Standing Starts a Big Step for IndyCar

This weekend will mark the second "double header" race weekend in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Teams and drivers will participate in a full-length race on the Streets of Toronto on Saturday afternoon, only to turn around and race again on Sunday. However, a new twist comes with the Honda Indy Toronto with the implementation of a standing start for the first of the double header races. This new addition to the IndyCar Series is a huge step for Indy's return to prominence.

...or it could be a complete bust.


Standing starts have been the norm in Formula One pretty much from the beginning. In fact, it was the Indianapolis 500 that first introduced the rolling start back in 1911. Nearly all other forms of racing, especially single-seat road course racing, involve a standing start. F1 of course is the premier racing series in the world, and have perfected the art of the standing start over the years.

The IndyCar series adapting their racing to mimic the world's greatest racing series is a great move. Going along with the double headers in premier markets (Detroit, Toronto, Houston) to gain fans, providing something DIFFERENT in the form of standing starts is a great decision. And yes, although the standing start is seen more often and is the more traditional way to begin a race, it is essentially unique in North American auto racing. That is because Americans see two series: NASCAR and IndyCar. They have never seen a standing start. Most who I talk to, upon hearing that IndyCar would be doing a standing start, respond with some sort of shock and apprehension.


And you know, they're not alone. Drivers are a bit unsure as to the standing start procedure as well.

Graham Rahal said on Twitter that standing starts are "not for me, but let's see how it goes."

Ed Carpenter also commented that he liked double headers, but standing starts "not so much."

James Hinchcliffe said during last week's race (after he crashed out and joined commentators in the booth) that he is excited for standing starts, but practice time to work on it has been extremely limited.

Scott Dixon, who won last week's race at Pocono, said he is nervous for a few reasons as well. Inexperience is a factor, as many of the drivers have not performed a standing start since they were young (Dixon hasn't done one in nearly 15 years). Second, he said that the system on the Dallara car just isn't set up to properly do a standing start.

That second part especially makes sense. Think about how many times a car spins on the track and comes to a stop, but then the car stalls and a full-course caution results. Heck, Will Power's car stopped in the middle of turn 3 in practice today. How many cars might stall during a standing start? And then how dangerous will it be if a car stalls when everybody else goes flying by? What if more than one car stalls?

 

This is the start of the 2012 F1 United States Grand Prix.
Notice how cars starting up front can easily fall back with
a bad start, and how cars in the back can jump many positions
before the first turn!

In F1, in the rare occasion that a car stalls on the grid before the lights go out and the race begins, an aborted start is declared and the stalled car is removed from the grid. It would be assumed that a similar procedure would commence with the IndyCar standing starts as well. However, it has been declared that any aborted start would result in the implementation of a rolling start instead.

 
The start of the 2001 F1 Kuala Lampur Grand Prix had an
aborted start due to a car lining up in the wrong spot,
and nearly another one for a stalled car. This shows
what can happen with standing starts in auto racing.

That's where the standing start tomorrow could be a huge detriment to IndyCar. If multiple cars don't get off of the grid, then questions will arise as to IndyCar's desires for safety. If they put cars that are not set up for a standing start, they are knowingly setting themselves up for potential failure. And if a car stalls and gets rear-ended by a car that does start properly, then there could be some serious repercussions from drivers and fans. And if they realize a safety issue and throw the yellow flag to abort the start, then fans will be disappointed as the field returns to the "normal" way to start the race.

We want to see something new. Let's hope we do and let's hope it works the way it should!