
Post-race: Top five at the end of the race as follows: Menard, Hornish Jr, Earnhardt Jr, Busch, Scott
Post-race: Victory lane celebrations begin for Menard after he finally finds his way to pit road
Post-race: After cutting down a tire and pitting late on Logano finishes in 19th
Post-race: Menard celebrates with burn outs and grabs the flag to celebrate in front of the fans
Chequered Flag: Paul Menard wins at Michigan. Hornish. Jr finishes in second place as the highest placed Nationwide Series driver
1 lap to go: White Flag. Menard comes to the line for one more lap and he will end his 98 winless streak in NASCAR
3 laps to go: Bad break for Logano as he has a flat right rear tire and is on pit road, Meanrd to the lead
4 laps to go: Logano is still out from and has just lead his 200th lap this season in the Nationwide. Series. The gap to second placed Menard is 1 second
7 laps to go: Menard has cut the gap to 1.3 seconds on Logano but it may be too little too late
10 laps to go: Final ten laps at Michigan for the Nationwide Series and Menard is slowly starting to close the gap on Logano
13 laps to go: Logano remains out front by two seconds as Menard is up to second and Hornish. Jr is upto third after they passed Earnhardt Jr
23 laps to go: Bad luck for Sadler as he had debris on his grille and had to come to pit road to get it removed and has low water levels in the car because of it. Logano is out front still
28 laps to go: Logano leads by one second over Sadler who is being pressured by Earnhardt Jr
31 laps to go: Former front runner from earlier in the race, Larson and Elliott, are stuck back in 11th and 12th after the pit stops
35 laps to go: Logano leads the lap after the restart with Elliott Sadler behind him in second
Green Flag: Green flag is back out and Logano is the leader with only 36 laps to go at Michigan
Caution. All of the leaders are now on pit road getting various strategies. Logano wins the race off pit road
Lap 80: Caution. Dylan Kwasniewski and Trevor Bayne come together and the back end of Kwasniewski's car is destroyed as Bayne has big right side damage but is able to come to pit road
Lap 78: There have been four different leaders today and three of them are battling for the lead with Menard out front as one of them
Lap 75: Elliott is closing the gap to Menard and is on his bumper into turn one
Lap 74: Menard goes back to the lead as he had a great run into turn one
Green Flag: Green flag is back in the air and we are racing again at Michigan as Larson leads
Lap 65: Caution. Yellow flags are out at Michigan for the third time in today's race for debris on the race track. Larson, Elliott and Menard stay on the track as the rest of the leaders pit
Half way report: Menard lead the early going before getting together with Logano which allowed Dillon to the lead for two laps before Larson went passed him and has had the lead since lap 17
Lap 63: Battle for second between the Sprint Cup Series drivers of Busch and Logano as Larson continues to lead
Lap 58: Larson leads after getting some help from Logano on the restart
Green Flag: Green flag is back in the air as Chase Elliott leads them off turn four and to the line
Lap 53: Caution. Debris somewhere on the track brings out the second caution of the race and Chase Elliott is the leader
Lap 53: Chase Elliott is closing the gap on Larson and now makes the pass as they catch lap traffic
Lap 46: Hornish Jr pits and is the last driver to come to pit road which means Larson goes back on point
Lap 41: Leaders are on pit road and after the stops have cycled through Hornish Jr is currently in the lead as he stopped for repairs earlier
Lap 38: Green flag pit stops are going to begin within the next few lap as there are 25 cars on the lead lap. Larson leads by the same 1.5 second margin
Lap 33: Larson continues to be on point at Michigan from Chase Elliott as the gap stands at 1.5 seconds
Lap 28: Logano now passes Dillon who has told his crew chief the car is loose. Logano has battled back from his problems as well
Lap 25: Rookie battle for second place as Chase Elliott passes Dillon with ease at the line
Lap 23: Larson has over a second over Menard in second as the leaders have started to catch lap traffic
Lap 17: Kyle Larson goes to the lead after passing Dillon at the line. Menard is the fastest car on the track and is back into third after his trouble
Lap 15: Hornish Jr had a tire going down on lap 1 which caused him to spin and NASCAR has given them an additional set of tires for the rest of the race
Lap 13: Tanner Berryhill is off the pace on the back stretch and is coasting on the apron, it stays green
Lap 9: Almost big trouble as Menard gets tapped by Logano and they both get loose but save it and Ty Dillon goes to the lead
Lap 8: Lead change as Logano passes Menard on the back stretch
Lap 7: Menard pulls away from the field and Joey Logano is in second
Green Flag: Racing is back underway at Michigan as Paul Menard leads
Caution. Going into turn three Hornish Jr started to get loose and lost control in the centre of the corner. He was lucky to keep it from rolling back up into the track and causing a big wreck
Lap 2: Caution. Sam Hornish Jr in the #20 car spins on his own whilst in eigth place
Lap 1: Paul Menard leads lap one after starting in fifth
Green Flag: Green flag is in the air and we are racing at Michigan. Kyle Busch leads the field into turn one.
Pre-race: National anthem has been sung and the fly over is complete, command to fire engines is coming up next with fifteen minutes until the start of the race. The race distance will be 125 laps and to note only three of the last twenty two races have been won from the pole.
Pre-race: Pre race ceremonies are underway at the track, with just under half an hour to go until the drop of the green flag I'm picking Elliott Sadler to win the race (excluding Sprint Cup Series drivers)
Pre-race: Of the twelve drivers that advanced to the third and final round of knock out qualifying, seven of them were Nationwide Series drivers and people have stated recently that they would like to see the Sprint Cup Series drivers stay out of the Nationwide Series.
Pre-race: In the second round of knock out qualifying Menard once again topped the charts at the end of the session, followed by Nationwide Series driver Chase Elliott who is one of the top ranked rookies in the series.
Pre-race: Following the conclusion of the first round of knock out qualifying, three drivers did not qualify for the race today, Tommy Joe Martins - Morgan Shephard and Matt Dibenedetto
Pre-race: In the first round of knock out qualifying Menard topped the charts with a speed of 191.571mph. He has been fast since the first practice session that took place at the start of the weekend.
Pre-race: After dominating yesterday and today in the first two rounds of qualifying, Paul Menard, will be disappointed to not earn himself the pole award for today's race. Menard set a new qualifying record in session two before Busch set his own in the third.
Pre-race: Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch has just grabbed the Coors Light Pole qualifying award after posting a qualifying record speed of 193.242mph.
12:10 P.M. EST: Looking ahead to the next race on the NASCAR Nationwide Series calendar the series travels to Road America for 50 laps around the first road course of the series' season in 2014.
12:09 P.M. EST: The points standings changed a little after the race at Dover International Raceway last week as Regan Smith now leads the standings by four points over Elliott Sadler. Rookie Chase Elliott lies in third and is twenty two points off Smith, Trevor Bayne occupies fourth spot and is twenty seven points back from the leader. Finally Ty Dillon is in fifth place and is thirty four points off the lead.
12:08 P.M. EST: Last weeks Nationwide Series race was won by Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch after he dominated at Dover International Raceway. Leading the most laps and having the fastest lap of the race he deserved his victory.
12:07 P.M. EST: After the conclusion of yesterday's practice sessions NASCAR announced that for the race today the teams would be using the same compound tire as they have at Kansas Motor Speedway. The tracks are similar in length and speeds so it seems like a sensible choice from the NASCAR bosses.
12:06 P.M. EST: Yesterday marked a somber occasion for the Nationwide Series as it marked one year to the day since the sport lost one of the promising young drivers too early in his life, Jason Leffler who raced not only in the Nationwide Series but also in the Camping World Truck Series and was due to make his Sprint Cup Series debut before his untimely death.
12:05 P.M. EST: Fans of the sport have recently complained at the amount of Sprint Cup Series drivers in the second tier and in the second practice session it was welcoming to see only four Sprint Cup Series drivers within the top ten at the end of the session.
12:04 P.M. EST: Some of the new and younger drivers in the Nationwide Series proved themselves at this fast and slick racetrack yesterday by finishing inside the top ten in both practice sessions, Ty Dillon and Dylan Kwasniewski are the drivers in question.
12:03 P.M. EST: Out of the Nationwide Series drivers in both practice sessions, only rookie Chase Elliott who has two wins under his belt already this season was comfortably in the top five in both sessions yesterday.
12:02 P.M. EST: Two practice sessions took place yesterday at the racetrack and Sprint Cup Series driver Paul Menard topped the charts in both of them before going on to earn a good qualifying place in the Sprint Cup Series session later in the day.
12:01 P.M. EST: The second tier series of NASCAR racing will become a weekly LIVE event on VAVEL USA as the NASCAR section of the website continues to grow. Round 13 of the series is guaranteed to be fast, fast, fast.
Welcome to today's coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race from Michigan International Speedway. I'm Mark Smith and I will be bringing you coverage of the second tier of NASCAR racing from Green a Flag all the way to the chequered.