[Willie Krash]

Just to add to the conversation the starter was tied in front of the resistor and powered the coil during the cranking cycle. If you're cranking the engine and the battery breaks down to 9.5-10V you get better firing voltages to the plugs while cranking. Every volt counts toward upping KV firing voltage
Chev used this early on in a "foot feed" starter. The switch used a resistor bypass.
You may notice starter solenoids are marked S and R