Dynamic engine timing control

A method and apparatus (100) for controlling timing of an internal combustion engine (102) having a piston (104) located in a cylinder (106). The method and apparatus (100) includes determining a first angular position of a crankshaft (108) at a first location along a longitudinal axis (116) of the crankshaft (108), determining a second angular position of the crankshaft (108) at a second location along the longitudinal axis (116), determining a level of deformation of the crankshaft (108) as a function of a difference between the first and second angular positions, determining an actual position of the piston (104) as a function of the crankshaft deformation, comparing the actual piston position to a desired piston position, and controlling timing of an event to initiate combustion in the cylinder (106) as a function of a difference between the actual and desired piston positions.