No standing start for Long Beach

It was rumored that Long Beach was under consideration for a standing start. Won't happen. Will Phillips told sped.com about the progress being made by the series and engine manufacturers with standing starts just a few months away from happening at Toronto.

Inquiries had been made by the series to the Long Beach organizers about kicking off standing starts this weekend, but the focus has been shifted back to its introduction on the Canadian street course.

"We're obviously looking at the lighting system that we're going to use, and keeping the manufacturers and the teams aware of that process," he said. "With respect to manufacturers trying various software, the ability that they have is somewhat limited to prepare in that respect because we're not alternating the starts. We're not having clutches taken control of by ECUs or anything like that.

"They're continuing to work and acquire the data to their satisfaction. We obviously want the anti-stall side of things to work wherever the car stalls but standing starts and pit launches are much harder to catch with anti-stall than some of the higher speed on-track incidents we've been seeing."

Asked if INDYCAR will place one of its technical staff in the starter's stand similar to how Formula One's Charlie Whiting views the field and triggers F1's standing starts, Phillips says Race Director Beaux Barfield and his team will handle it remotely.

"Race control would be as they are now; they control the starts and I don't believe that'll be any different."

Phillips also said the control box needed to arm the starting lights and turn them out to begin the race is currently being devised.

"It depends on the final configuration of the lighting system and where the trigger is; whether it's actually hard wired to essentially get the start/finish line lighting gantry or whether it's for race control," he remarked. "Potentially it could be either of those."