[cameron_b]

With enough kinetic energy, you don't need to hit the starter position for the engine to restart. You're effectively push starting it at that point. I've done this on a chevy V8 in neutral/park. The engine takes long enough to spin down that if you apply the power to the distributor ( putting the key to "run" ) before it hits Zero rpm ( actual, not measured ) it'll restart because you still have fuel and compression.