"Sometimes you have to slow down to go fast."

"My fastest run today felt the slowest."

We've all heard it. Sometimes it becomes painfully clear. My revelation occurred a few weeks ago while driving a "loaner" car. After a horribly disappointing first run at the cones, I hopped out of the car to check air pressures and discovered that my left rear had sprung a leak. Since I figured it would be nice to have the "loaner" ride offered again in the future, I took a very patient approach to the course the first time out. I used firm, but rather early braking to set up for the corners. It felt like a Sunday drive, but that run wound up being fast enough to win street tire class and was only a half second slower than my best run of the day. Let's take a look at why.

Those that have spent time chatting with Andy Hollis have heard at least a few million times that braking a few car lengths early is rarely a penalty, but braking a single car length late can ruin a run. On surfaces like the aging asphalt at Mineral Wells where gravel tends to collect just outside the racing line, this couldn't be more true. When I slowed down early (and probably just enough), I was in complete control to turn in where I wanted, and the car stuck. This also ensured that I could power out easily (and early) on corner exit.

On my first run (and on a later Rapide Pax run) where my braking points were dead on in most turns, but just a car length late in 2, seconds ticked away as the car pushed out into the loose gravel, dropping even more speed and delaying my ability to get back on the power.

Last weekend at TMS, I remembered what I'd done and tried to make use of it. I paid attention to where I was going to use the brakes, how well they worked on the first run, and how far I should push on the second run. It helped that the course was easy to follow and flowed well, but I wound up in second place during the second set of C Stock runs. Unfortunately, my fellow competitors improved more during the 3rd and 4th runs, but my times continued to drop as I edged my braking points forward in places (and slightly back in others) to ensure that I had a good corner entry speed.

The next time you're on the course, focus carefully on braking points. Where you brake, how hard you brake and how much you slow down frequently make all the difference in how fast you go.