Abstract: In a powertrain including an internal combustion engine coupled to a transmission, engine ignition timing is controlled to minimize the impact of severe mechanical load disturbances, such as resulting from transmission shifts into or out of park or neutral positions, wherein the ignition timing is gradually varied to match the characteristic of the load disturbance being compensated, and variation in ignition timing is delayed in accord with transmission responsiveness, such as indicated by transmission temperature, until the disturbance is actually impacting powertrain mechanical load. Control stability is improved by temporarily suspending potentially duplicate control operations until the mechanical load disturbance has been compensated.