IndyCar officials have decided on a standing start for the first race of the Honda Indy Toronto as well as in both races for the upcoming doubleheader in Houston. 

This is a big change for IndyCar who are known for their rolling starts after the pace car pits. The standing start is well known in Formula One and should be intriguing to see how IndyCar drivers adjust to this style with limited experience. Drivers like Dario Franchitti, Takuma Sato, Sebastian Bourdais and Justin Wilson with Formula One experience are well-versed in standing starts and that might be the advantage they need to get off and running.

One of the main reasons for the change in start procedures was to differentiate the two Toronto races. Personally, I think it’s a simple and smart move by IndyCar and it’s nice to see that they will be trying different things out to make it more exciting for the fans, as well as seeing whether the standing start is something that IndyCar can play with in the future.

This is not the first time we’ve seen a standing start as there were a few occasions in the IndyCar Series and during the Champ Car days where it was tested. The last time an IndyCar race had a standing start was back in 2008 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach when Will Power took control of the race passing the first three cars leading to his first IndyCar Series victory.

Here’s how the standing start will play out on Saturday. 

The safety car will lead the drivers out for a formation lap in their starting order with no overtaking. The drivers will then take their designated starting positions inside of an orange grid line. Once all the drivers have stopped in their correct positions a five-second declaration will be made via radio by the Race Director. After the five-seconds, the drivers will follow a light sequence starting when the first two rows of red lights on the lighting panel illuminate. The red lights will continue to fill from the bottom of the light panel two rows at a time, for a total of six steps (12 rows). Once all the panels are red there will be a delay between 0.5 and 3 seconds when the panel of lights will all switch to green and the drivers can start.

This minor change to the starting grid should definitely impact the race and drums up plenty of excitement and talking points for the media and fans. The Honda Indy Toronto starts on Friday with qualifying to begin at 2:15 ET and the start of the first race will begin at 2:30 ET on Saturday featuring the new standing start. The Honda Indy Toronto concludes with the second of the races on Sunday will its typical rolling start at 2:40 ET.