A vehicle control system for a powertrain including an internal combustion engine having an intake valve and an exhaust valve in a vehicle includes an electronic control unit (ECU) operable to control a continuously variable valve duration (CVVD) of the intake and exhaust valves in the engine, a communicator operable to receive an input data from at least one input system, and a storage device having predetermined calibration value. The ECU of the vehicle control system is configured to reference the predetermined calibration values based on a received input data, determines to adjust the CVVD of the intake and exhaust valves, and send a signal to the engine for changing an overlap area of the CVVD. The vehicle control system operates a process for controlling the CVVD of the engine as a method.