I've always been indifferent toward standing starts. I acknowledge that they can be incredibly exciting when done right, and I also acknowledge that if they never came to the IZOD IndyCar Series, I would have been fine with that.

But indeed, standing starts will be introduced as part of two of the three doubleheader weekends on the 2013 schedule. While the first of those weekends, the June two-step at Detroit's reconfigured Belle Isle Park, has been passed over, Race 1 at both Toronto and Houston will feature them (the second races at those two venues will have a standard rolling start).

The standing starts will break down like this: Following the command to start engines and a formation lap, the field will take their starting positions on the grid. Race Control will give the drivers a heads-up at five seconds before the beginning of a light sequence on a trackside system. The red lights will illuminate one-by-one and then, all of them will go out to begin the race.

That trackside system will also be available to help drivers practice their start launches during pre-race practice sessions.

"We would leave the lighting system at pit out and designate a pit stall where drivers can stage themselves and practice standing start launches during official practice sessions," IZOD IndyCar Series race director Beaux Barfield said in a press statement. "It's a way for drivers to practice their own launches and get used to the lighting system."

Qualifying procedures for the doubleheader weekends have also been revealed.

For Race 1, qualifying will take place on Friday and follow the standard three round "knockout" format. However, the first round has now been cut to 10 minutes, bringing it in line with the other two rounds. In addition, tire usage in qualifying will now be determined by teams instead of mandatory allocation, which could provide an avenue for some interesting strategy.

The grids for Race 2 will be set on lap times from a 30-minute Saturday session.

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Last year, INDYCAR started an experiment with heat racing for the Iowa Corn Indy 250. The starting grid for that particular race was determined by three, 30-lap races.

But for INDYCAR's return to the 7/8-mile Iowa Speedway bullring this season, those heat races will be extended to 50 laps. Said races will also include transfer spots for the top two finishers in the first two heats to the third heat.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly to drivers and teams, championship points will be doled out for the top 12 starters; the pole position will net nine points and the point level will descend by one for each position to a single point for 11th and 12th. The other non-Indianapolis 500 races on the schedule give one point for the pole winner.

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Other cool stuff

A.J. Foyt Racing continues to mull over options for a second entry alongside their new primary driver, Takuma Sato, in the No. 14. According to SPEED's Robin Miller, the Honda-powered outfit from Texas is just about conceding that the No. 41 won't be a full-season entrant, with team director Larry Foyt telling Miller that it would be "pretty difficult to do" at this point in the offseason...The Firestone Indy Lights contingent is currently at Homestead-Miami Speedway for an Open Test today and tomorrow. Drivers taking part in the test include reigning Star/Pro Mazda champ Jack Hawksworth, as well as the 2012 Star Mazda runner-up Gabby Chaves (both running with Sam Schmidt Motorsports) and top American prospect Zach Veach (Andretti Autosport)...If you're in Houston this week, check out the Houston Auto Show on Saturday; Rahal Letterman Lanigan pilot Graham Rahal will be in the house to greet attendees from 2:30-3:30 p.m. that day. Just look for the Grand Prix of Houston booth...

In a bid to discourage fuel-mileage racing, INDYCAR has announced tweaks to the race length at four of their 19 events on the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule.

Affected by the changes are the season opener at St. Petersburg, Florida (+10 laps, now 110 laps), the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (-5 laps, now 80 laps), the Milwaukee IndyFest (+25 laps, now 250 laps), and the round at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (+5 laps, now 90 laps).

"Changing the distances at these races will hopefully eliminate the strategy of saving fuel from the drop of the green flag," said series race director Beaux Barfield in a statement. "That will enable our teams and drivers to race hard for the full distance and improve the event's entertainment value for the fans."

The series also released its 2013 television schedule, which will see NBCSN carry the first four races leading into ABC's customary broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 on May 26. From there, ABC will have six of the next seven races, including its first-ever prime-time IndyCar broadcast at Texas Motor Speedway. NBCSN will then return at the Toronto doubleheader to show the final eight races of 2013.

Here's how it looks, so start putting it all in your planners:

2013 IZOD INDYCAR SERIES RACE TELEVISION SCHEDULE

Throughout 2012, one of the team owners' major complaints was the cost of spare parts on the Dallara DW12, which came in decisively overbudget. At one point, the owners called for a 40 percent reduction on the price tag from the Italian chassis-maker after reportedly rejecting a smaller, 10-20 percent reduction.

But that '10-20 percent' range is what they'll have to live with after all, as Dallara has announced a 14-percent reduction on its spares and a price freeze that will stay intact until March 2014. Per SPEEDTV.com's Marshall Pruett, that adds up to an estimated savings of $50,000 to $60,000 annually.

Yours truly, along with IndyCarAdvocate.com's Zachary Houghton and contributor Steve Wittich, have put together a True/False piece over on INDYCAR Nation. This edition focuses on A.J. Foyt Racing's recent signing of Takuma Sato, Firestone Indy Lights champ Tristan Vautier's chances of succeeding in the IZOD IndyCar Series, and Indianapolis 500 "free agent" drivers.

You can check it out right here.

IndyCar champ: "We've got to re-double our efforts"

The pressure is certainly on for Ryan Hunter-Reay and Andretti Autosport to repeat their run to the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series championship.

How do they know? Well, they’re the ones creating the most of it.

“We put the most pressure on ourselves – [we] really don’t care what anybody else thinks,” Hunter-Reay said in this week’s INDYCAR teleconference, which also featured his team owner, Michael Andretti.

“We want to go out there and win and deliver for our team and our partners and sponsors. That's what really matters most. And I certainly put a lot of pressure on myself as well, so we've got a lot to do. We've got to redouble our efforts to even have a shot at defending our championship.”

Hunter-Reay collected four wins in 2012 (including a streak of three consecutive victories at Milwaukee, Iowa and Toronto), but still needed a fourth-place finish in last September’s season finale at Fontana, California to defeat Team Penske's Will Power for the title by a mere five points.

Since then, he’s kept busy with a variety of things over the winter: Participating in the Race of Champions in Thailand, continued preparation for 2013 with Andretti, and last but not least, learning the joys of fatherhood. He and wife Beccy welcomed a baby boy, Ryden, into the world on Dec. 28.

As for the upcoming season, the American racer plans to continue balancing his driving style between smart and aggressive. But as mentioned before, Hunter-Reay believes everyone in the Andretti camp will have to step it up even further than they did last year.

“It's just “big picture” racing, when you think about the whole season -- banking points, really driving to the capabilities of your car and not over it, but taking the necessary risks you need to to move yourself up in the [championship],” he said.

Back in his racing days, four-time Indianapolis 500 champion and current IZOD IndyCar Series team owner A.J. Foyt was always a hard charger.

One can argue that his newest driver is the same way. The aggressive Takuma Sato, who raced with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing last season, has officially joined the A.J. Foyt Racing team for this year's championship.

Sato will drive the No. 14 ABC Supply Co. Honda after collecting two podiums (Sao Paulo and Edmonton) for RLL in 2012. However, the former Formula One pilot also found lots of trouble in the campaign and suffered eight DNFs in 15 races.

“While I do not know A.J. well yet, it is unbelievable what he did in his career," said Sato in a team release. "A.J. has achieved so many wins in every type of car, at every type of circuit, and in every type of situation.  That experience can only help in trying to win races this year.  I think with A.J. and the team helping me this year, we can be very successful.”

As for ol' Supertex, he and his son, team director Larry Foyt, felt that Sato's considerable background and fearlessness would help boost the squad in 2013.

"There were a lot of question marks when the season ended but I’m happy to put an end to all that now," A.J. said in the same release. "We chose to go with Takuma Sato because he brings a lot of experience to our team but he has the hunger of a rookie--and he’s certainly proven he has the desire to win."

Sato will replace Mike Conway, who ended 2012 by stepping out of the No. 14 before last fall's season finale at Fontana, California, citing that he no longer felt comfortable with oval racing.

With the holidays in the rear view mirror, the competitors of the IZOD IndyCar Series will now be starting to ramp up their preparations for the 2013 campaign. One wonders what the new year will hold after a 2012 season that saw some of the best racing that the series has produced in recent memory.

Penske Racing president Tim Cindric, in particular, is hoping that more innovation will be on the horizon for the series. In a recent column for RACER Magazine, Cindric argues that INDYCAR's new leadership must open up the technical specifications on the DW12s and hand more control to the driver.

"If IndyCar is to garner the respect of the fans as one of the top forms of motorsport in the world, we need to get away from this mentality of having spec cars with limited testing," Cindric writes. "I am not advocating a free-for-all for our benefit; rather, we have to allow testing so new drivers have a chance in the sport and we have to allow teams to differentiate themselves beyond just having their own dampers.

"Fans want to see the teams generate evolutions, and if IndyCar continues toward making the rules suit the budgets of the lowest teams, it will soon take a backseat to not only NASCAR, but sports car racing as well."

Indeed, this is what a lot of people in the base have been wanting for a while. But how far can INDYCAR go in that regard considering its emphasis on cost containment and the current state of the economy at large? One might argue that the series took a step in this particular direction with the low-downforce 'speedway' configurations on the DW12, but those "one-at-a-time" movements within the current rules may be all that it can do for now.

As he states above, Cindric doesn't want a 'free for all'; he seems to want to stake a place in the middle between total spec and an open book. But how much money would that take? And how many owners for the smaller teams in the paddock could be able to afford such changes?

The New Year means a new racing season is upon us, and the action officially begins with the Rolex 24 at Daytona later this month.

The legendary sports car race always attracts stars from multiple racing disciplines and the IZOD IndyCar Series will be well-represented on the starting grid at the 'World Center of Speed.' Leading the charge will be IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, who will join Wayne Taylor Racing's No. 10 Daytona Prototype team for the occasion.

Chip Ganassi Racing pilots Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Charlie Kimball will be part of their boss' Rolex roster, with Franchitti and Dixon as part of the No. 02 squad and Kimball on the No. 01 team. Both of those groups will drive DPs.

Other INDYCAR drivers involved in this year's Rolex include:

Tony Kanaan, who will compete in the GT category and co-drive the No. 21 Dener Motorsport entry with Rubens Barrichello;

Sebastien Bourdais, who will run as part of the No. 8 Starworks DP team;

James Hinchcliffe, with the No. 70 Mazda Speedsource GT team;

Simon Pagenaud, making his Rolex debut with the No. 42 Team Sahlen DP entry;

And, last but not least, Justin Wilson, who helped Michael Shank Racing's No. 60 DP team win last year's overall Rolex title.

INDYCAR and Firestone's partnership will endure for at least six more seasons.

This fall, the possibility of a new tire manufacturer for the IZOD IndyCar Series appeared to be a valid one. Firestone's contract was set to run out in 2014, and INDYCAR was exploring its options. But all of that's just past talk now, as both the series and the tiremaker have announced that Firestone will continue to provide tires for North America's top open-wheel series through 2018.

Firestone has provided tires to INDYCAR/Indy Racing League since its opening race in 1996, and has provided constant reliability for teams and drivers over the years.

"The Firestone brand's significant contributions to IZOD IndyCar Series racing are the result of more than 100 years of experience competing in this sport, most recently as part of a continuous 22-year partnership," said INDYCAR interim president/CEO Jeff Belskus in a statement.

"The agreement expands our opportunity to continue working together to provide on-track excitement for our fans and grow the sport through coordinated and consistent off-track promotions. This is an important relationship for both Firestone and INDYCAR and we are very pleased to continue the association."

In his own comments, Firestone Racing's Al Speyer said the company treasured its relationships within the series and wants to help do its part in ensuring a brighter future for INDYCAR.

"We are proud to continue our tradition of exceptional support for the IndyCar Series," said Speyer. "One of our future aims is to help grow interest, so we look forward to welcoming a new generation of fans to the sport while at the same time energizing the existing loyal fan base. Fans are the true end customer for both INDYCAR and Firestone, and their engagement is fundamental to our mutual future success."

More details about the agreement will be announced next year, but Firestone's new pact will also feature investments in advertising and promotions, as well as on-track signage and hospitality.

The company will also maintain its title sponsorship of the June round at Texas Motor Speedway and will stay on as both title sponsor and tire supplier of Firestone Indy Lights through 2013.

Randy Bernard may no longer be the CEO of INDYCAR, but what may prove to be his biggest contribution to the sport is set to emerge next summer as TURBO -- a Dreamworks Animation film that features INDYCAR and the Indianapolis 500 in prominent roles -- hits the silver screen.

The film follows a young snail (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) who aspires to be an Indy 500 champion and gets the chance to realize his dream when he attains the power of super speed.

Up to this point, we've only seen pictures and concept art of TURBO, but now Dreamworks has given us an early Christmas present with a teaser trailer for the movie. And while it's only about a minute and change to look at, it's clear that Dreamworks has put a strong effort into capturing the atmosphere of the '500' and IndyCar racing. One hopes that the script is just as solid as the look.

Anyway, enough talk. Check out the trailer on iTunes.