If the race has all racers, would it be easier to have the race just start after a few minutes. Example, 5 of 6 players in race, 30 mins remaining. 6th player joins, 5 min (1-5 mins?) remaining instead of the 30 mins. That will give time for people to change out the car or something. If person leaves then the timer would restart anyways, so not really a downside on that side.
If the race has all racers, would it be easier to have the race just start after a few minutes. Example, 5 of 6 players in race, 30 mins remaining. 6th player joins, 5 min (1-5 mins?) remaining instead of the 30 mins. That will give time for people to change out the car or something. If person leaves then the timer would restart anyways, so not really a downside on that side.