diff --git a/hack/jenkins/common.sh b/hack/jenkins/common.sh
index f18dc1f81a3c6279777eb7bb124c76c363b86402..61d9dfe90caaea95305aad2ecbf447761b2f4da4 100755
--- a/hack/jenkins/common.sh
+++ b/hack/jenkins/common.sh
@@ -23,8 +23,6 @@
 # EXTRA_START_ARGS: additional flags to pass into minikube start
 # EXTRA_ARGS: additional flags to pass into minikube
 # JOB_NAME: the name of the logfile and check name to update on github
-# PARALLEL_COUNT: number of tests to run in parallel
-
 
 readonly TEST_ROOT="${HOME}/minikube-integration"
 readonly TEST_HOME="${TEST_ROOT}/${OS_ARCH}-${VM_DRIVER}-${MINIKUBE_LOCATION}-$$-${COMMIT}"
@@ -243,7 +241,7 @@ if [ "$(uname)" != "Darwin" ]; then
   docker build -t gcr.io/k8s-minikube/gvisor-addon:2 -f testdata/gvisor-addon-Dockerfile ./testdata
 fi
 
-readonly LOAD=$(uptime | egrep -o "load average.*: [0-9]" | cut -d" " -f3)
+readonly LOAD=$(uptime | egrep -o "load average.*: [0-9]+" | cut -d" " -f3)
 if [[ "${LOAD}" -gt 2 ]]; then
   echo ""
   echo "********************** LOAD WARNING ********************************"
@@ -255,21 +253,18 @@ if [[ "${LOAD}" -gt 2 ]]; then
     top -b -n1 | head -n 15
   fi
   echo "********************** LOAD WARNING ********************************"
-  echo ""
   echo "Sleeping 30s to see if load goes down ...."
   sleep 30
   uptime
 fi
 
-
 echo ""
 echo ">> Starting ${E2E_BIN} at $(date)"
 set -x
 ${SUDO_PREFIX}${E2E_BIN} \
   -minikube-start-args="--vm-driver=${VM_DRIVER} ${EXTRA_START_ARGS}" \
   -expected-default-driver="${EXPECTED_DEFAULT_DRIVER}" \
-  -test.timeout=60m \
-  -test.parallel=${PARALLEL_COUNT} \
+  -test.timeout=70m \
   ${EXTRA_TEST_ARGS} \
   -binary="${MINIKUBE_BIN}" && result=$? || result=$?
 set +x
diff --git a/hack/jenkins/linux_integration_tests_kvm.sh b/hack/jenkins/linux_integration_tests_kvm.sh
index d8a3dae4521035f0deb36129a1bf93d562dd95f3..19181b70e2b733a3c299bd152ce8a1120e672a8a 100755
--- a/hack/jenkins/linux_integration_tests_kvm.sh
+++ b/hack/jenkins/linux_integration_tests_kvm.sh
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ set -e
 OS_ARCH="linux-amd64"
 VM_DRIVER="kvm2"
 JOB_NAME="KVM_Linux"
-PARALLEL_COUNT=4
 EXPECTED_DEFAULT_DRIVER="kvm2"
 
 # We pick kvm as our gvisor testbed because it is fast & reliable
diff --git a/hack/jenkins/linux_integration_tests_none.sh b/hack/jenkins/linux_integration_tests_none.sh
index 3e78045e2eceb27883c5139a66ec11eed8939c57..cb1cc4d3a2f46fdba5f88f3fe07d174753595f41 100755
--- a/hack/jenkins/linux_integration_tests_none.sh
+++ b/hack/jenkins/linux_integration_tests_none.sh
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ OS_ARCH="linux-amd64"
 VM_DRIVER="none"
 JOB_NAME="none_Linux"
 EXTRA_ARGS="--bootstrapper=kubeadm"
-PARALLEL_COUNT=1
 EXPECTED_DEFAULT_DRIVER="kvm2"
 
 SUDO_PREFIX="sudo -E "
diff --git a/hack/jenkins/linux_integration_tests_virtualbox.sh b/hack/jenkins/linux_integration_tests_virtualbox.sh
index 6f624eeead0afb2499a1ee9503676765e5482559..d159afef5cb732c5c8a7b7fc8ea0aeae8209815c 100755
--- a/hack/jenkins/linux_integration_tests_virtualbox.sh
+++ b/hack/jenkins/linux_integration_tests_virtualbox.sh
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ set -e
 OS_ARCH="linux-amd64"
 VM_DRIVER="virtualbox"
 JOB_NAME="VirtualBox_Linux"
-PARALLEL_COUNT=4
 EXPECTED_DEFAULT_DRIVER="kvm2"
 
 # Download files and set permissions
diff --git a/hack/jenkins/osx_integration_tests_hyperkit.sh b/hack/jenkins/osx_integration_tests_hyperkit.sh
index aa9d5d69d104ec4924cb1a994e3dfab295964621..8dc49ab367afc21dd432f1038e6059db1789f8bd 100755
--- a/hack/jenkins/osx_integration_tests_hyperkit.sh
+++ b/hack/jenkins/osx_integration_tests_hyperkit.sh
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ VM_DRIVER="hyperkit"
 JOB_NAME="HyperKit_macOS"
 EXTRA_ARGS="--bootstrapper=kubeadm"
 EXTRA_START_ARGS=""
-PARALLEL_COUNT=3
 EXPECTED_DEFAULT_DRIVER="hyperkit"
 
 
diff --git a/hack/jenkins/osx_integration_tests_virtualbox.sh b/hack/jenkins/osx_integration_tests_virtualbox.sh
index 8f7c6e3dd0b86f1e4ecd7df4b7a532dae3692e70..8ebdb846c1cf33f8f1d5e5d6689b5652b7549a05 100755
--- a/hack/jenkins/osx_integration_tests_virtualbox.sh
+++ b/hack/jenkins/osx_integration_tests_virtualbox.sh
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@ OS_ARCH="darwin-amd64"
 VM_DRIVER="virtualbox"
 JOB_NAME="VirtualBox_macOS"
 EXTRA_ARGS="--bootstrapper=kubeadm"
-PARALLEL_COUNT=3
 # hyperkit behaves better, so it has higher precedence.
 # Assumes that hyperkit is also installed on the VirtualBox CI host.
 EXPECTED_DEFAULT_DRIVER="hyperkit"
diff --git a/test/integration/addons_test.go b/test/integration/addons_test.go
index e184b8e2202abfd9f65b1306cb80573f757f84f9..a575e96eb57b2ddbbab1156870ef7a6cb34c98b0 100644
--- a/test/integration/addons_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/addons_test.go
@@ -36,8 +36,8 @@ import (
 
 // TestAddons tests addons that require no special environment -- in parallel
 func TestAddons(t *testing.T) {
-	MaybeSlowParallel(t)
-
+	MaybeParallel(t)
+	WaitForStartSlot(t)
 	profile := UniqueProfileName("addons")
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 40*time.Minute)
 	defer CleanupWithLogs(t, profile, cancel)
diff --git a/test/integration/docker_test.go b/test/integration/docker_test.go
index dd48ea54370cb0f05a83656b9eb81003395fc33d..7acb0f9dcc344c7fcc77da56ece8fd5d3d02fecd 100644
--- a/test/integration/docker_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/docker_test.go
@@ -30,7 +30,8 @@ func TestDockerFlags(t *testing.T) {
 	if NoneDriver() {
 		t.Skip("skipping: none driver does not support ssh or bundle docker")
 	}
-	MaybeSlowParallel(t)
+	MaybeParallel(t)
+	WaitForStartSlot(t)
 
 	profile := UniqueProfileName("docker-flags")
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 20*time.Minute)
diff --git a/test/integration/guest_env_test.go b/test/integration/guest_env_test.go
index e9f4925a279025183adc46626425d98ce1436d7d..0e7dfb66347dc99dd4b4335ab54bc8eb983d90b0 100644
--- a/test/integration/guest_env_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/guest_env_test.go
@@ -27,7 +27,9 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestGuestEnvironment(t *testing.T) {
-	MaybeSlowParallel(t)
+	MaybeParallel(t)
+	WaitForStartSlot(t)
+
 	profile := UniqueProfileName("guest")
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 15*time.Minute)
 	defer CleanupWithLogs(t, profile, cancel)
diff --git a/test/integration/gvisor_addon_test.go b/test/integration/gvisor_addon_test.go
index 368273e975466433e6aa2625fb0cab4d350c4fca..f8ffb4d2c0cee7bb392aaa831bc39ae97ab7346b 100644
--- a/test/integration/gvisor_addon_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/gvisor_addon_test.go
@@ -34,8 +34,8 @@ func TestGvisorAddon(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Skip("skipping test because --gvisor=false")
 	}
 
-	MaybeSlowParallel(t)
-
+	MaybeParallel(t)
+	WaitForStartSlot(t)
 	profile := UniqueProfileName("gvisor")
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 60*time.Minute)
 	defer func() {
diff --git a/test/integration/helpers.go b/test/integration/helpers.go
index 18f37848193d1904b3bf33ab9ad340dccbe426cc..654748250f6cf6236ba0001de33b8471dafc9efc 100644
--- a/test/integration/helpers.go
+++ b/test/integration/helpers.go
@@ -42,8 +42,10 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	antiRaceCounter = 0
-	antiRaceMutex   = &sync.Mutex{}
+	// startTimes is a list of startup times, to guarantee --start-offset
+	startTimes = []time.Time{}
+	// startTimesMutex is a lock to update startTimes without a race condition
+	startTimesMutex = &sync.Mutex{}
 )
 
 // RunResult stores the result of an cmd.Run call
@@ -330,25 +332,32 @@ func MaybeParallel(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 }
 
-// MaybeSlowParallel is a terrible workaround for tests which start clusters in a race-filled world
-// TODO: Try removing this hack once certificates are deployed per-profile
-func MaybeSlowParallel(t *testing.T) {
-	// NoneDriver shouldn't parallelize "minikube start"
+// WaitForStartSlot enforces --start-offset to avoid startup race conditions
+func WaitForStartSlot(t *testing.T) {
+	// Not parallel
 	if NoneDriver() {
 		return
 	}
 
-	antiRaceMutex.Lock()
-	antiRaceCounter++
-	antiRaceMutex.Unlock()
+	wakeup := time.Now()
+	startTimesMutex.Lock()
+	if len(startTimes) > 0 {
+		nextStart := startTimes[len(startTimes)-1].Add(*startOffset)
+		// Ignore nextStart if it is in the past - to guarantee offset for next caller
+		if time.Now().Before(nextStart) {
+			wakeup = nextStart
+		}
+	}
+	startTimes = append(startTimes, wakeup)
+	startTimesMutex.Unlock()
 
-	if antiRaceCounter > 0 {
-		// Slow enough to offset start, but not slow to be a major source of delay
-		penalty := time.Duration(5*antiRaceCounter) * time.Second
-		t.Logf("MaybeSlowParallel: Sleeping %s to avoid start race ...", penalty)
-		time.Sleep(penalty)
+	if time.Now().Before(wakeup) {
+		d := time.Until(wakeup)
+		t.Logf("Waiting for start slot at %s (sleeping %s)  ...", wakeup, d)
+		time.Sleep(d)
+	} else {
+		t.Logf("No need to wait for start slot, it is already %s", time.Now())
 	}
-	t.Parallel()
 }
 
 // killProcessFamily kills a pid and all of its children
diff --git a/test/integration/main.go b/test/integration/main.go
index bffb12f07966579dc959a501d98fc9f00d16ef63..fe351e070d469c9ea5570686fe946787e43d814e 100644
--- a/test/integration/main.go
+++ b/test/integration/main.go
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ var defaultDriver = flag.String("expected-default-driver", "", "Expected default
 var forceProfile = flag.String("profile", "", "force tests to run against a particular profile")
 var cleanup = flag.Bool("cleanup", true, "cleanup failed test run")
 var enableGvisor = flag.Bool("gvisor", false, "run gvisor integration test (slow)")
+var startOffset = flag.Duration("start-offset", 30*time.Second, "how much time to offset between cluster starts")
 var postMortemLogs = flag.Bool("postmortem-logs", true, "show logs after a failed test run")
 
 // Paths to files - normally set for CI
diff --git a/test/integration/start_stop_delete_test.go b/test/integration/start_stop_delete_test.go
index ada918f480afd0ad7700287031a74abafd5c3322..52ac7a42022e4317e689cc68c7f4f339f27ef0d3 100644
--- a/test/integration/start_stop_delete_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/start_stop_delete_test.go
@@ -75,7 +75,8 @@ func TestStartStop(t *testing.T) {
 		for _, tc := range tests {
 			tc := tc
 			t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-				MaybeSlowParallel(t)
+				MaybeParallel(t)
+				WaitForStartSlot(t)
 
 				if !strings.Contains(tc.name, "docker") && NoneDriver() {
 					t.Skipf("skipping %s - incompatible with none driver", t.Name())
@@ -136,6 +137,7 @@ func TestStartStop(t *testing.T) {
 					t.Errorf("status = %q; want = %q", got, state.Stopped)
 				}
 
+				WaitForStartSlot(t)
 				rr, err = Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, Target(), startArgs...))
 				if err != nil {
 					// Explicit fatal so that failures don't move directly to deletion
diff --git a/test/integration/version_upgrade_test.go b/test/integration/version_upgrade_test.go
index 6ee49cb8117376507d4144337f3f321b8684448e..78bc9ef7122102ed5227c6e76d573e084788de45 100644
--- a/test/integration/version_upgrade_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/version_upgrade_test.go
@@ -39,9 +39,10 @@ import (
 // the odlest supported k8s version and then runs the current head minikube
 // and it tries to upgrade from the older supported k8s to news supported k8s
 func TestVersionUpgrade(t *testing.T) {
+	MaybeParallel(t)
+	WaitForStartSlot(t)
 	profile := UniqueProfileName("vupgrade")
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 55*time.Minute)
-	MaybeSlowParallel(t)
 
 	defer CleanupWithLogs(t, profile, cancel)
 
@@ -89,6 +90,7 @@ func TestVersionUpgrade(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("status = %q; want = %q", got, state.Stopped.String())
 	}
 
+	WaitForStartSlot(t)
 	args = append([]string{"start", "-p", profile, fmt.Sprintf("--kubernetes-version=%s", constants.NewestKubernetesVersion), "--alsologtostderr", "-v=1"}, StartArgs()...)
 	rr, err = Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, Target(), args...))
 	if err != nil {