NASCAR Meets Aus Motorsport: Ambrose Brings Rolling Starts to All AASA Events

When Marcos Ambrose spent nine years racing in NASCAR, he absorbed a lot of ideas about how motorsport could be run better. Rolling starts were one of them.

"NASCAR, IndyCar and almost any other road racing-based category in North and South America operate using rolling starts — it's cheaper, faster and safer if done correctly," Ambrose said in announcing that all AASA-sanctioned road racing events would move to rolling starts from 2026. "The benefits of rolling starts far outweigh the negatives, if there even are any negatives."

The announcement came just ten days after Ambrose's first major change — abolishing time-certain racing — and made clear that the reform agenda was moving quickly. Multiple AASA-sanctioned classes, including the TA2 Muscle Car Series and Formula Ford Stars and Renegades Series, already used rolling starts, so the infrastructure and knowledge were already in place.

The new procedure includes a designated Start Zone on the exit of the final corner at each circuit. When the field crosses into the zone, the lead car can go — creating a proper race from the moment the flag drops rather than a messy standing-start scramble.

For ADC competitors specifically, the rolling start suits the Hyper Racer X1 well. With narrow circuits and cars that are sensitive to first-corner chaos, a clean, rolling approach to race starts reduces the attrition that standing starts can bring. More cars finishing means more racing — which is exactly what Ambrose is trying to deliver.

"We have exciting plans and announcements to make over the coming weeks," he added at the time. Based on the pace of change, nobody was doubting him.