The diagnostic used to observe the early flame development was a fiber optic spark plug, which enabled measurement of the flame front arrival times on a cycle-to-cycle basis. The data obtained with this fiber optic spark plug were analyzed to obtain two parameters to describe the behavior of the flame kernel : an expansion speed and a convection velocity. In addition, synchronized cylinder pressure data were taken to compare with the fiber optic spark plug data on a cyclic basis. Heat release analysis was performed on the cylinder pressure data to obtain the mass burning profile of the charge for each cycle. There was a significant correlation observed in the initial flame duration and the kernel expansion speed with dwell angle.