Do Fans Want Standing or Flying Starts?
One of the hallmarks of American motor racing is the flying start or some refer to it as a rolling start. If you’ve ever heard old broadcasts of the Indianapolis 500, you’ve heard chief announcer Sid Collins refer to the start of the 500 as “the world’s fastest flying start”. Flying starts are the norm in the US. Sprints, midgets, stock cars and Indy cars and everything in between, have always utilized the flying start.
In Europe and elsewhere, it seems that standing starts are sort of the norm. I say “sort of” because the 24 Hours of Le Mans has used flying starts since 1979. Before that, drivers ran to their cars from across the pits and jumped in. Then they had a mad dash from there. The whole thing looked comical at the time, but now just seems quaint. But Formula One has used standing starts as long as I can remember.
Just because we in the US are used to flying starts, does that make it right? I know I live by the rule that Change is Bad, but as much as it pains me to say it – sometimes change can be a good thing, but other times…not so much.
In 2013, the NTT IndyCar Series tried standing starts at select tracks. It did not go well. At the 2014 Indy GP, pole-sitter Sebastian Saavedra stalled and his car was demolished on the starting grid. Standing starts were abandoned after the 2014 season. I happened to be sitting in the stands just north of the starting line, and caught the entire thing on video.
This past Monday, longtime reader and commenter OliverW suggested that IndyCar go back to standing starts on all road and street courses. I have a lot of respect for Oliver. He lives in the UK and has been commenting here for years. Susan and I finally met Oliver this past May on Race Morning for the Indianapolis 500.
As an added bonus, he flew back over for the double-header at Milwaukee where we got to spend more time with him. We found we have a lot in common – not just about different topics with IndyCar racing, but about life in general. He seems very reasonable and we think a lot alike. But on this topic, we differ.
Just because I am not in favor of standing starts, does not mean the topic shouldn’t be revisited. On Monday, he brought up a very good point regarding Long Beach. As it stands now, by the time the front-row is taking the green flag, the last few rows of the field are still navigating the hairpin. Is that really fair? Race officials may tell you they would prefer the field a little more spread out as the field approached Turn One.
As I recall, except for the 2014 Indy GP – I don’t really remember anything good or bad coming from the standing starts. At the double-headers in those days – Belle Isle, Toronto and Houston – the first race would begin with a standing start, and then Race Two would be the traditional flying start. Things are a little fuzzy being more than a decade removed, but I don’t really recall anyone saying what a great race it was due to a standing start. I’m not sure if it made any impact at all.
They implemented a standing start at Long Beach in 2014, where many (including Oliver) said it was most needed. Ryan Hunter-Reay was on the pole, with James Hinchcliffe alongside on the front row. On a side note – NASCAR types sometimes refer to that spot as the outside pole. Never use that term. That’s almost as bad as referring to the front-nose, but I digress…
At the start, Hinchcliffe bobbled and almost stalled, but was able to get away cleanly, unlike Saavedra about a month later. Other than that – it seemed to be a typical Long Beach start. The pole-sitter made it through Turn One and the slower cars in the back didn’t seem t be any closer by the time they reached Turn One.
The fact that Hinchcliffe bobbled is what proponents of standing starts point to. No damage was done to Hinchcliffe’s car, and he only dropped from second to third at the start. But it is another element that can shake up the field on some tracks that can be a little static.
Losing one position is not what I call shaking up the field. Is it really worth a little early race jumble of the order to risk a car up front completely stalling and collecting a third of the field? It does add another element of skill to the job, but I also think it takes some skill to take the green flag at speed just inches away from your competitors.
I am old and set in my ways, but I don’t really see the need for standing starts in IndyCar races. Oliver is not the only one that disagrees with me. Many seem to think standing starts can spice up the show. Oliver grew up in the land of standing starts, so I understand why he would be in favor of them. But there are plenty on this side of the pond that agree with him. I like differentiating ourselves from Formula One as much as possible. Those that think we need to be more like them point at the TV ratings. That’s a pretty strong argument.
What are your thoughts on this? Unlike many people today, Oliver and I know we can disagree on just about anything and still be friends, without becoming outraged. Although I still don’t know his position on dri-fit polos…
George Phillips
Oilpressure 
October 9, 2024 at 5:23 am
My desire for standing starts at some road and/or street courses came as the result of standing opposite pit entry at Long Beach and seeing how many car lengths the latter part of the field were behind the leaders on the first lap. They are in a different zip code. It is easy to say qualify better in the first place which is valid however the enormous distances that I have seen attending LB three times is disproportionate to qualifying say one and a half or two seconds slower than pole. LB is probably the worst culprit due to the hairpin.
This made me think that having rolling or flying starts and some standing starts in the series would add to the diversity of the series. Indycar is unique in open wheel in having ovals so let’s enhance the series by have different starting procedures.
October 9, 2024 at 8:42 am
I too remember the 2014 season of the standing starts. Personally, I don’t think the procedure had much of a chance to get off the ground. It also seemed that whether it was a standing or rolling start, there’s always the chance for some kind of racing incident (wreck) in the beginning. I think this is due to the driver’s adrenaline being up a bit at the start, and it’s just a fact of racing.
But I do like the rolling starts better. Perhaps it is just what I am used to, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.
If Indycar decides to try this again, they should give it at least two full seasons before pulling the plug, giving everyone a chance to get used to it. I believe it was less than 10 races total between the 2013/2014 seasons…. I’m sure someone else knows for sure.
October 9, 2024 at 8:54 am
I have no issue with standing starts and they do seem to provide a fun rush of anticipation adrenaline right before the lights change (at least for me). However, I also cannot say I have ever seen a standing start that was as entertaining as a rolling start. I’m sure that is a product of where I am from. I would also argue that Indycar struggles enough with casual fans confusing it for Formula 1 that taking away even little differentiators such as rolling starts will only exacerbate such confusion.
Ultimately, the superiority of the rolling start is best expressed in song form…
October 9, 2024 at 9:16 am
I’m a proponent of standing starts. Sloppy rolling starts where the field has not even gotten ordered(or is spread out too far) are just ugly. Standing starts at least have everyone in “position”. Tracks with final turns that are hairpins also put the back-markers at a disadvantage.
My only hesitation to them would be on street courses that have a narrow starting zone. But I’d still prefer standing starts.
October 14, 2024 at 7:13 am
“I like differentiating ourselves from Formula One as much as possible.”
Couldn’t agree more George. For more reasons than one. We should be proud of our uniquely American form of open wheel racing and all of it’s history and procedures and reasons for those procedures.
We just need to do a better job of giving people a reason to embrace it.
September 16, 2025 at 2:16 pm
standing starts 100% just so much fairer easier to police in terms of false starts etc etc and give a few more random overtakes that instantly spice up the racing … only time to use rolling starts is in extreme weather hell I’d start ovals with them as well indy lap is long enough and most short ovals in usa have wide enough pit lanes to house the starting grids !