Ted's Driver's Corner

Welcome to Driver’s Corner! My name is Ted Anthony, and if you’ve called Dundon Motorsports in the last 6 months, I’m likely the person who answered the phone! Prior to joining the team at Dundon, I was a professional racing instructor and driver. This will be a recurring segment of our newsletter where I share tips I’ve learned in my 20 years of driving and 15 years of coaching at race tracks. I’ll try to keep these short and sweet, giving you actionable information you can take to your next track day or race.

Today we are talking about one of the most common mistakes people make as they take the leap from intermediate speed to a more advanced pace; how they use the brakes. As you get more comfortable on the track, the natural inclination will be to push the car harder. You try to get on the gas earlier, lean on the tires more through the corners, and certainly try to apply the brakes later and harder. These are all great things to aspire toward on the track, but how you apply each input (gas, steering, brakes) matters. Doing more is not always better. 

An easy trap to fall into is the one of braking (too) late. It feels quick because it can be a bit scary, and makes corner entry busier, but more often than not, it makes you slower. This is not to say that braking late is bad, but most drivers end up over-slowing and coming out of the turn with a net loss of time.

Why is it slower? Simply put, when you apply the brakes later and harder, it makes it difficult to correctly judge the point when you release the brakes. This is arguably the most important segment of the turn, and sets the tone for the corner (and straight) to follow. A late application of the brakes can cause an abrupt release of the brakes, unbalancing the car and hurting your exit (making you SLOWER).

The good news is that the fix is very simple. Apply the brakes a *hair* earlier than you think you can, and slow the process down so you can do two things: 1) Release the brakes as smoothly as possible and 2) Be very specific with your release point. This will give you a very stable platform to enter the turn and help you get back on the gas at the appropriate time. Moral of the story: brake a little earlier and a little lighter. I bet you’ll be faster ;-)

Until next time,

-Ted